officer at Scott & White Healthcare;
and vice-dean, Temple Campus of the
Texas A&M Health Science Center
College of Medicine.
Physicians throughout Scott & White
participate in all phases of research; it’s
part of their role as faculty members of the
Texas A&M Health Science Center
College of Medicine. Dr. Wesson says,
“Faculty at Scott & White contribute to
the broad spectrum of our research
mission from basic science laboratory
studies to those exploring better disease
treatments.” Medical students also are
encouraged to participate in basic science
or laboratory research; last year about 20
percent did.
Research efforts span the
medical sciences
One hundred years after Dr. Scott
experimented with the hot knife, Scott
& White continues to lead in cancer
research at the Cancer Research Institute.
“Our investigators have made a name in
looking at the cancers themselves and
developing specific molecules that will
help deter or stop the growth and spread of
cancer,” Dr. Wesson says. The institute
also is involved with drug development
and has about 100 investigations under
way at any one time.
Other important avenues of research
are being pursued by investigators
exploring regenerative medicine at the
Texas A&M Health Science Center
College of Medicine Institute for
Regenerative Medicine at the Scott &
White West Campus, in Temple, TX.
Internationally renowned researchers are
studying adult stem cells with the goal of
ultimately making healthy tissue to replace
damaged or unhealthy tissue. Dr. Wesson
points out that these researchers use adult
stem cells, not the controversial embryonic
stem cells.
In cardiovascular medicine, an area of
focus is the connection between heart
failure and diabetes. Researchers have
received two grants from the NIH, totaling
$3 million, to investigate the pathway that
can lead to heart failure and how a new
class of drugs designed to lower blood
pressure can reveal ways to prevent or treat
diabetes-related heart complications.
Scott & White also is a leader in flu
vaccine research. The hospital conducted
a major trial of the H1N1 vaccine,
inoculating 27,000 school children
throughout Central Texas to test the
vaccine’s effectiveness.
The above are just a few examples of
the robust research enterprise at Scott &
White, which requires a strong support
staff in all facets of research. A talented
team at Scott & White provides
investigators across the campus with legal
and financial advice. They also set up
databases or websites and proofread
manuscripts or create graphics—all in a
dedicated way to help further medicine’s
understanding of disease so that advances
can be applied to patients as quickly
as possible. This approach is known as
“translational research.” This is an
emerging concept in medicine and simply
means that research that starts with an idea
in a medical laboratory is carried all the
Donald E. Wesson (left), MD, FACP and
Richard Beswick, PhD.
sw.org | Spring 10 THE CATALYST
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