Dear alumni and friends:
Since the UI Carver College of Medicine established its on-campus medical program in 1870, our physicians have been dedicated to serving the health care needs of Iowa's residents. At the same time, our faculty researchers play an equally important role through their dedication to science and discovery.

The faculty and their laboratory staff conduct an enormous amount of research each year, and in 2005 the College received nearly $182 million in external funding. In 2006, U.S. News & World Report ranked us thirteenth among public universities and second in the Big Ten schools in funding awarded from the National Institutes of Health.

This support is vital to our programs and ensures the best chance of valuable discoveries that could help human conditions such as muscular dystrophy, age-related macular degeneration, and hearing loss. Our goal is to translate the findings into new patient therapies, drug development and technology. We see commercialization of these findings and creation of new businesses and job opportunities as a natural outgrowth of this work.

Our decision to look for economic development opportunities in on-campus research is based on recommendations from a 2003 report from the Batelle Memorial Institute. The state's leaders asked the institute to develop a blueprint to guide them as they work to stimulate growth across Iowa. The report suggests using the state universities' existing strengths in technology-based research in biodefense, biomedical imaging, drug discovery and development, and post-genomic medicine to spur economic growth. This issue of Medicine will take an in-depth look at the report's recommendations as well as highlight some of our faculty members' current efforts to market their discoveries.

Within the College, we are establishing the necessary tools and support to provide assistance, and we recently named two associate deans who will work together to organize our efforts and assist our faculty.

Michael Apicella, MD, professor and head of microbiology, has been named the College's interim senior associate dean for scientific affairs. He will lead the College's research enterprise, with special focus on the basic sciences. Gary Hunninghake, MD, the Sterba Professor of Internal Medicine, has been named the senior associate dean for clinical and translational science. He'll concentrate on patient-based research, including epidemiological studies, clinical trials involving human subjects, and translational research—the process of applying laboratory discoveries to clinical investigations—as well as assessing and developing treatments to enhance patient care.

The College also is emphasizing the importance of filing patents in order for faculty to protect their discoveries. Of the patents filed by UI faculty since fiscal year 2002, 185 (78 percent) had at least one medicine faculty member connected to the filing. The result is increased revenue for the UI and the investigator. The University's income from royalties and licensing agreements reached an estimated $16.3 million in fiscal year 2006.

To further support our goals, we have formed the Office of Economic and Business Development, led by Michael Kienzle ('74 BS, '77 MD), to assist faculty who need help establishing relationships with area business leaders. The College also works with the UI's Entrepreneurial Ventures Group and the Tippie College of Business John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center to provide support.

It is important to stress that our initiatives have not replaced our three primary missions of teaching and educating future physicians, clinical and basic science research, and a constant dedication to serving the patients we see in the our clinics everyday. Faculty members are not required to participate in entrepreneurial ventures, but the support systems are in place to help them if they do.

We're working together to provide a clear pathway to success for the University, College and state. And, Iowa's residents will benefit not only through the creation of jobs, but also from new therapies and technology available in the marketplace and in patient care.

Robillard's signature

Jean Robillard, MD ('74 R pediatrics)

Dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine