Dean Laurie Glimcher envisions Weill Cornell Medical College as a global leader in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education within the next decade, a goal she laid out in her inaugural address Jan. 5.
Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher
"I want this institution to be a pioneer in everything that it does," said Dr. Glimcher, the new Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of the Medical College, before a standing-room-only crowd at the Uris Auditorium. "We are facing watershed moments in this country in clinical care, in medical education and in biomedical research. The challenges these pose will require bold new ideas and a commitment to excellence. I intend for Weill Cornell to be the pioneer in finding solutions to these issues. We will lead the way."
Her vision for Weill Cornell is one of a commitment to excellence, transparency, inclusiveness, collegiality and the tripartite mission of clinical care, medical education and research that defines the mission of the Medical College.
"We must never lose sight of the fact that the center of our universe is the patient," said Dr. Glimcher, an immunologist, researcher and professor, who joined Weill Cornell Jan. 1 from Harvard.
"Continuing to provide the very best patient care through clinical practice and through the development of novel game-changing therapeutics, devices and surgical procedures must always be our overarching goal."
Dr. Glimcher pledged to propel the Medical College to the top 10 medical schools nationwide, with a doubling of its current NIH support, within the next decade.
To accomplish this, she plans to recruit 30 top-tier, well-funded junior and senior physicians, physician-scientists and Ph.D. scientists who will become the next generation of clinical and research leaders.
The Belfer Research Building under construction at Weill Cornell, coupled with the applied sciences campus Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology won the right to build on Roosevelt Island, will transform discovery and innovation, providing Weill Cornell the opportunity to re-examine conventional research models. Instead of studying individual diseases or organs, Dr. Glimcher suggests creating hubs or centers – perhaps a Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity – that focus the attention of clinicians and scientists on multiple diseases or organ systems.
"I believe cross-cutting, interdisciplinary research is the future of biomedicine and that there should be no barriers between our clinicians, our translational researchers and our basic scientists," she said.
Dr. Glimcher plans to spend her first 100 days establishing the Medical College's strategic vision. But she will not operate in a silo; instead, she wants to solicit ideas from students, faculty and staff with regular contact through emails and meetings and by dropping into labs and offices. "I think you will find that I am a good listener," she said.
Some additional goals:
- Dr. Glimcher plans to establish a contest in an effort to solicit ideas from students, faculty and staff about how best to utilize the Belfer Research Building, including potential clinical and research topics, when it opens in 2014. All suggestions will be posted online, and those who submit the five best ideas, as judged by a committee, will win a cash prize.
- While a student lounge is planned in two years for the Belfer Research Building, Dr. Glimcher said the Dean's Office will provide funds for immediate renovations to the student lounge in Olin Hall.
- With a looming physician shortage in the United States, in part because of the prohibitive cost of medical school, Dr. Glimcher said she is committed to raising more money for student scholarships.
- Dr. Glimcher said she intends to appoint an associate dean for faculty development whose sole charge would be to ensure faculty receives mentoring, guidance and support to enable them to succeed at Weill Cornell.
- Building on the Medical College's already-entrenched commitment to diversity, Dr. Glimcher said she plans to further level the playing field to better enable female and ethnically diverse senior investigators and clinicians to hold leadership positions at Weill Cornell.
- Dr. Glimcher is committed to strengthening the relationship with the Medical College's partner institutions, including NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell University, Methodist Hospital, and with satellite campuses and academic partners in New York and around the world.
- Dr. Glimcher said she is a proponent of academia and the private sector working together to develop new treatments. "The type of relationship that I have with a major pharmaceutical company is not anathema or to be frowned upon, but instead should be viewed as providing an opportunity for intellectual cross-fertilization and fruitful partnering between the academic and private sectors, one that, of course, must take place in the setting of full transparency on both sides," she said.
- There needs to be a collaborative effort to address the dynamic changes occurring in the American system of health care and the physician shortage that is expected to worsen in the coming years, Dr. Glimcher said.
"We have much to do and it won't be easy to do it, but I know that together we can accomplish astonishing things," she said. "Let us all be pioneers together over the next decade to build the strongest academic medical center in this country."