- Joined
- Apr 6, 2014
- Messages
- 208
- Reaction Score
- 664
Perhaps the largest collaborative research push by the Big Ten to date is the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. The CIC is helping organize this cancer research effort through its headquarters in Indianapolis. Indiana University is closely involved in helping aide the this project's administrative staff, given the university's forte of organizing large clinical trials across multiple hospital networks. *If you're a UConn fan, this about UConn, so keep reading.
NickyNewark: "I wonder what would have happened at RU w/o the B1G invite where CIC money will supposedly dwarf what comes from athletic's? Ive heard B1G afiliation helps academics MORE than the other way around? As Ive said im not a big follow the money guy...just curious..."
So, Nicky, as far as this project is concerned, how is the CIC/B1G affiliation helping Rutgers academically and monetarily? This relationship is helping Rutgers leverage its extensive network of hospitals and medical centers. Specifically, within the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, this means that each B1G university has exclusive access to one another's clinical trial research data (with the current exception of Maryland and Ohio State (a contractual issue)). The B1G universities in the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium have over 30,000 new cancer patients each year. They're using this valuable resource as serious leverage with pharmaceutical companies. The B1G tells drug manufacturers, "If you give us substantial discounts on pharmaceuticals in our hospitals and research facilities, we will test your experimental medications within our Phase I & Phase II clinical trials, and allow you limited access to the results." Rutgers junior researchers/clinicians have greater opportunity to conduct better research, because they have better access to more extensive data than before. Greater access helps create higher turnaround, which helps generate more research grants. Oh, and Nicky, who's leading the research consortium?
Another advantage of the CIC is the Traveling Scholar Program. If the home university sees benefit in allowing a doctoral student, or a post-doctoral researcher, to travel to another CIC institution to take a course/conduct research, then that student is fast-tracked into doing so. So if one CIC school offers a course, or perhaps a different program within the same field, then it benefits that student academically by allowing the student to advance his/her career within the B1G system. Why is it important to keep them in the system? Because the B1G generates 15% of the PhDs within the U.S., and they want an ever increasing percentage of the total pie. More PhD's translates into more awards and more research dollars.
Now, for all you UConn fans out there, why did I highlight the aforementioned text? What's UConn's research spécialité going forward? C'mon, I know you all read Creating Our Future: UConn's Path to Excellence cover to cover! There it is on p. 24, in all its black-and-white splendor--Genetic, Genomics, and Personalized Medicine!!
"Genetics, genomics, and personalized medicine are some of the greatest emerging strengths at UConn and have the opportunity to achieve preeminence and international recognition. Much of this work has begun with existing faculty through the new partnership with The Jackson Laboratory and the formation of the Institute for Systems Genomics. Strategic recruitments will be focused in the three main thematic areas of genome biology and evolution, personalized medicine, and stem cell genomics, as well as in the three cross-cutting areas: genome data analysis, interpretation and visualization; ethical, legal and social implications; and genome technology. Investments in a bioinformatics core and building the methods and resources for collecting biological specimens from patients for sequencing and analysis will catapult UConn upward as a leader in the field of genomics."
So, I'm going to say it here and now. I'm giving you the name of the man who's leading UConn's charge into the B1G. But first some quick facts about UConn's champion:
I recently read an article about conference realignment ( can't remember the title) in which Jim Delany turns to his right-hand-man Ron Guenther (former AD at Illinois) and says,"Ron, go and find me more revenue for the conference." What better way to provide core mission-oriented, sustainable revenue to the B1G than by integrating a university into the B1G/CIC that has one of the few world-class Genomic Institutions in the entire world. United for Medical Research has valued genomic medicine as a trillion dollar industry. The Battelle Report explains just how valuable this industry potentially is. Speaking of potential, did you know that UConn's genomic medicine-based grant revenue could have a year-over-year increase by as much as 1500% by the end of 2014?
In the final analysis, how hard will Jim Delany have to sell UConn to Northwestern's President Mort Shapiro? When Mr. Shapiro consults with Dr. Steven Rosen and asks him whether UConn is an acceptable, shovel-ready addition to Dr. Rosen's baby, The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, what will Dr. Rosen say? When Indiana University President McRobbie asks Dr. Pat Loehrer from the Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly Hoosier Oncology Group) whether or not UConn's Genomics and Personalized Medicine program are going to contribute to the B1G's junior scientists doing more clinical trials sooner, what do you think the answer is going to be? The B1G Presidents are going to look at scientists like UConn's Marc Lelande, and they'll take a hard look at UConn's faculty, and they'll acknowledge, that yes, integrating UConn into the B1G will add exponential benefits to the B1G's research portfolio, as did acquiring the combined might of Rutgers' UMDMJ merger. They'll realize that having a world renowned Genomics Institute to which the CIC institutions will have the option of sending their respective PhD candidates through the Traveling Scholars Program will reap enormous benefits. Even UConn's own Dr. Edison Liu will have a self-satisfied look on his face when he remembers that the B1G will be building those OmniPop fiber optic cables all the way from Chicago to Storrs and Farmington so he'll have the luxury of sending all that Big Data to the Blue Waters Supercomputer without having to leave the comfort of his own office. And finally, once and for all, we'll all come to accept the true nature of the relationship between Rutgers and UConn.
NickyNewark: "I wonder what would have happened at RU w/o the B1G invite where CIC money will supposedly dwarf what comes from athletic's? Ive heard B1G afiliation helps academics MORE than the other way around? As Ive said im not a big follow the money guy...just curious..."
So, Nicky, as far as this project is concerned, how is the CIC/B1G affiliation helping Rutgers academically and monetarily? This relationship is helping Rutgers leverage its extensive network of hospitals and medical centers. Specifically, within the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, this means that each B1G university has exclusive access to one another's clinical trial research data (with the current exception of Maryland and Ohio State (a contractual issue)). The B1G universities in the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium have over 30,000 new cancer patients each year. They're using this valuable resource as serious leverage with pharmaceutical companies. The B1G tells drug manufacturers, "If you give us substantial discounts on pharmaceuticals in our hospitals and research facilities, we will test your experimental medications within our Phase I & Phase II clinical trials, and allow you limited access to the results." Rutgers junior researchers/clinicians have greater opportunity to conduct better research, because they have better access to more extensive data than before. Greater access helps create higher turnaround, which helps generate more research grants. Oh, and Nicky, who's leading the research consortium?
Another advantage of the CIC is the Traveling Scholar Program. If the home university sees benefit in allowing a doctoral student, or a post-doctoral researcher, to travel to another CIC institution to take a course/conduct research, then that student is fast-tracked into doing so. So if one CIC school offers a course, or perhaps a different program within the same field, then it benefits that student academically by allowing the student to advance his/her career within the B1G system. Why is it important to keep them in the system? Because the B1G generates 15% of the PhDs within the U.S., and they want an ever increasing percentage of the total pie. More PhD's translates into more awards and more research dollars.
Now, for all you UConn fans out there, why did I highlight the aforementioned text? What's UConn's research spécialité going forward? C'mon, I know you all read Creating Our Future: UConn's Path to Excellence cover to cover! There it is on p. 24, in all its black-and-white splendor--Genetic, Genomics, and Personalized Medicine!!
"Genetics, genomics, and personalized medicine are some of the greatest emerging strengths at UConn and have the opportunity to achieve preeminence and international recognition. Much of this work has begun with existing faculty through the new partnership with The Jackson Laboratory and the formation of the Institute for Systems Genomics. Strategic recruitments will be focused in the three main thematic areas of genome biology and evolution, personalized medicine, and stem cell genomics, as well as in the three cross-cutting areas: genome data analysis, interpretation and visualization; ethical, legal and social implications; and genome technology. Investments in a bioinformatics core and building the methods and resources for collecting biological specimens from patients for sequencing and analysis will catapult UConn upward as a leader in the field of genomics."
So, I'm going to say it here and now. I'm giving you the name of the man who's leading UConn's charge into the B1G. But first some quick facts about UConn's champion:
- He led the "Genome Institute of Singapore, building it in less than 10 years from a staff of three into a major research institute of 27 laboratory groups and a staff of 270" (*which, btw is/was the largest stem cell research facility on the face of the earth.)
- He's currently an Adjunct Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- He's currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins
- He's currently a Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore
- He's currently a Professor of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the National University of Singapore
- He's currently an Adjunct Professor of the Nanyang Technology University in Singapore
- He's Currently the Executive Director of the Genome Institute of Singapore
- He's currently the CEO of Jackson Laboratory
- He led The Jackson Laboratory's involvement in becoming a founding member of the New York Genome Center
- He played a crucial role in founding the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine at the *UConn Health Center Campus at Farmington. (*for budgetary, and ultimately AAU purposes, the UConn Health Center at Farmington and the Storrs main campus are one-in-the-same).
- He was charged with staffing UConn's genomic research push
- He was tasked with developing UConn's interdisciplinary genomic research curricula and developing joint research and teaching assignments
- He helped develop a nomenclature nexus between supercomputing applications and genomic medicine
I recently read an article about conference realignment ( can't remember the title) in which Jim Delany turns to his right-hand-man Ron Guenther (former AD at Illinois) and says,"Ron, go and find me more revenue for the conference." What better way to provide core mission-oriented, sustainable revenue to the B1G than by integrating a university into the B1G/CIC that has one of the few world-class Genomic Institutions in the entire world. United for Medical Research has valued genomic medicine as a trillion dollar industry. The Battelle Report explains just how valuable this industry potentially is. Speaking of potential, did you know that UConn's genomic medicine-based grant revenue could have a year-over-year increase by as much as 1500% by the end of 2014?
In the final analysis, how hard will Jim Delany have to sell UConn to Northwestern's President Mort Shapiro? When Mr. Shapiro consults with Dr. Steven Rosen and asks him whether UConn is an acceptable, shovel-ready addition to Dr. Rosen's baby, The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, what will Dr. Rosen say? When Indiana University President McRobbie asks Dr. Pat Loehrer from the Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly Hoosier Oncology Group) whether or not UConn's Genomics and Personalized Medicine program are going to contribute to the B1G's junior scientists doing more clinical trials sooner, what do you think the answer is going to be? The B1G Presidents are going to look at scientists like UConn's Marc Lelande, and they'll take a hard look at UConn's faculty, and they'll acknowledge, that yes, integrating UConn into the B1G will add exponential benefits to the B1G's research portfolio, as did acquiring the combined might of Rutgers' UMDMJ merger. They'll realize that having a world renowned Genomics Institute to which the CIC institutions will have the option of sending their respective PhD candidates through the Traveling Scholars Program will reap enormous benefits. Even UConn's own Dr. Edison Liu will have a self-satisfied look on his face when he remembers that the B1G will be building those OmniPop fiber optic cables all the way from Chicago to Storrs and Farmington so he'll have the luxury of sending all that Big Data to the Blue Waters Supercomputer without having to leave the comfort of his own office. And finally, once and for all, we'll all come to accept the true nature of the relationship between Rutgers and UConn.
Last edited:
