In 2008, the UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation opened in a 400-square-foot facility and then in 2012 moved to its new 6,500 squarefoot facility, allowing physicians, medical students, and other members of the healthcare team to learn, practice, and improve skills in a safe, controlled environment. Dean Neutens also re-instated an educational research-based program, the I. Ried Collmann, M.D. Medical Student Educational Endowment, for medical students to begin learning about bench research and how it ultimately effects patient care.
• Development of a Biostatistics resource that resulted in an exponential increase in the academic productivity of faculty and residents. • Identification of human papillomavirus in oral cancer, previously thought to only be pathogenic in oropharyngeal cancer. “Dr. Neutens has always recognized that our research strength lies in a focused approach and he has supported these endeavors despite lean financial times. His faith and support of what we do has resulted in remarkable discoveries and tools that benefit patients around the world” said Jon Wall, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Amyloidosis and Cancer Theranostic Program. Under his leadership, UTGSM has increased research collaborations with other UT institutions as well as area organizations such as Siemens and ORNL/UT-Battelle. He supported several seed grant opportunities for UTGSM faculty members who collaborated with UT Knoxville and the UT Institute of Agriculture, and supported the initiating of several communities of scholars to further grow our collaborations.
DISCOVERY
Discovery embodies many important aspects to both medical education and healing, and having a Dean who understood its importance was critical. Mitchell Goldman, MD, Assistant Dean for Research, said, “He was the right man for the right time.” As Dean, Dr. Neutens influenced significant growth in scholarly activity, encouraging faculty and residents to participate in national and international presentations as well as publish original research in peer-reviewed journals. During a time when laboratory-based research received less national focus, Dr. Neutens helped establish and grow bench research related to molecular imaging, vascular research, anesthesiology, and amyloidosis and cancer. This research has led to several discoveries and changes in healthcare including:
HEALING
As an educational institution for physicians, healing patients is the ultimate goal. The GSM clinical partner, University Health Systems Inc., spearheads most of these endeavors, however, Dean Neutens has been instrumental in several key areas of growth. Overall, Dean Neutens’s strength was in seeing a big picture. Amy Paganelli, Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration said, “Dr. Neutens was thorough in researching facts before making a decision.” In 2009, he enlisted assistance through the formation of the Board of Visitors, a diverse group of community leaders to advise and assist him in strategic planning, development, community outreach, and implementation of short-term and long-term goals. Rajiv Dhand, MD, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, said, “Dean Neutens is a dedicated educator, an effective leader with a great sense of humor and he has unique story-telling skills. Over the years, he has guided the GSM to a position of strength as an academic institution.” Through these successes, Dean Neutens will be remembered as a dean who promoted collaborations, multidisciplinary care, novel research, and compassion in education and healing, always reaching to break through barriers on the path to excellence. Dr. Paul J. Hauptman has accepted the positions of Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine (GSM) and Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of the University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC). Dr. Hauptman is slated to begin on or before October 1, 2018.
• A strengthened collaboration with Siemens imaging groups that led to the development of new technology and tools that enhanced PET/CT and PET/MRI imaging technology and improved detection of cancer and other diseases. • Development of a free-to-use web-based breast cancer recurrence prediction tool. • Identification of two novel immunotherapy agents (antibodies) for the treatment of systemic light chain amyloidosis that resulted in international clinical trials. • Performance of the first-in-man evaluation, using PET/CT imaging, of the antibody 11-1F4 for the detection of amyloid deposits, which has never before been achieved. A clinical trial, to be performed at UTMC, will begin this year to study the next generation of amyloid-imaging agents. • Discovery of ODAM, a previously undiscovered protein that has been shown to be an indicator of metastatic disease in patients with breast cancer and melanoma. • Studies that identified the complex role of aspirin as an anti-coagulant. • Identification and characterization of new disease mechanisms that underlie the pathology of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
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