Dean's Message

Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, The John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean

As you may have read in the Baltimore Sun last summer, the medical school will embark on an ambitious plan to recruit 100 new world-class faculty researchers over the next five years. This accelerated recruitment plan will target outstanding investigators who can bring substantial National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to Maryland. In addition to well-funded senior investigators, we will also welcome junior scientists with a demonstrated ability to conduct important research and compete successfully for grants and contracts.

As we approach our bicentennial, this recruitment initiative will help us to achieve several goals simultaneously. First and foremost, it will improve our standing in national rankings as we accelerate the increase in our NIH funding. As a result, our ability to attract and retain top-flight biomedical researchers will improve. Attracting and retaining the “best-of-the-best” will keep us on the cutting edge of biomedical research and pave the way for breakthroughs in education, basic science, disease prevention and drug treatment.

We are already well on our way to meeting that goal. The medical school recently recruited 23 scientists from the American Red Cross national research and development program. The team is comprised of 15 fully-funded senior faculty members who bring with them more than $10 million in annual NIH funding. The group also includes eight junior faculty members, as well as post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, research assistants, lab workers, administrators and support staff. These basic scientists will form the nucleus of our planned research center for the study of vascular and inflammatory diseases. The move, which became effective July 1, 2004, represents the largest single recruitment in the history of the school.

There is no question that bringing 100 world-class scientists to the medical school will require a significant investment of time and money. Funds to support the recruitment plan will come from several sources. In addition to the incremental grant and contract funds generated by the new faculty, “use it or lose it” seed money from my office will supplement a matching financial commitment at the department level. Department chairs will establish annual recruitment goals based on the scientific priorities identified in our strategic plan. These recruitment goals, including the financial resources, will be reviewed by the research affairs advisory committee and the fiscal affairs advisory committee, respectively, and approved by me.

As we move forward, we will attempt to recruit a balance of basic, translational, and clinical scientists, and give them the resources they need to perform consistently at the highest level. Clinicians recruited under the program will be expected to devote at least 75 percent of their time to research; basic scientists will devote even more time to research. In order to leverage our intellectual resources to the fullest, we will continue to encourage partnerships among our departments, programs, and organized research centers.

Philanthropy will play the major role in our effort to fund the recruitment initiative, which will be in full swing by the time the medical school celebrates its bicentennial in 2007. When laboratory salaries, support staff and seed money are taken into account, the recruitment plan is expected to require an investment of nearly $100 million over five years. However, it is important to note that the recruitment plan has been carefully developed to be supported by future philanthropy and not to come at the expense of current
operations. That we should be able to attempt such a major effort is an example of the level of accountability for which our faculty and administrators have become known over the last five years. In the long run, attracting well-funded faculty will only make us stronger financially.

Yes, these are ambitious goals. But they are goals that we must achieve if we are to remain competitive in the 21st century. And they are goals that we will achieve. By raising the bar for ourselves, we become stronger as an institution.