Brown Physicians , Inc . Forms
On May 25 , members of the Corporation of Brown University and the presidents of six faculty practice foundations join in a formal signing ceremony to create the nonprofit Brown Physicians , Inc . The foundations are The Neurology Foundation , Inc .; University Emergency Medicine Foundation ; University Medicine Foundation ; University Surgical Associates , Inc .; Brown Urology , Inc .; and Brown Dermatology , Inc . BPI employs more than 500 physicians and works to achieve greater integration of patient care , research , and education across Rhode Island ’ s health care sector .
2019
Treatment for Opioid Use
Brown ’ s medical school becomes the first in the country whose graduates all have the training required to prescribe medications to treat opioid use disorder in any US state . The training has been integrated into all four years of the curriculum to help address the opioid use and overdose epidemic that has gripped the country .
2021
Cancer Center Gift
With $ 25 million from Pablo and Almudena Legorreta , the Cancer Center at Brown will turn basic science into treatments for patients in Rhode Island and beyond , and bring the University one step closer to National Cancer Institute designation , the highest federal rating a cancer center can achieve . Wafik El-Deiry , MD , PhD , leads the renamed Legorreta Cancer Center . Since coming to
Brown in 2018 , he has worked to build new research collaborations across the Medical School and its affiliated hospitals with a particular focus on developing novel insights on the types of cancer most prevalent in Rhode Island . These include lung , breast , and bladder cancer .
2022
That ’ s SMART
With support from The Warren Alpert Foundation , a SMART Health and Wellness Clinic opens in Central Falls ’ Calcutt Middle School . It also serves as the inaugural site for SMART Plus , a professional pathways initiative led by the Medical School to spark student interest in health and medicine careers . Such pathways programs , including summer initiatives and the inaugural Black Men in White Coats Youth Summit held in October , provide mentoring to children and teens from backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine ( see page 20 ).
2022
A Boost for Alzheimer ’ s Disease Research
Professor of Biology John Sedivy , PhD , will lead a multi-university effort to understand causes and potential treatments for Alzheimer ’ s and other neurodegenerative diseases . Funded by $ 16 million from the NIH , the work builds on a previous award to understand how retrotransposons contribute to diseases associated with aging . The renewed grant will allow the researchers to investigate how potentially harmful DNA snippets called retrotransposons affect the cells of the central nervous system .
The Next 50 Years
A milestone anniversary is just one stop on a long road , and The Warren Alpert Medical School ’ s unwritten future stretches before it . In the near term , Brown will construct an Integrated Life Sciences Building in the Jewelry District to support cutting-edge research . The Medical School is investing in new areas of science , such as RNA biology , and in stronger ties with the community . The future of the Medical School is intertwined with Rhode Island ’ s future .
Mukesh K . Jain , MD , who became the eighth dean of medicine and
Mukesh K . Jain , MD biological sciences last March , took the opportunity to recognize that bond at the University-sponsored WaterFire in October .
“ Care for communities across Rhode Island , our 50 years of educating the next generations of doctors and scientists , and 50 years of innovations that have changed the face of science and medicine — it ’ s really remarkable ,” he said . “ Everything that we have achieved could not have been done without the community ’ s support . Every Rhode Islander is a part of this school ’ s history .” HD
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