The Heart of Health

The

Heart Health of

S H O W C A S I N G O H I O U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S L E A D E R S H I P I N H E A LT H E D U C A T I O N

THE HEART OF HEALTH, HERE AT OHIO Of the nearly 30,000 students studying at Ohio University campuses in Ohio or through OHIO Online, about one-third of them are preparing for a career in health care. More than 4,300 are enrolled in graduate or undergraduate nursing programs. Just under 1,000 are medical school students in OHIO’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Still more are studying fields like physical therapy, athletic training, environmental health, music therapy, health communications, health care administration … and the list goes on.

That all adds up to make OHIO the largest producer of health care professionals for the state of Ohio.

What’s perhaps a bit odd about that—or at least different—is that OHIO does not operate an affiliated teaching hospital like many universities preparing students for health careers. Instead, OHIO maintains active partnerships with several well-known hospitals, including OhioHealth, Cleveland Clinic, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Kettering Health and many more. We also work closely with nonprofits, research institutes and community entities, leveraging the work of students and faculty to help solve health challenges in communities across the state, especially in the Appalachian region that is home to OHIO’s residential campus in Athens.

This approach isn’t one of circumstance but rather of purpose. It means our focus is simply different. What’s important to us is how our work improves lives in a way that lasts for generations, and we recognize that demands we operate as a convener and not a competitor. We aren’t just treating patients (although we do that too) but looking for big, collaborative solutions that make our communities healthier together.

We hear from our students that they choose OHIO because they want to be a part of something big. They know that life-changing solutions demand a continuum of care that takes many partners.

We know we can’t deliver those solutions alone, but we can serve at the center, driving collaboration and communication to improve care from the heart.

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

TOP 5

for number of students graduating in health professions +

NO. 1

producer of primary care doctors in Ohio +

NO. 1

nursing school in Ohio +

TOP 50

ranking among the nation’s medical schools for primary care

photo by ben wirtz siegel

TABLE OF CONTENTS EDUCATION & TRAINING

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

05 Rising to the Top How the University became a key provider of health care professionals in Ohio

15 Leading the Fight Against Disease How faculty and alumni are changing the field of health care

06 Innovation with Impact Creatively responding to state and community needs

20 Blockbuster Discoveries Continue

Human growth hormone research and its implications for diabetes and cancer treatment

08 Meeting the Needs of Rural Health Bobcats returning post-graduation to serve their communities

24 OMNI’s Injury & Pain Research Center

Leading national research on the neurological impact of knee injuries

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

OUTREACH & SERVICE

IMPACT & ENTERPRISE

27 Wellness for All Addressing unmet community health care needs with free and low-cost programs

39 Translating Discovery into Application Research leads to patents and commercial ventures

34 Working Toward Health Equity Preventing substance use disorder and promoting mental health

44 The Business of Health Care Alumni who have gone on to launch companies that touch millions

36 OHIO’s Diabetes Institute Offering free care to those in need

PLANNING & FUTURE 48 The Future of Health at OHIO Continued focus on and investment in training health care leaders

photos by ben wirtz siegel

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EDUCATION & TRAINING OHIO is preparing students to be doctors, nurses, physical therapists, physician assistants and much more through its rigorous, highly rated educational programs and hands-on learning experiences.

The University is meeting workforce needs across the state, thanks to robust programming at the residential campus in Athens, nursing programs on each of its five regional campuses, its three-campus medical school (operating in Dublin, Cleveland and Athens), and fully online programs for working professionals.

The University is among the top five schools in the nation for conferring health-related bachelor’s degrees, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education; Niche ranks it as the best nursing school in Ohio.

Additionally, U.S. News & World Report places OHIO in the top 25 universities in the country for most graduates practicing in primary care fields and in the top 50 medical schools for primary care. Data from the U.S. Department of Education and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System shows that Ohio University is training more Ohioans for health careers than any other university.

photo by rich-joseph facun

OHIO UNIVERSIT Y | The Heart of Health

RISING TO THE TOP How Ohio University became the state’s most important provider of health care professionals In October 2022, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article highlighting universities that had produced the largest number of graduates in various high-demand fields. The largest of all the categories—the one with the number of graduates being measured in the thousands rather than hundreds—was health professions and related programs. And showing up on the list of the Top 5 largest educators of health professionals in the country was Ohio University.

It comes as a surprise to stakeholders, even in the state of Ohio, that Ohio University is such a national powerhouse in training health professionals. What’s driving the leadership and sheer size of OHIO’s health programs? It boils down to a few factors: Ohio University was one of the first universities in the country to respond to the industry’s shifting expectation for nurses to go beyond the associate’s degree to earn their bachelor’s in nursing. OHIO was early to market in launching a fully online Bachelor of Science in Nursing for working nurses. The program grew tremendously in a few short years and remains one of the largest programs of its kind in the country, particularly among public universities.

To support the state of Ohio’s need for more primary care physicians,

EDUCATION & TRAINING

OHIO’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine established two additional campuses in Dublin and Cleveland, welcoming their first students in 2014 and 2015, respectively. This expansion, which happened in partnership with OhioHealth and Cleveland Clinic, allowed Ohio University to accept and enroll more medical students, eventually making it the largest educator of physicians in the state among public universities.

Thanks to strong partnerships with hospitals and health care providers across the state, OHIO has been able to identify specific workforce needs and build programs responsive to those needs.

That includes a physician assistant program based out of Dublin focused on training rural care providers, a fully online Doctor of Nursing Practice program and many more.

All this has resulted in national leadership in health care education, but University leaders say the goal wasn’t national prominence; it was meeting our state’s workforce needs and delivering a broad impact on communities across the state and region.

“By expanding opportunities for health care training, Ohio University has expanded its reach exponentially, which ultimately translates to better care for our communities,” said OHIO’s Chief Medical Affairs Officer and Heritage College Executive Dean Ken Johnson, D.O. “Together, we are preparing graduates across the health care spectrum to address the most pervasive medical needs of Ohioans.”—Robin Oliver

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Innovation with Impact OHIO CONTINUES TO RESPOND TO STATE & COMMUNITY NEEDS When Lydia Richardson, BS ’19, MPAP ’21, was weighing her university options for pursuing her master’s in physician assistant practice, she was looking for something different.

“I had acceptances to several programs, … but I had the goal of coming back (to Southeast Ohio) to work in a rural area,” Richardson said. “Some of the campuses were pushing rotations in urban settings at hospitals in larger cities. That’s not what I was looking for. … I personally saw some of the struggles people have in rural areas in terms of access to care, and I wanted to play a role in addressing that.”

Ohio University’s physician assistant program, which is based out of OHIO’s Dublin extension campus and was launched in

2015, was the perfect fit. Richardson said she was impressed by the facilities at the Dublin location and felt a connection to the faculty, but more importantly, the program is specifically designed to train physician assistants for service in underserved communities.

Dr. John McCarthy, dean of Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions, said the PA program maintains statewide clinical partnerships that allow students to train in various clinical settings, but the program’s emphasis is on primary care in underserved rural and urban communities.

He said the focus helps them connect students who want to serve in these areas with communities that have the highest need, primarily in the state of Ohio.

OHIO Alumna Lydia Richardson wanted to pursue a career in rural areas to improve access to care, which was a major factor in her decision to pursue her master’s in physician assistant practice at OHIO. photo by ben wirtz siegel

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

OHIO’s physician assistant program maintains clinical partnerships that provide students with hands-on training opportunities and was recently ranked No. 1 in the state of Ohio by nursingprocess.org. photo by ben wirtz siegel

As OHIO continues to launch new health care programs and degrees, innovation follows this model­—always responding to a need identified through the University’s vast network of health care partners.

with Cleveland Clinic to launch a Master of Science in cardiovascular perfusion to meet the need for caregivers who could help people recovering from heart attacks or managing significant heart disease.

Another great example is the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Transformative Care Continuum (TCC), in partnership with Cleveland Clinic. Launched in 2018, the TCC is an accelerated pathway that takes students seamlessly from medical school to residency and beyond with a focus on developing family medicine doctors who will serve high-need communities in northeast Ohio. Students finish medical school and residency in six years rather than the traditional seven. In the third year of the program, students complete research or programmatic projects designed in partnership with community organizations and aimed at addressing local health challenges.

In addition, OHIO recently expanded its Bachelor of Science in nursing to the University’s Lancaster and Eastern campuses, now offering the degree at all five regional campuses to meet the high need for nurses in those communities.

The University recently launched an athletic training residency specializing in pediatric sports medicine in partnership with OhioHealth to help meet the need for certified trainers who can work with K-12 athletes. And the University partnered

Richardson, who now assists with OBGYN surgery at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital in Athens and sees patients at its OhioHealth Castrop Health Center, said she’s thankful her alma mater is working to meet health care training needs in the state, particularly in underserved communities.

“I feel like I can connect to patients here and understand their needs, because I am from here and had the opportunity to train here,” Richardson said. “Things like being able to find transportation or literacy can be significant barriers that are different in a rural community. … I have been able to identify those issues in patients and hopefully improve their health because of that.”—Robin Oliver

EDUCATION & TRAINING

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Dr. Jennifer Gwilyn returned to rural Ohio and sought out extra training to better serve the community where she was raised. PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Bobcats Meeting the Needs of Rural Health While not all OHIO graduates are from rural areas, there are many who feel a calling to help the communities they were born and raised in.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, rural populations face health inequities—a complex mix of economic, social, racial, ethnic, geographic and health workforce factors—that limit access to care, often leading to poorer outcomes. OHIO is ready to meet that challenge with graduates who are committed to providing care in underserved communities across the state.

Advocating for Access “I think people in rural areas, a lot of times, are less likely to seek health care, even for emergencies, for a multitude of reasons—whether that is cost, access, quality or simply being afraid—and I also think some people just don’t want to be viewed as weak,” Dr. Jennifer Gwilym said. “Health care is out of reach for many individuals, and that is why we see so much illness, especially in Appalachia.”

Gwilym, BS ’99, DO ’03, grew up in Glouster, a village with less than 2,000 residents in Athens County. She became a teacher’s assistant while studying biology in her undergraduate years, and her love for mentoring others bloomed.

While she lived and worked in Columbus and Cuyahoga Falls for a few years, she found herself drawn back to the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine to lead future Bobcat doctors and to use her experience to serve the rural community where she grew up.

In Heritage College, Gwilym serves as an assistant clinical professor, assistant dean of southeastern and central Ohio, and department chair of primary care. She also donates her time to several state and national committees, and her dedication to patient advocacy has driven her to help patients by buying groceries, paying bills and even providing a ride to the emergency room.

Despite her commitments with the college and national boards, Gwilym completed extra training and practices dermatology two days a week at Oakview Dermatology’s Athens office, often seeing as many as 40 patients a day. The move from family care to skin care came from a desire to help with access issues in the county.

“We don’t have enough dermatologists [in the area]. It’s very difficult to recruit people to work in rural Ohio, so some patients were going months at a time without skin exams or care,” Gwilym said. “The skin is the biggest organ in the body, yet people aren’t taking care of it. Skin screening tools can help us identify rashes and skin issues related to diabetes, liver failure, autoimmune diseases, lymphomas and other skin cancers.”

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EDUCATION & TRAINING 09

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Hometown Health Kayla Toth, BSN ’17, began working at Genesis Hospital in 2015 as a technician while she studied for her Bachelor of Nursing degree at OHIO Zanesville.

“I think it’s important to work in rural areas because if you’re from that area, you understand and have a greater passion for the people in your area. You may pick up on the community deficits better than someone who isn’t from around here,” Toth said. “After I started working here, I loved the organization and enjoyed being able to take care of people in my community.”

Born in Zanesville and now living in nearby Nashport, Toth initially had dreams of becoming a traveling nurse. However, after starting at Genesis in Zanesville, Toth felt a calling to help her community.

To that end, she has received numerous trainings—including openheart surgery care, which was a special goal of hers. In high school, Toth’s father needed emergency heart surgery while on vacation.

Witnessing the excellent care her father received gave her that push toward working in a patient-centered field.

“Now I can provide the care I saw my dad get, and it’s personal to me,” Toth said. “It’s rewarding to be able to help open-heart patients recover and be that nurse that took care of my dad.”

Toth noted that working in a rural hospital gives her and her fellow nurses a broader experience range, from trauma to heart failure and more, instead of focusing on a specific area that an urban hospital may assign. She also proudly works with many fellow Bobcat nurses.

Nurse Kayla Toth felt a calling to help her community based on past experience and the need she saw.

PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

“I feel that the nurses here are very well-educated and well-rounded in the care they provide,” Toth said. “I also orient new employees here, and across the board, the OHIO Zanesville students are the most wellrounded in the education they receive. They are more confident and competent in the skills they bring and are very quick to jump on tasks.”

EDUCATION & TRAINING

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Supporting Underrepresented Children Dr. Destiny Jamison, had no plans for the future while growing up in inner-city Akron. Then, her niece was born. Wanting to be a role model, Jamison was the first in her family to graduate from high school, college and medical school.

“Helping raise my niece is my greatest achievement in life. She’s a good person,” said Jamison, DO ’15. “My niece being born really changed my outlook, because I had somebody looking up to me. ... It wasn’t until then I knew I wanted to work with children.”

When Jamison performed well in science-related classes in college, she knew pediatric medicine was the career for her. However, the idea of applying to medical school—and paying for it—was daunting.

During a Heritage College visit to her college, Jamison learned about Summer Scholars, a five-week program designed to give an immersive, realistic medical school introduction to students who come from educationally or socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and/or who are from medically underserved communities. After completion, students have a chance to interview for direct admittance to Heritage College.

“The Summer Scholars program really made a difference in my life,” Jamison said. “Summer Scholars helps people become doctors who wouldn’t have had that chance otherwise.”

Now, Jamison is a pediatrician in Warren, Ohio, part of the Akron Children’s Hospital network. While she initially wanted to work in her hometown, Jamison now believes she is where she belongs. Access is an issue in Warren, where Jamison sees a mix of rural and urban patients; many specialists are 30 to 50 minutes away in the nearest cities and don’t travel to Warren often.

“It really challenges you as a doctor,” Jamison said. “I can’t just send out everyone to a specialist, because they won’t be seen for a long time. The need is too much. With every patient, I try to see what I can do for them.”

“I always knew I wanted to go to an underserved environment— because that was how I grew up—to take care of kids I could relate with and talk to. I always wanted to help and inspire the kids who are easily forgotten, especially minority populations and LGBTQ+ youth.”—Jalyn Bolyard

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Dr. Destiny Jamison seeks to provide health care access and inspire youth belonging to minority populations in an underserved area.

PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

EDUCATION & TRAINING

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RESEARCH & INNOVATION

Ohio University’s efforts to expand the frontiers of knowledge are deeply intertwined with the opportunities it provides to students at all levels through their academic programs. The excellence found in the University’s research work ultimately leads to improved health and quality of life for vulnerable populations in Ohio, the U.S. and the world at large. As a Carnegie R1 University, OHIO is among the top research institutions in the nation.

Already, research conducted at OHIO has had wide-reaching impact and implications, from battling COVID to better understanding the neurological impact of knee injuries to unlocking the secrets and potential applications of a human growth hormone inhibitor and beyond.

And this research isn’t limited to the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine; OHIO faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences, Russ College of Engineering and Technology and others are engaging in research that furthers the advancement of health care in Ohio and beyond.

photo by ben wirtz siegel OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Leading the Fight Against Disease Fighting germs. Developing new drugs.

Pursuing the cause of Alzheimer’s, a cure for cancer, treatments for heart disease and diabetes. These are just a few of the pathways that OHIO faculty are pursuing across the research enterprise.

As an R1 comprehensive research university, OHIO earns millions in grants from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to continue advancing discoveries in the lab and develop applied technologies in patient care to make human life better.

Most big discoveries in health care are built upon years of basic research and hypothesis testing. That’s why you’ll find biologists, chemists, botanists and psychologists in the College of Arts & Sciences, biomedical faculty in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and biomolecular engineers in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology working side-by-side with doctoral and undergrad students in campus labs.

Student research work has led to discoveries aiding in the fight against COVID, diabetes, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and more. PHOTO BY RICHJOSEPH FACUN

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

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But today’s lab is a lot more than a bench covered with beakers and pipettes. It’s a Genomics Facility that can run next-generation sequencing and polymerase chain reaction analysis. It’s a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer identifying small quantities of chemical species in complex samples. It’s a scanning tunneling microscope for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. It’s a quantum design physical property measurement system to make electrical, magnetic and optical measurements on organic thin films and low-dimensional materials.

And those are just a few examples of OHIO’s high-tech, high-impact equipment, funded mostly by the National Science Foundation.

[THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE] Undergrad and doctoral students in a variety of programs work side-by-side with OHIO’s renowned faculty researchers in campus labs, studying everything from gene therapy to atomic imaging to quantum design measurement and beyond. PHOTOS BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

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Graduate student Emily Fairchild works in Dr. Jennifer Hine’s Lab. PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

Among OHIO’s renowned faculty researchers are John Kopchick, who invented a drug to regulate human growth hormone and now researches that hormone’s effect on obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and aging; Tad Malinski, twice nominated for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on heart disease; Jennifer Hines, whose students helped find COVID’s Achilles heel within months of the outbreak; Steve Bergmeier and Doug Goetz, who combine their chemistry and engineering expertise to create new drug treatments; Ronan Carroll, hard at work on a solution to antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Kelly McCall, doing groundbreaking research on a compound that could help protect against a plethora of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; and Chris France, studying the effect of pain-related fear on pain perception, behavior and psychosocial adjustment.

As these research-oriented faculty members train undergraduate and graduate students in their labs, their impact is magnified through the success of graduates working in research around the world. OHIO alumni are helping to drive drug discovery and develop new diagnostic tools and medical devices. They are working on the business side of medicine and health care. They are shaping public policy and elevating the conversation about mental health.

“Fueling discovery is an important part of our mission as an R1 research institution,” said Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. “As we look ahead at how we can and will impact new discoveries in health, we are investing in a worldclass Translational Research Facility that will elevate our work to develop immediately applicable solutions for patients and communities. Our ultimate goal is to be a top national leader in translational health research.”—Robin Oliver

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

OHIO’s Nobel Laureate Alumnus Venkatraman “Venki” Ramakrishnan, MS ’74, PHD ’76, won a 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work showing the tiniest picture of life: the ribosome machine that uses genetic code to build the proteins that are the building blocks of life. Together with Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath, Ramakrishnan determined the atomic structure of the ribosome, providing insight into how it functions—including how antibiotics bind to bacterial ribosomes.

served as president of the Royal Society of London from 2015 to 2020; and was awarded an Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth III in 2022, among many other accolades. But don’t think the renowned scientist is resting on his laurels.

“It’s nice to get recognition, but we should always keep in mind that such recognition is not the goal,” he says, adding that the accolades are “merely a byproduct of the actual work.”

Today, Ramakrishnan continues his research into how ribosomes work, specifically in higher organisms. His Nobelwinning work has served as a starting point for continued research with more advanced tools and technologies, such as electron microscopy. He has also authored a book, “Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome,” offering a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics and collaboration involved with scientific research.—Emma Henterly

Ribosomes, which Ramakrishnan calls a “molecular machine,” are components of living cells; they’re the structures that read genetic code, using it to create proteins that serve a wide variety of purposes in an organism.

That work not only helps solve the riddle of how life begins; it also set the stage for pharmaceutical companies to build better antibiotics and new drugs— right up to the RNA vaccines that helped tamp down the COVID pandemic.

After earning his master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics at Ohio University, Ramakrishnan changed gears and went on to study biology at the University of California, San Diego. His training as a physicist served as a foundation to pursue novel techniques as a biologist, ultimately leading to his Nobel-winning discovery. In recognition of his professional achievements, OHIO awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2019.

In addition to a Guggenheim Fellowship in the early 1990s, Ramakrishnan, who lives in England, received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, in 2010; was knighted by the British government in 2011;

Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Venkatraman “Venki” Ramakrishnan. PHOTO BY MAX ALEXANDER

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

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J O H N KO P C H I C K’S

BLOCKBUSTER DISCOVERIES CONTINUE

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

First a new drug for humans, now a cancer- and diabetes-resistant lab mouse that holds the world record for the oldest mouse A researcher studies the effect of growth hormone antagonists on lab mice, led by Heritage College’s John Kopchick. PHOTO

BY RICH-JOSEPH FACUN

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

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John Kopchick, Ph.D., hasn’t discovered the fountain of youth, but he has discovered a key hormone inhibitor—one of the blockbusters of the pharmaceutical industry—that affects aging, diabetes and cancer.

Kopchick came to Athens in 1987, lured from a position with pharmaceutical giant Merck by an offer to become one of Ohio’s first eminent scholars—an endowed professorship funded by the state and OHIO alumni Milton Goll, AB ’35, and Lawrence Goll, BBA ’66—and an opportunity to work at the Edison Biotechnology Institute.

The institute had one of the few labs in the world capable of producing transgenic animals, whereby cloned genes are transferred from the laboratory to mice through DNA microinjections. It was a revolutionary breakthrough in biomedical research discovered by an OHIO research group

led by Professor Thomas Wagner, who in 1981 made global headlines after successfully producing the world’s first transgenic mouse and patenting the technology behind it.

Using transgenic mice, Kopchick began experimenting with growth hormone, a protein that captured his attention because of its ability to dissolve fat while increasing muscle and bone mass, but that also is associated with an elevated risk of diabetes and cancer.

“We started out saying, let’s see if we could change the growth hormone molecule in specific places and retain the good things—the ability to make bones grow, decrease fat, build muscle—and do away with any of the bad actions,” said Kopchick, now a distinguished professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences.

John Kopchick works with graduate students to study the effects of the growth hormone antagonist he discovered. PHOTOS BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

“WE STARTED OUT SAYING, LET’S SEE IF WE COULD CHANGE THE GROWTH HORMONE MOLECULE IN SPECIFIC PLACES AND RETAIN THE GOOD THINGS— THE ABILITY TO MAKE BONES GROW, DECREASE FAT, BUILD MUSCLE—AND DO AWAY WITH ANY OF THE BAD ACTIONS.” —Dr. John Kopchick, distinguished professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences and Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar

Kopchick and the graduate students in his lab began altering each of the protein’s 191 amino acids. The team screened the effects of each alteration by injecting the modified genes into mice, hoping to get a larger mouse resistant to diabetes and cancer. One change made by student Wen Chen, MS ’87, PHD ’91, brought the unexpected: a dwarf or “mini-mouse.”

“I didn’t believe it, so I had the student go back and repeat the whole thing,” Kopchick said. “Sure enough, he was getting these small animals. One amino acid change out of 191 made it a growth hormone receptor antagonist.”

Kopchick knew they had stumbled onto something big—a growth hormone inhibitor. Some of the blockbusters of the pharmaceutical industry are inhibitors. Thus, working with OHIO’s Technology Transfer Office, they applied for and received several patents on the discovery.

This discovery was the first-ever large molecule antagonist, which, in its early stages of development, caused some apprehension among those in the pharmaceutical and scientific communities. But serendipity led Kopchick to Rick Hawkins, an OHIO alumnus and changemaker in the field of drug development.

This dynamic duo would spend the next decade turning Kopchick’s discovery into pegvisomant, known by its brand name Somavert®, a drug used worldwide to treat a rare and life-shortening disease called acromegaly.

During this time period, another portion of Kopchick’s lab was working on attempts to remove growth hormone action in mice. If successful, those mice would be resistant to cancer and diabetes.

Graduate student Yihua Zhou took on the project and generated this mouse. And sure enough, it was resistant to cancer and diabetes and had an unexpectedly long life, as well. That mouse now holds the record as the longest-lived laboratory mouse, surviving to just one week shy of five years—double the lifespan of the lab’s control mice.

“Interestingly, humans with the same gene alteration as found in these mice have no cancer,” Kopchick noted.

Kopchick has sent the mice all over the world to research collaborators who study aging, longevity and life span. He and his students continue to publish papers dealing with these mice—showing that stopping the activity of growth hormone in different cells of the body can improve health and increase lifespan.—Lori Bauer

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

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OMNI’s Injury & Pain Research Center LEADING NATIONAL RESEARCH ON THE NEUROLOGICAL IMPACT OF KNEE INJURIES

[THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE] Ohio University faculty work with knee injury patients in the OMNI Injury and Pain Research Center.

PHOTOS BY RICH-JOSEPH FACUN

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Though an injured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) may appear common and relatively clear-cut, the cascading health effects of an ACL injury are estimated to cost the United States health care system $13 billion a year.

For this reason, the federal government has awarded more than $4 million over the past four years to researchers Dustin Grooms, Ph.D.; Janet Simon, MSRSS ’10; and Brian Clark, Ph.D., from Ohio University’s Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI) to conduct research on therapies that holistically treat such injuries and thus prevent the long-term health effects that jeopardize one’s overall quality of life.

“While it is not a diagnosis like cancer with immediate mortality or morbidity risk, a severe ligament injury like that of the ACL can result in lifelong reduced quality of life and rapid osteoarthritis development,” said Grooms, a researcher at OMNI and OHIO professor of clinical neuroscience in physical therapy.

Treatment of ACL injuries has historically been limited to work on the ligament and joint in isolation. However, OMNI scientists in their Injury and Pain Research Center are taking a different approach by examining the neurological impacts of such injuries, which have been seldom researched and are not well understood by the medical community at large. Their work is rapidly changing the way ACL injuries are conceptualized and treated.

When someone sustains an injury, the brain takes note so that future movements can accommodate the injury and reduce further damage. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes perfect sense. For most of human history, if someone sustained a serious injury to a ligament, it is likely that the injury would result in a lifetime handicap, but the nervous system would still try to keep the body functional. With modern medicine, it is now possible to undergo a full recovery and restore the joint.

But that evolutionary trait of the brain to log such injuries still exists and in turn acts as a serious inhibitor of recovery.

“We are trying to develop and restore neural activity for movement that remains disrupted with typical therapy,” Grooms said. “There are very few people looking at the nervous system in connection with these injuries, which may explain why therapy is not as effective as we would like.”

One major tool the OMNI team of scientists utilizes to target neurological impacts is virtual reality. Grooms’ research has shown how VR can essentially recondition the brain to overcome the trauma of an injury by exposing it to stimuli it couldn’t receive in the natural world. In theory, if virtual reality can correct the brain, it will drastically reduce the risk of reinjury.

The breadth of the research caught the eye of the federal government, which is funding four major projects through three grants from the National Institutes of Health and one from the Department of Defense.

Degeneration of the knee after an ACL injury is associated with lifelong pain, the development of osteoarthritis and physical activity limitations, directly aligning with NIH initiatives to reduce injury and physical inactivity in youth and adults, which are the fourth-leading cause of global mortality.

“The National Institutes of Health awarded us these highly competitive grants because these injuries contribute to the overall cost of health care and can preserve quality of life if treated effectively,” Grooms said.

This research has also received funding from the U.S. military, where injuries to the ACL are common among service members and can have detrimental effects on military operations. OMNI’s research is promising because unlike other therapies—which are often specialized and expensive—this will be incredibly accessible to service members, with patients being able to access VR modules on their smartphones. In turn, the treatment requires minimal time and resources, allowing for rapid translation from the research to the clinical practice.

—Jim Sabin

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OUTREACH & SERVICE

Ohio University’s focus isn’t simply on delivering degrees, but on improving health in communities across the region and state. Students and faculty work together across disciplines and departments, partnering with hundreds of agencies, nonprofits and government entities to understand and solve the complex challenges that impact health in local communities.

Heritage College students get hands-on learning experience while providing much-needed, quality, low- or no-cost health care services to children and adults in Southeast Ohio through its Community Health Programs. And the College of Health Sciences and Professions’ OHIO Alliance for Population Health combines the resources and expertise of administrators, practitioners, researchers and policy experts from the University and more than 40 affiliated universities, hospital associations and health care providers across the state to solve the region’s most complex and pressing health concerns.

photo by ben wirtz siegel

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

WELLNESS FOR ALL Ohio University’s extensive health care degree programs deliver a tangible impact on communities across the state, with a particular focus on serving Ohio’s Appalachian region. From mobile health clinics for the underinsured, to providing music therapy for the elderly, to training community health advocates, Ohio University’s students and faculty are working to improve care and reduce health inequity across the region and state.

MOBILE HEALTH CLINICS | The Heritage

College’s Community Health Programs aim to address unmet health care needs through a free medical clinic for adults, free women’s health screenings, free immunizations to qualifying children and lowcost immunizations for adults, and other services in underserved communities. Each year, two 40-foot mobile clinics from the Heritage College’s Community Health Programs travel throughout 24 Ohio counties, providing these services at churches, community centers, worksites, schools and more. The mobile clinics have been providing thousands across southeast Ohio with free primary and preventative care since 1994. PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

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“Having this program to turn to for my female care eases my mind, as I am a breast cancer survivor with no health insurance.”

— Women’s Health Clinic patient

WOMEN’S HEALTH OUTREACH |

Through the Heritage Community Clinic in Athens and on the mobile health units that travel throughout southeastern Ohio, the Heritage College’s Women’s Health Clinics aim to decrease late breast cancer diagnosis rates by offering free health screenings, vouchers for mammograms to qualifying women and referrals as needed. A cornerstone of the Heritage Community Clinic’s regional outreach, the Women’s Health Clinics aided more than 200 women between July 2022 and June 2023.

PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

PERFORMING ARTS CLINIC | Right, at the

Clinic for Science and Health in Artistic Performance (SHAPe Clinic), injured performing artists at Ohio University can be evaluated, treated and receive health and wellness advice from licensed athletic trainers who have the specialized equipment and knowledge to care for them. The care is provided with no out-of-pocket costs to the patients, who include OHIO’s dance, music, theater performance, theater production, film and Marching 110 students.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ACADEMY |

Below, central Ohio high school juniors and seniors interested in a career in health care participate in the summer Medical Academy at Heritage College’s Dublin campus. There, they work alongside Heritage College students and explore professional health career opportunities. PHOTOS BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

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NO-COST CARE | Right, through the Osteopathic

Manipulative Medicine Clinic, uninsured and underinsured patients in Southeast Ohio receive treatment from volunteer OMM honors students and physicians from the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Students get hands-on learning opportunities to advance their skills and understanding of OMM as they provide treatment with a precepting physician. Patients, meanwhile, receive needed care at no cost to them. PHOTOS BY RICH-JOSEPH FACUN

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

COMBATING MEDICAL TRAUMA |

On the opposite page and above, students majoring in Child and Family Studies, a program of the College of Health Sciences and Professions (CHSP), can choose a Child Life concentration in their studies. CHSP’s Child Life program partners with the Athens City-County Health Department to help combat medical trauma and childhood disease by providing local families with evidence-based distraction techniques and play modalities for children, building a rapport while they wait for services. Bubbles, card games, art activities and more help children relax and lower their anxiety while providing the students with an opportunity to translate theory into practice.

“Many of these kids walk in dreading the experience; however, once they see all the bubbles, toys, costumes and smiling faces, they begin to feel more comfortable and reassured.”

— Hayleigh Larmore, Child Life graduate student

PHOTOS BY RICH-JOSEPH FACUN

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“It’s palpable, when you start working and talking with [students], how passionate they are about serving this population. And not just serving: accompanying them on this journey of recovery.”

— Kerri Shaw, AB ’96, MSW ’04, field director of OHIO’s undergraduate social work program and a community health worker training director

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

HEALTH CARE ADVOCACY |

Community health workers (CHWs)— sometimes called patient advocates or public health aides—are trusted community members who connect those in need of health services to health care resources and who advocate on their behalf. OHIO’s CHW program has trained and certified more than 250 such workers since 2017; it offers a hybrid learning environment, with in-person classes at the Zanesville, Eastern and Chillicothe campuses.

PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

MUSIC THERAPY | Above, care

and healing come in many forms—a lesson Sara Richardson, BMUS ’16, MM ’20, knows well. The music therapy major has volunteered time at local residential care facilities through OHIO’s Music Therapy program, which began in 1951 and is one of the oldest in the United States. PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

FREE SCREENINGS | Right,

the Heritage College’s Healthy Adult Program provides free routine screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and other health markers, catching more serious health problems early for hundreds of patients a year. PHOTO BY RICH-JOSEPH FACUN

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Working Toward Health Equity for All Ohioans PEOPLE ARE THE HEART OF PREVENTING SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER AND PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH.

In Ohio communities, people are working to help themselves meet health challenges – and others are working to help them meet those challenges. It’s a vibrant ecosystem that places emphasis on partnership, prevention science and equity to make positive change in systems and structures and, most importantly, the health outcomes of all Ohioans.

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Holly Raffle, a professor at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, serves as faculty director for the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion, a statewide partnership focused on building infrastructure and capacity to address mental, emotional and behavioral health.

The Center, launched in 2022 and funded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, brings together members of community-based organizations and prevention providers across the state of Ohio who are engaged in promoting mental health, resilience and well-being; preventing mental and substance use disorders; and creating environments that nurture healthy families and communities.

“The Center of Excellence and this collective work is so important, not only for the way the work has a direct, positive impact on people in Ohio, but because it demonstrates the true power of what can be achieved when so many people and organizations move together toward a common goal,” said Raffle, professor of leadership and public service who also leads the University’s Partnership for CommunityBased Prevention. “The Center’s tactical goal is to provide the resources that prevention specialists, local prevention providers and community-based coalitions need to support their communities. But the biggest goal, and the reason why we’re all doing this work, is to do our part to keep Ohio a safe and healthy place to live, learn, work, play and age.”

In its short existence, the Center of Excellence has demonstrated great impact. The Center established a web and social media presence to communicate information to stakeholders across Ohio and launched a monthly webinar series to provide professional development on a variety of prevention-related topics. With a goal of getting an evidence-based prevention message in every Ohio home, the Center of Excellence granted a total of $750,000 to 18 community-based coalitions to field media campaigns focused on preventing youth substance use, problem gambling and suicide, as well as promoting mental wellness.

Currently, there are 645 credentialed prevention specialists tasked with serving Ohio’s 11.7 million residents. As such, increasing the prevention workforce within a framework that promotes equity is an initial focus of the Center of Excellence. In partnership with the Mansfield Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program and PreventionFIRST!, the Center of Excellence invested $250,000 to implement a prevention specialist training program specifically for people who are Black, Native

American, Alaska Native, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and/or Hispanic/Latino. Additionally, the Center granted a total of $250,000 to eight community-based coalitions to host professional development opportunities in the communities they serve.

“While mental health and addiction prevention programs always have been engaged in work around the state, the Center of Excellence is, for the first time, providing a centralized, consistent and culturally relevant approach to advancing prevention services in the state of Ohio,” said Lori Criss, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. “This Center of Excellence will partner closely with county Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Boards, prevention providers, community coalitions, faith-based organizations and many others to expand best-in-class prevention resources, training and supports.”—Tosha Jupiter Learn more about the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion at preventioncoe.ohio.gov/home or connect with @ohiopreventioncoe on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

What is prevention science?

Prevention science is an interdisciplinary field of study that encompasses a broad range of research, including community health education, epidemiology, psychology and intervention science. Within prevention science, there are two key areas of focus:

1

Developing evidence-based programs, policies and practices that reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities.

2

Creating research-informed processes that support prevention specialists, prevention providers and community-based coalitions in selecting and implementing evidence-based programs, policies and practices that are culturally relevant and sustainable.

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OHIO’S DIABETES INSTITUTE Offering free care for those in need The Appalachian region might be known for healthy native foods such as pawpaws, ramps and morel mushrooms, but it’s now home to an endemic problem for people living on the margin of economic instability and healthy eating: diabetes.

“Among adults aged 45 to 64, about 1 in 5 of those living in distressed [Appalachian] counties had diabetes, compared to only 1 in 8 of those living in nonAppalachian counties,” according to a 2010 study reported by the Centers for Disease Control’s Appalachian Diabetes Control and Translation Project.

Ohio University has been collaboratively addressing this disease since 2012, when the Diabetes Institute was formed to provide a comprehensive approach that ranges from patient care and community health programs to training for health care professionals and a large research portfolio.

“We have an amazing story to tell in terms of our work training health professionals to serve all over the state and the region, especially in rural communities that need care for diabetes,” said OHIO President Lori Stewart Gonzalez.

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

The frontline impact of the Diabetes Institute starts with services and resources aimed at diabetes prevention and management delivered to southeastern Ohio communities through the Heritage Community Clinic, which provides free diabetes care—such as blood tests, foot exams, eye screenings and education—to qualifying low-income, uninsured and underinsured patients with diabetes aged 18 to 64 through a monthly Diabetes Clinic.

The Diabetes Institute also provides direct support through several community health programs, including: • Confidential peer support from the Diabetes Community Partners program.

• The Prevent T2 program, part of the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program, is led by a lifestyle coach who provides resources and education to make lifestyle changes that will help avoid a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

• “Diabetes & Me” self-management education classes, which cover topics such as healthy eating, exercise, medication management, blood glucose monitoring, preventing secondary complications and stress management.

• A bimonthly diabetes support group for those with diabetes or prediabetes.

• The Student Diabetes Navigator program, which helps Athens County schoolchildren address barriers to healthy eating and exercise.

• CAT Camp, a summer day camp for southeastern Ohio youth with Type 1 diabetes, designed to foster an inclusive environment where kids won’t feel singled out when they need to manage their blood sugar.

The Institute also employs a certified diabetes care and education specialist, who is also a registered dietitian and a certified insulin pump trainer. The specialist provides medical nutrition therapy to adults and children for a variety of conditions, including gestational diabetes, weight management, food allergies and more.

“We’re having a positive impact,” said Tracy Shaub, DO ’92, dean of the Heritage College’s Athens campus. “By partnering with others who also have boots on the ground, we’re able to leverage everyone’s knowledge and better direct our combined resources so we can have a bigger impact on the health of the folks in those communities.”

[THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE] Youth with Type 1 diabetes participate in CAT Camp, a summer day camp. PHOTOS BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

Diabetes care management also challenges practitioners across health professions. That’s why the College of Health Sciences and Professions makes an interdisciplinary Diabetes Certificate available to help both undergraduate and graduate students understand the multifaceted and complex condition of diabetes. To help working professionals keep up with the latest developments in diabetes research, OHIO faculty provide training and continuing education resources for diabetes educators in the region through the Diabetes Coalition.

Of course, the best community care and management services can’t make up for the fact that there currently is no cure for Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. That’s why the number of faculty researchers at the Diabetes Institute has continued to grow as the University has committed to remaining at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovative academic programs. (See story about internationally known diabetes researcher John Kopchick on page 18.) This research, paired with community outreach, patient care and caregiver education services, work together to fulfill the Institute’s mission to improve quality of life for those affected by diabetes in the region. —Lori Bauer

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IMPACT & ENTERPRISE The education, research and outreach conducted at OHIO all lead to innovations with the power to transform health care as we know it. Researchers across the University are going beyond the theoretical to develop applicable medications and health care devices that transition to use in the health care field. These advances translate into patents and sometimes into spinoff commercial endeavors.

In addition, OHIO alumni with degrees in everything from communications to political science to business administration and marketing are developing tools, techniques and businesses that are transforming the landscape of health care.

PHOTO BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

Translating Discovery into Application RESEARCH LEADS TO PATENTS & COMMERCIAL VENTURES Right now, in offices, labs and classrooms across Ohio University, researchers, scientists, students and entrepreneurs are discovering ways to help people be healthier.

Questions become ideas that become solutions and market innovations that improve lives, every day.

This collective work toward health results in medical breakthroughs and business ventures that support a bigger health system, while also making health care better, easier and more understandable for patients and those who love them.

OHIO innovation looks like a 3D polymer invention that helps someone avoid cosmetic reconstruction after breast cancer.

OHIO innovation looks like a device that can diagnose osteoporosis without pain or radiation.

OHIO innovation looks like the future of health care.

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Initial research by OHIO professors helped a University startup develop a new diagnostic tool for assessing the risk of osteoporosis. PHOTOS BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

NO BONES ABOUT IT: OSTEODX IS BOBCAT STRONG

Osteoporosis, the age-related deterioration of bone, is called “the silent killer.”

It has no symptoms. Fifty percent of women and 25% of men over 50 will break a bone. Sadly, 1 in 4 who break a hip die within a year. There are medicines that can help, but they have side effects. Doctors struggle to know how to treat it, and patients often aren’t sure if they should be treated or whether the treatment is working.

The most common bone health test uses X-rays to assess bone density. Unfortunately, bone density does not reflect bone strength, which is what determines whether a bone breaks. Fortunately, Ohio University MedTech startup OsteoDx Inc. is working to solve this problem. They are developing a new device that estimates bone strength, painlessly and without radiation.

The company uses vibration to estimate bone strength, based on the initial research of retired professors of biological sciences Anne Loucks, Ph.D., and Lyn Bowman, ENG, in collaboration with Brian Clark, Ph.D., the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation’s Harold E. Clybourne, D.O., Endowed Research Chair. The inventors and founders were all part of the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute’s Center for Healthy Aging. The technology is similar to how engineers monitor the soundness of structures, like bridges.

“There is an urgent need to better identify people who are at risk for fractures,” Clark said. “Fractures cause disability and can kill. The current way of assessing skeletal health has notable limitations, and we hope that OsteoDx’s device can help improve the diagnosis of osteoporosis.”

Clark said a major part of the company’s recent progress is attributed to Andrew Dick, OsteoDx’s director of

engineering, and its partnership with TechGROWTH Ohio, a program within OHIO’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. Dick is an OHIO-trained mechanical engineer who joined OsteoDx in 2018.

“Andy is an engineer’s engineer. He is the ultimate utility player that can jump in almost anywhere. His expertise, coupled with TechGROWTH’s leadership, have really catalyzed our progress,” Clark said. Clark and Dick are currently leading a $2 million, multi-center study funded by the National Institutes of Health that will determine the clinical utility of OsteoDx’s technology. Additional grants in 2023 will support the work needed for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

TechGROWTH has provided intensive assistance, expertise and networks helping OsteoDx, which currently resides at the Ohio University Innovation Center, secure more resources, develop strategic partnerships, assess markets and execute development and commercialization plans.

TechGROWTH is the company’s first institutional investor, facilitating leverage of non-dilutive capital to rapidly reach developmental milestones critical to advancement.

TechGROWTH has enabled the CEO of OsteoDx, Ron Lachey, to forge a path forward.

“TechGROWTH provides the know-how that allows startups to focus on their innovation,” Lachey, also an executive-inresidence for TechGROWTH Ohio, said. “We help address the gaps in a business with a team of entrepreneurial and industry experts to support all aspects of an enterprise. It’s a good, collaborative relationship, and we’re proud to be a part of a company that’s making a meaningful impact on people’s lives.” —Jim Sabin

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TRANSFORMING BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS INTO BREAST CANCER THRIVERS Breast cancer leaves scars for survivors, both physical and psychological. For the 1 in 8 women in the United States diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, the surgical treatment and limited reconstruction options can result in lifelong challenges.

“Breast cancer is a brutal disease, because it can have such a profound impact on a patient’s appearance, and subsequently, their self-image,” said Andrew Weems, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering in OHIO’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology and the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute. Weems, together with oncoplastic surgeon Elizabeth Lawson, M.D., co-founded Resilient Medical Corp. to address this critical problem.

Through Resilient, Weems and Lawson created a novel medical solution that can change the way we care for breast cancer patients.

“I wondered, ‘Could we use 3D printing to help circumvent the physically debilitating aspects of this disease?’” Weems said. “While helping with adjuvant therapy delivery and reducing the risk of secondary cancers, could you also develop something that would allow you to mitigate the cosmetic impacts and eliminate the need for reconstruction?”

In answer to these questions, they created an implantable, 3D-printed polymeric device to fill the void left from breast tumor removal, which will allow for improved healing and wound resolution. It can initially be seen under X-ray, improving precision for post-surgical radiation and related therapies. Over time the device is naturally absorbed, leaving behind healthy, native tissue. What makes this device so innovative and potentially life-changing is that it addresses the physical aspects of breast cancer surgery in a new way.

“If you could prevent the cosmetic damage, you could improve the psychological aspect as well as accelerate in the healing and the recovery process for patients,” Weems said.

Through commercialization of Resilient’s technology, the company is poised to change people’s lives in a very meaningful way. Weems credits this to TechGROWTH Ohio’s ongoing assistance in helping them prepare for FDA approval and market entry.

“TechGROWTH has done a phenomenal amount of work in helping us get to the starting line, and Resilient would not be where it is without them and their input. I am very grateful for their contributions in time, expertise and capital. It has been a very constructive and positive experience,” Weems said.

As Ohio Third Frontier’s regional entrepreneurial service provider, TechGROWTH Ohio provides technology startup companies in the 19-county Southeast Ohio area access to business assistance and sources of capital. A program of OHIO Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, TechGROWTH has helped more than 2,400 area startups and entrepreneurs generate over $1B million in additional local economic activity.

“Helping technology entrepreneurs bring innovative products to market is the mission of TechGROWTH Ohio,” said Jane New, director. “Our assistance to startup tech companies and entrepreneurs is tailored to their needs, depending on their specific industry and stage of development. Supporting ground-breaking solutions that improve people’s lives, while generating positive economic activity in our region and beyond, is what we are all about.”

—Jim Sabin

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

PATENT MEDICINE

Medical patents from OHIO faculty LYN BOWMAN & ANNE LOUCKS

Together, Bowman and Loucks created Cortical Bone Mechanics Technology to measure human bone strength, which has created opportunities to develop a medical device used in researching osteoporosis and exercise medicine.

ANDREW WEEMS

To address the psychological and physical repercussions of breast cancer, Weems has developed a 3D implantable device that supports surrounding breast tissue after a mastectomy or lumpectomy.

Mechanical engineering professor Andrew Weems worked with an oncoplastic surgeon to develop a 3D printed device to improve healing after the removal of breast tumors.

PHOTOS BY BEN WIRTZ SIEGEL

STEVE BERGMEIER

While Bergmeier holds a variety of patents, his patent “Synthesis of Methyl Nonactate Derivatives” has been critical in the launch of his company, Promiliad, which works to identify novel antibacterial drugs.

IMPACT & ENTERPRISE

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THE BUSINESS OF HEALTH CARE Alumni life science advancements touch millions at a time

OHIO alumnus Jon Snyder got into the health care startup field after graduation, working for companies that have wide-ranging impact.

PHOTO BY DUSTIN FRANZ

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

The science of life might start with little pieces of RNA, but the life-sciences ecosystem encompasses everything from medicine and therapeutics to high-tech solutions that make health care a significant portion of the nation’s GDP. And just as Ohio University educates practitioners providing one-on-one patient care, many OHIO alumni are driving solutions that help millions of patients at a time.

Jon Snyder, Amanda Epp and Milind Deshpande are three OHIO alumni whose work has helped people live better lives.

They work in different realms, but their common denominator is Ohio University.

DRUGS, DIAGNOSTICS, DEVICES & DISCOVERIES: Alumni leave a big footprint in health care Science doesn’t stand still, and neither do Ohio University alumni.

They are inventing, creating, questioning and contributing their research efforts and business acumen to improve patient care.

ALUMNUS JON SNYDER HELPED MAKE PATIENTS’ LIVES BETTER THROUGH MEDICAL DEVICES, THERAPIES Alumnus Jon Snyder was a communications major at Ohio University, producing a daily cable news show; covering men’s hockey games; writing, directing, shooting and producing short films in film classes; and interning at a TV station in Toledo.

As a student, the closest he came to the field of health care was a marketing and communications internship with OHIO’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

But his early career in advertising set him on a trajectory to make a difference in the health of millions of people in 1992, when he was hired as employee No. 100 in a startup medical device company called STERIS.

By October 2008, Snyder was founding his own company, making him employee No. 1 at Neuros Medical Inc., a company dedicated to helping patients with amputations block pain and restore their quality of life.

“Being able to provide therapies and medical devices in the life sciences industry that actually have an impact on patients and patients’ lives,” has been his greatest career achievement, Snyder said.

“As the founding CEO of Neuros Medical, we saw significant pain reduction and narcotic pain medication reduction in our two initial studies, which was so fulfilling to see and be a part of. It was phenomenal to provide patients with pain relief, but also to reduce their narcotic pain medication,” said Snyder, who earned a B.S. in communication in 1987, with minors in film and journalism, from the Scripps College of Communication.

LAURA BREGE, MBA | B.B.A. in Economics, B.A. in Political Sciences, Honors Tutorial College, Class of 1978

JUE CHEN, PH.D. | B.S. in Chemistry, Honors Tutorial College, Class of 1993, and honorary degree from OHIO in 2020

A strategic and financial leader with broad experience in biotechnology, high tech and venture capital, Brege focuses on partnering with executive teams, investors and boards to build great companies in the life sciences and technology industries.

Currently senior advisor to BridgeBio Pharma, a biotechnology company developing novel, genetically targeted therapies, Brege also sits on several corporate boards of directors.

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, Chen is internationally recognized for her role in understanding the molecular mechanisms of multidrug transporters, especially the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, and for finding more effective therapies for human diseases.

She is currently a professor and head of the Laboratory of Membrane Biology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University, and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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ALUMNA AMANDA EPP HELPS PATIENTS GET THEIR MEDICATIONS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE Alumna Amanda Epp drove full-speed into her career path in health care administration during her junior year at Ohio University, where a yearlong internship with CEOs helped spark her entrepreneurial and compassionate spirit.

Now she’s CEO of her own company, ScriptDrop, where she is committed to helping patients get quick access to the medications their doctors prescribe—no matter where they are in the United States.

“I have spent 13 years in health care and have had the opportunity to be part of teams that are, quite literally, helping millions of patients across the United States,” she said. “Even before I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, helping people was always a goal for me. I’m a positive person by nature and thrive on connecting with people, getting to know them, supporting them and advocating for them.”

“To find a career that also lets me help them lead healthy lives is more than I could ever ask for,” said Epp, who is also the creator and co-founder of Go Get the World, a nonprofit that empowers women to accomplish their “biggest, boldest dreams.”

Since 2017, ScriptDrop has been delivering medications to patients’ homes by coupling its medication access expertise

RICHARD COUCH, M.S. | B.S. in Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 1984 From small molecules and biologics to cell therapies, Couch has developed and led global regulatory teams overseeing chemistry, manufacturing and controls in the pharmaceutical industry, including at Merck and Celgene, a global biopharmaceutical corporation.

He is currently a principal consultant at R3LS, which provides regulatory, development and commercialization expertise for life sciences organizations.

Alumna Amanda Epp at the offices of ScriptDrop, a company that supports medication access, which she founded. PHOTO BY RICH-JOSEPH FACUN

with its coast-to-coast delivery network, a robust technology platform and first-class customer service. Epp said access to medicine became increasingly important during the COVID pandemic as doctors’ offices shifted away from in-person visits.

Before founding ScriptDrop, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, Epp was one of the first employees at CoverMyMeds, a health care IT company also based in Columbus. She played an integral role in the company’s exponential growth during her eight-year tenure, and eventually became director of new product implementation.

DEAN DELLAPENNA, PH.D. | B.S. in Botany & Cellular and Molecular Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 1984 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2021, DellaPenna says we are in what he calls a “golden period” for researchers as genome studies shed new light on plant metabolism.

He studies medicinal plant genomics, plant metabolism and vitamin synthesis.

He is a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University.

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

TIM HOLT, MBA | B.A. of Business Administration and Marketing, College of Business, Class of 1997 Holt joined young startup company ZELTIQ in 2008, launching a novel product in aesthetic dermatology, CoolSculpting technology, followed

by Fraxel.

He is currently president and CEO of R2 Technologies Inc., where he and his team released their third product with the same inventors: Glacial Rx® Controlled Cooling for Calm, Clear Skin.

ALUMNUS MILIND DESHPANDE BRINGS NEW DRUGS TO MARKET, INCLUDING KEY DISCOVERY FOR HEPATITIS C Alumnus Milind Deshpande embodies both sides of drug discovery—entrepreneurial expertise and the scientific skills needed to bring new drugs from the whiteboard to investigational studies—sometimes in a matter of months.

Those months can be important for patients in need. For example, 48 weeks is a long time to endure a physically punishing treatment with only a 40 percent success rate.

This was the reality for patients with hepatitis C virus until Deshpande became determined to create a drug with better outcomes, one that could cut the treatment time and intense side effects experienced by patients.

Deshpande joined the Connecticut-based Achillion in 2001 as vice president of chemistry, quickly assumed more titles, and eventually became chief scientific officer and then president of research and development, before taking the company’s helm in 2013. He led his team to devise a targeted treatment approach by identifying a critical HCV protein as the source causing the spread of hep C. They developed the innovative drug odalasvir to inhibit the protein from copying itself.

“It was an exciting time for hep C research, because the inhibition of [the protein] NS5A was a novel mechanism,” said Deshpande Deshpande, who earned a Ph.D. in organic

Alumnus Milind Deshpande created a drug that provides better outcomes for patients with hepatitis C. PHOTO BY PATRICK RAYCRAFT

chemistry from the College of Arts & Sciences. “The result is a very rapid clearance of hep C [virus].”

Deshpande won a 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from CURE, a Connecticut-based bioscience organization, for his drive and ingenuity in developing odalasvir. Now he’s cofounder and chairman of Avilar Therapeutics, a venture partner at RA Capital, and president and CEO of Nayan Therapeutics. He has co-authored more than 80 scientific articles, is a co-inventor on 30 patents, and is a frequent speaker at international scientific conferences. —Lori Bauer

FRANK PAPAY, M.D. | B.A. of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 1975

ELIOT SHEARER, PH.D., M.D. | B.S. of Biological Sciences, Honors Tutorial College, Class of 2007

HEATHER TOMLINSON, PH.D. | B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 2000

Papay is a scientist, a scholar, an inventor and, in his own words, “a fix-it guy.” He is the primary inventor on more than 40 medical devices and surgical procedures, most recently performing the first face transplant in the United States in 2017.

He is chair of the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute at Cleveland Clinic Health System.

Shearer developed the first genetic test panel for deafness, OtoSCOPE®. He founded and leads the Translational Hearing Genomics Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and is a surgeon who focuses on ear surgery, including cochlear implants, for children.

He is currently an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, teaching medical students and residents.

Tomlinson says her greatest achievement has been advancing personalized medicine for oncology patients by leading the team that developed a companion diagnostic test for KEYTRUDA®. This companion diagnostic helps ensure patients get access to an advanced therapeutic.

She recently founded Mount Baird Health with the goal of improving health care outcomes through research and education.

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THE FUTURE OF HEALTH AT OHIO

As we look ahead, Ohio University’s focus on and investment in training future health care workers will not wane. The University will continue to expand academic programs for in-demand degrees—both those where there is immediate need and those in emerging fields which may not yet be clearly defined.

In addition, OHIO will begin construction on a Translational Research Facility located on Union Green near Heritage Hall, home to the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the new Russ Research Opportunity Center. This facility will house the Heritage College Community Health Programs and create space for applied research across the health spectrum designed to provide immediately applicable solutions for communities. The addition will make the University’s relatively new Union Green a hub for health research and service-based health programs.

Ultimately, our goal is to continue to lead the state in preparing a welltrained health care workforce and to be a national leader in translational health research—solidifying our place as one of the nation’s best universities to prepare for a career in health.

photo by ben wirtz siegel

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health

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AT H E N S , O H I O PERXIT #100

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The nurse training facilities at Ohio University-Zanesville will undergo renovations thanks to a transformational, $1.5 million gift from the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation that will “aid in increasing our capacity by 15 to 20 percent within two years,” said Hannah Nissen, dean of the Zanesville campus. Facility enhancements will include practice labs, simulation spaces, training technology, faculty research capabilities, and space for peer collaboration and mentoring. In recognition of this exceptional gift, the newly renovated space will be called the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation Nursing Wing.

For more information on this and other OHIO health care programs, visit ohio.edu/health. photo by ben wirtz siegel photo by ben wirtz siegel

OHIO U NI V ERSI T Y | The Heart of Health