State of the School booklet

2022 State of the School Address

Presented by Allison Brashear, MD, MBA

Vice President for Health Sciences

Dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Jacobs School,

It is such an exciting time to be part of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. We are welcoming new researchers, filling up the labs, and working collaboratively with our hospital partners to improve the health of Western New York and beyond.

Earlier this fall during my inaugural State of the School address, I shared some of the ways that the Jacobs School is seeking to put Buffalo on the map by leading the future of health care innovation in Western New York.

We are making strides toward our goal to advance the school into the nation’s Top 25 public research schools of medicine through research, excellence in clinical care, and inclusion in medical education.

I wanted you to also have the chance to learn more about my first year with UB and what we are doing to make our goals a reality.

Please enjoy the looking through the rest of this booklet that outlines some details from the State of the School.

Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Allison Brashear, MD, MBA

Vice President for Health Sciences Dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

There’s never been a more exciting time...

Flagship Designation is Point of Pride

On Jan. 6, 2022, UB and Stony Brook University were designated as “flagships” of the State University of New York system by Gov. Kathy Hochul, recognizing the two institutions for their status among the nation’s leading public research universities.

The flagship designation puts the wind in our sails. It not only will help us realize our potential for research and innovation, but also to accelerate economic development in our region.

We’re going to create smart goals that are achievable and that we can show move the needle, so we can become a Top 25 public research institution.

This is reflective of achievements across UB. The university set a record for fiscal year 2022 with $200 million in federal research expenditures, up 7 percent in the past year. Our goal is to double that to $400 million by 2030.

The vision for the future is to take our strength in basic sciences, the innovative laboratories we have in our downtown campus, and our translational research and use that impact to improve health for patients and their families in Western New York.

We want to create hubs of innovation and to think about bringing in cluster hires and individuals who will help synergize with our large patient population and our strong basic and clinical research programs.

FY 2022

A new UB record:

Double its federal grant spending per year to $400M BY 2030

$200M in federal research expenditures

UP 7% in the past year

Kickoff for Strategic Plan

To help chart the path to the Top 25, the Jacobs School conducted a strategic planning kickoff meeting in late September with more than 100 people in attendance, including department chairs, senior leaders and other faculty and staff in the planning process.

We discussed our goals for research, education, diversity and clinical enterprise and how to modernize the curriculum. Recruitment — especially recruiting faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds — is a high priority.

We also talked about ways we can expand our basic, translational and clinical research. The excitement of that afternoon meeting was the beginning of our faculty mapping out the next chapter in the Jacobs School.

Increasing Recruitment for Clinical Trials

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of clinical trials in providing patients high impact care, and the need to increase recruitment for those trials.

One example of the great work happening includes Sanjay Sethi, MD, professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and director of UB’s Clinical Research Office, and his team have done to fast-track clinical trials.

There is much more work we can do. We want to set up databases so that all of our patients who walk through the doors of our various clinics and our partner hospitals see the opportunity to participate in research.

My family and my husband’s family have participated in clinical research. We should have a culture where it is the norm for patients to participate in clinical trials. This is how we can bring innovation directly to our patients in our community.

Researchers Tackle Variety of Illnesses

Our researchers at the Jacobs School are “changing the world.” My goal is to create a culture of celebration so that our faculty, staff and health care partners are aware of the impactful work performed here.

· Chelsie E. Armbruster, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, is investigating how bacterium Proteus mirabilis is a leading cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), one of the most common health care-associated infections worldwide

· David Dietz, PhD, professor and chair of pharmacology and toxicology, is working to better understand the neurobiological underpinnings that lead to opioid use disorder by studying heroin-induced genomic regulation of ventral pallidum neuron subtypes

James N. Jarvis, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics, is working to understand how genetic factors increase the risk of juvenile idiopathic arthritis

· Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine and chief of its Division of Behavioral Medicine, is looking to expand evidence-based treatments for chronic pelvic pain through NIH funding

· Thomas J. Langan, MD, clinical director of the Institute for Myelin and Glia Exploration and associate professor of neurology, pediatrics and physiology and biophysics, is principal investigator on a major NIH study on improving newborn screening for three rare, devastating and often fatal congenital diseases

· Jonathan F. Lovell, PhD, SUNY Empire Innovation Associate Professor of biomedical engineering, is attempting to develop a more effective tuberculosis vaccine

· Jessica L. Reynolds, PhD, associate professor of medicine, is looking at improvements in tuberculosis treatment

Continued Success of CTSI Lauded

I continue to be impressed by the success of UB’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), which has received $37.6 million in funding from the NIH since 2015.

Timothy F. Murphy, MD, is the founder and director of the institute, which serves as the hub of the Buffalo Translational Consortium. Dr. Murphy is also a SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and senior associate dean for clinical and translational research.

CTSI was the brainchild of Dr. Murphy. It has been a significant endeavor, and a source of pride at UB.

To have this in Western New York is really a gem, a gold mine. Dr. Murphy is to be congratulated for his vision and perseverance.

Long COVID Recovery Center Up and Running

UB and UBMD Physicians’ Group have launched the long COVID registry to learn more about the condition and to connect Western New Yorkers with treatment options and the potential to participate in clinical trials.

With this, we have created a voluntary online registry for Western New York residents to report symptoms of long COVID-19.

Our goal is to transition this into potential NIH funding in the future.

UB Community Health Equity Research Institute

The UB Community Health Equity Research Institute — of which Dr. Murphy also serves as director — should be recognized. The goal of this institute is to attract researchers from multiple disciplines and to apply for an NIH specialized center for excellence in minority health disparities.

UB Hiring Initiative

UB is also engaging in a robust hiring initiative with the aim of 180 to 265 new faculty tenure track hires over the next two years.

UBMD Physicians’ Group is Force in WNY

UBMD Physicians’ Group, the largest multi-specialty group in Western New York, has a staff of experienced physicians who play an active role in health care and improving the health of our patients.

There are more than 550 physicians, UBMD sees over 400,000 unique patients a year in 92 specialties at 61 offices. It is a force in Western New York. We really cover the gamut — and cover the map — with our care.

UBMD provides comprehensive care to all ages, no matter where they are on their health care journey.

Collaboration with Our Clinical Partners

We have strong relationships with our clinical partners, including Erie County Medical Center, Kaleida Health, Catholic Health, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Great Lakes Health System and the VA Medical Center.

There is a great willingness on behalf of our hospital partners and UB to strengthen that even more. Our hospital partners appreciate that the Jacobs School is a leader in academic medicine and the gravitas that brings to our region.

Our building, at 955 Main Street, aligns our medical education, research and clinical care with our clinical and research partners. Together we are the future of health care in WNY, giving students and trainees important clinical experiences.

School Trains Large Number of Undergrads

Another area of strength of the Jacobs School is the large number of undergraduates at the school.

For 2021, there were 1,075 undergrads with a major at the school. All told, the school interacts with more than 3,200 students every year. The Jacobs School is the fifth largest school at UB and growing; the incoming class of 340 freshmen is the fourth largest among UB schools.

There are also 121 doctoral students, 125 master’s students and 47 postdoctoral students.

We have a significant presence as a school at UB. The Jacobs School’s medical admission profile showed 5,170 applications, the third-largest pool in school history. Of that number, 6.9 percent were accepted (358) and 3.5 percent (184) enrolled.

Eighty-eight percent of the Class of 2026 — 163 students — are from New York State and 77 are from Western New York. Thirty-nine students earned their undergraduate degrees from UB.

Residents, Fellows Enthusiastic About Training

The Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME), under the direction of Gregory S. Cherr, MD, senior associate dean for GME and professor of surgery, has one of the largest programs in the U.S. with 835 postgraduate trainees — 679 residents and 156 fellows — in 67 ACGME-accredited programs.

A resident survey shows that 62 percent of the residents and fellows had a very positive evaluation of the program.

Our residents are enthusiastic about their training programs. Now, it is our job is to make sure they all want to stay in Buffalo.

Shining a Spotlight on Diversity

The work done to increase the diversity opportunities at the medical school is commendable.

It’s a credit to Dori R. Marshall, MD, director of admissions and associate dean; David A. Milling, MD, executive director of the Offices of Medical Education and senior associate dean for medical education.

The Jacobs School is committed to diversity. We are working directly with the community and must make sure we are training a diverse workforce. We know if patients share some background with their physicians, they’re more likely to go to the doctor and see the doctor as a partner — likewise the family.

A year ago, there were no Black tenure-track faculty. Now there are four. Thank you to the chairs who heard and realized these numbers had to change. We have much more to do, and I commit that we will continue to expand our existing efforts to increase the diversity in our faculty and staff.

The spotlight on diversity also took place when more than 200 people gathered in person for this year’s Igniting Hope Conference, with the focus on “Advocating in a New Reality: Breaking Barriers, Maintaining Resilience and Reconstructing a Community of Care.”

Scholarships Lessen Burden of Student Debt

Student debt, which keeps some talented people from pursuing a medical degree, remains a challenging topic that we must keep top of mind.

Our students have more debt than the average medical student. Many of our students are graduating with over $200,000 in debt. One of the ways we can help lessen that burden is with scholarships. Over the past year, memorial scholarships have been set up in the names of Jonathan D. Daniels, MD, and David Paul Hughes, MD.

The Vazquez Family Medical Student Scholarship is another scholarship that has been established in the past year and is geared toward medical students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in medicine.

Building Awareness and Strengthening Our Reputation

The Jacobs School has so many impressive stories to tell! You can help spread the word by following us on social media.

To learn more or to watch the entire State of the School address, scan the code: