KC-CELS Biomedical Research Initiatives

September 27, 2001 marked the official kickoff of KC-CELS - the Kansas City Coalition for Excellence in Life Sciences. Members met in Tempe, Arizona for stage two of "Biomedical Research Initiatives in Kansas City." They renewed their vision of a Biomed Valley and solidified plans initiated at the May 2001 organizational meeting.

At the May and September meetings, representatives determined best practices for coordinating research at:

  • the University of Kansas - Lawrence campus
  • the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City
  • the University of Missouri at Kansas City
  • the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
  • the Midwest Research Institute

By solidifying official ties between their institutions, members intend to advance research in basic and applied science with the goal of creating breakthroughs in medical treatment. They are coordinating their efforts with the Kansas City Area Life Science Institute, a non-profit organization assisting with the transformation of Kansas City into a center for excellence in life sciences research and development.

In September, KC-CELS adopted these five sets of priorities and an action plan, based on recommendations from the KC-CELS workgroups.

Workgroups

Scientists Talking and Working Together

Workgroup spokesperson: Paul Kelly, Chair of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas

1. Identify Life Science coordinators from each institution to form a strategic task force with the Director of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute

Action:

  • Select scientists
  • Empower the coordinators via the appointment process

2.    Identify and prioritize the most important life science research themes; identify and recruit team builders; support, support, support team building.

Action:

  • Use institutional coordinators to pursue a possible initiative in bio-defense and bio-informatics.
  • Pursue inter-institutional opportunities for training bio-medical researchers at the graduate and post-graduate levels. (Team leader: Tina Hines, Professor of Nursing, University of Missouri at Kansas City)

3.  Identify the major barriers among institutions to research collaborations and communications; break down these barriers.

Action:

  • Resource Information Sharing database: make it complete and share it with faculty at the institutions.
  • Use results of Harmonizing Policies Between the Campuses study as a model for looking at barriers among stakeholder institutions.

(Team Leaders: Robert Barnhill and Mike Welch, Vice Chancellors for Research, University of Kansas)

Workforce Development

Workgroup spokesperson: Allen Rawitch, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Kansas Medical School

1. Enhance the ability of our institutions to recruit the highest quality graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.  Explore feasibility of an area-wide graduate program (Ph.D.) in life sciences.

Action:

Convene a meeting of the graduate deans:

  • to define a focus proposal on enhancing graduate student recruitment (both domestic and international);
  • to examine feasibility of an inter-institutional doctoral program;
  • to define a story to describe graduate opportunities in the area.

(Team Leader: Allen Rawitch, University of Kansas Medical School)



2. Develop resources to design and execute a current and future workforce needs survey.

Action:

Update the business plan of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute regarding workforce requirements.

3.  Determine a means to increase the visibility of our programs as critical to workforce development (graduate programs).

Action:

The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Communicator group will consider the issue and put forth suggested marketing approaches in coordination with the KC-CELS Marketing workgroup.

Interface of Top Level and Individual Investigator Participation

Workgroup spokesperson: Bill Duncan, President, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute

1.Top-level leadership and individual investigator access to leadership structures and decision-making.

Action:

Institutional heads communicate commitment to their campuses.

2. Process/Facilitator aimed at identifying, qualifying and promoting research initiatives.

3. Trust building between individuals and across institutions through effective communication.

The action items above support trust building.

Key Enabling Technologies

Workgroup spokesperson: Paul Terranova, Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical School

1. Identify the enabling technologies that can best be met by multi-institutional collaboration.

Action:

  • Meeting between workgroup of KC-CELS and the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute focus area advisory committee to answer this question and identify existing facilities. 

(Team Leaders: Jim Roberts, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Kansas, and other institutional representatives)



2. What effective models exist for such multi-institutional shared resources?

Action:

  • Benchmarking Workshop  

(Team Leaders: Steve Ballard, Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Missouri at Kansas City, and Bill Duncan, President, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute)



3. What are the new technologies and strategies that will need to be developed in the next decade?

Action:

  • Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute - New Strategic Technologies Committee.



4. Technology transfer and commercialization.

Action:

  • Assist ongoing efforts and publicize the outcomes.

(Team Leader: Ron MacQuarrie, Vice Provost for Research & Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Missouri at Kansas City)

Marketing

Workgroup spokesperson: Kim Wilcox, Executive Director, Kansas Board of Regents

1. Clear, compelling and consistent message

2. Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute as a basis for that message

3. Prioritize our needs/requests

Action:

  • Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute to coordinate meeting between their Communicators group and the Marketing workgroup of KC-CELS.  Package the message in point 2 above and priorities.
  • Communicate the message at the institutions.

Conference Participants

University of Kansas

  • Robert Hemenway, Chancellor
  • David Shulenburger, Provost
  • Janet Murguia, Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations
  • Richard Givens, Chair, Life Sciences Task Force – Lawrence campus
  • Charles Decedue, Executive Director, Higuchi Biosciences Center
  • Gunda Georg, University Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
  • Paul Kelly, Chair, Division of Biological Sciences

University of Kansas Medical Center

  • Donald Hagen, Executive Vice Chancellor
  • Deborah Powell, Executive Dean and Vice Chancellor of Clinical Affairs
  • Allen Rawitch, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Dean of Graduate Studies
  • Paul Terranova, Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology
  • Joan Hunt, University Distinguished Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology

Kansas Board of Regents

  • Clay Blair, Chairman
  • Kim Wilcox, Executive Director

Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute

  • Bill Duncan, Executive Director

Merrill Center Board of Directors

  • Mabel Rice, Director & University Distinguished Professor, Speech-Language-Hearing
  • Dick Schiefelbusch, Director Emeritus, Merrill Center & Institute for Life Span Studies
  • Robert Barnhill, Vice Chancellor for Research and Public Service
  • Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • Steve Warren, Director, Life Span Institute
  • Fred and Virginia Merrill
  • Melinda Merrill

University of Missouri at Kansas City

  • Martha Gilliland, Chancellor
  • Steve Ballard, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
  • William Morgan, Interim Dean, School of Biological Sciences
  • Tina Hines, Professor of Nursing Research
  • W. Kelley Thomas, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry

Agenda

Mission Tempe Palms Hotel, Phoenix, AZ

September 27-29, 2001

Thursday, September 27

Dinner

Welcome – Mabel Rice, Director of the Merrill Center

Workgroup round-table meetings

Reception

Friday, September 28

Breakfast

  • Opening Remarks – Mabel Rice, Director of the Merrill Center; Bill Duncan, Director, Kansas City Life Sciences Institute

Report of the “Scientists Talking and Working Together” workgroup

  • Spokesperson Paul Kelly, University of Kansas

Report of the “Key Enabling Technologies” workgroup

  • Spokesperson Paul Terranova, University of Kansas Medical School

Break

  • Chancellor Martha Gilliland, University of Missouri at Kansas City

Discussion

Lunch

Report of the “Interface of Top Level and Individual Investigator Participation” workgroup

  • Spokesperson Bill Duncan, Kansas City Life Sciences Institute

Report of the “Marketing” workgroup

  • Spokesperson Kim Wilcox, Kansas Board of Regents

Break

Report of the “Workforce Development and Graduate Education Issues” workgroup

  • Spokesperson Allen Rawitch, University of Kansas Medical School

Kansas Board of Regents

  • Clay Blair, Chairman
  • Kim Wilcox, Executive Director

Summary Discussion and Preliminary Action Plan

  • Moderator, Mabel Rice

Break

Dinner

Saturday, September 29

Breakfast

Opening Remarks – Mabel Rice

  • Don Hagen, Executive Vice Chancellor, University of Kansas Medical Center
  • David Shulenburger, Provost, University of Kansas

Break

Action Plan

  • Moderator, Bill Duncan, Kansas City Life Sciences Institute

Lunch