Physiology, Immunology, Pathology and Biophysics Receive High Marks
NEW YORK (March 19, 2007) — The graduate program faculty in four medical science research specialties at Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences are ranked in the top 10 nationally for scholarly productivity: Physiology is ranked 3rd; Immunology and Pathology are each ranked 7th; and Biophysics is ranked 10th. The rankings are based on the new Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, which was compiled by Academic Affiliates and featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
"We are extremely gratified and honored by the rankings. It is through significant research that true breakthroughs in medicine and health occur," says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "Our scientists in these areas and others are making remarkable advances at the molecular level that are helping to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders."
"This is an extremely exciting time in the history of medicine with the genomic and proteomic revolutions in our midst. Our Graduate School of Medical Sciences has been the source of several significant advances in the last decade in these areas of excellence," says Dr. David P. Hajjar, dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and vice provost and executive vice dean for research at Weill Cornell Medical College.
The Index is an objective ranking of 7,294 individual doctoral programs in 104 disciplines at 354 institutions, based on data from 2005. The productivity of each institution's faculty members is judged on as many as three factors, depending on the most important variables in the given discipline: publications, which can include the number of books and journal articles published as well as citations of journal articles; federal-grant dollars awarded; and honors and awards.
The highly ranked programs in the four disciplines are centered in three academic departments at Weill Cornell: Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology (PBSB); Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; and Microbiology and Immunology, but involve faculty members in many other departments and Sloan-Kettering Institute as well.
The faculty in Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology (PBSB) are dedicated to research into the function of living organisms, including humans, by looking at how biological processes perform their functions — using new types of approaches anchored mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering. The faculty in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine pursue innovative basic and clinical research dedicated to improving the diagnosis, management and treatment of human disease. The faculty in Microbiology and Immunology pursue projects concerned with how genomes of host and pathogen regulate themselves and each other, as well as how gene products interact at the atomic level.
Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences
Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences — located in New York City — is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine. Weill Cornell, which is a principal academic affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular medicine, AIDS, obesity, cancer and psychiatry. Weill Cornell Medical College is the birthplace of many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., and most recently, the world's first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. Weill Cornell's Physician Organization includes 650 clinical faculty, who provide the highest quality of care to their patients.
Lezlie Greenberg
leg2003@med.cornell.edu