The Catalyst Issue 6 | Spring 2010 | Page 7

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 7