» Clinical and Translational Science retreat will focus on collaboration
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Clinical and Translational Science retreat will focus on collaborationfoulkes_spot
Researchers from all five campuses will gather to strengthen connections

 

By Jim Fessenden
UMass Medical School Communications		May 12, 2011 

Andrea_Foulkas
Andrea Foulkes, ScD, associate professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at UMass Amherst, will be the keynote speaker at the Clinical & Translational Science Research Retreat. 

When talking about scientific breakthroughs, many of us conjure up images of the lone researcher toiling diligently at experiment after experiment in the lab, chasing answers to a single hypothesis and seeking a “eureka” moment. The reality, however, is quite different than that clichéd image. Clinical researchers and basic scientists continually work in collaboration to answer important medical questions. They rely on each other to spark new ideas and move exciting new research forward. UMMS, in particular, is known for fostering a collaborative environment among its faculty.

In light of the important role that collaborative efforts play at UMMS, the focus of the 2nd Annual Clinical & Translational Science Research Retreat, “Creating Science Collaborations across the Commonwealth: Translating the Life Science Moment,” will be on creating connections among researchers and physicians at UMass Medical School and also with faculty at the four other UMass campuses: Amherst, Lowell, Boston and Dartmouth. The retreat will be held on Friday, May 20, at the Hoagland Pincus Conference Center.

The conference is part of the five-campus clinical and translational science movement across the University. In July 2010, UMass Medical School received a five-year, $20-million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the recently established University of Massachusetts Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS), which serves as the home for clinical and translational science and research across all five UMass campuses. With this award, UMass Medical School joins the national consortium of institutions charged by the NIH with accelerating the process of turning laboratory discoveries into health benefits for individuals and populations, and enhancing the training of a new generation of researchers. The 2nd Annual Clinical and Translational Science Research Retreat highlights the ongoing work being done at UMass Medical School, clinical partner UMass Memorial Health Care and other participating institutions to fulfill the mission of the UMCCTS.

Andrea Foulkes, ScD, associate professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at UMass Amherst, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Foulkes earned her doctorate in biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2000, and works to develop analytic methods for characterizing the relationships among high-dimensional molecular and cellular data and measures of disease progression. She recently received a five-year, $2 million grant from the NIH to develop mathematical and statistical tools to improve prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS by organizing genetic, immunologic and demographic data to examine how best to predict clinical outcomes, such as heart disease.

Other presenters include Arlene Ash, PhD, professor of quantitative health sciences, on the barriers along the translational spectrum for new medications; Stephenie C. Lemon, PhD, associate professor of medicine, on the translational challenges of obesity; and Douglas T. Golenbock, MD, professor of medicine and microbiology & physiological systems, and Ann Moormann, PhD, MPH, associate professor of pediatrics and quantitative health sciences, on translational research on malaria.


For additional information and to register for the conference, visit: http://www.umassmed.edu/calendar.aspx?id=120438