Statement from the Chair
The
Department of Internal Medicine is dedicated to excellence in
research, education and patient care. Our overarching mission
is to achieve preeminence as an exceptional academic department
through expansion of our national reputation for innovation in
fundamental research and patient-centered investigation. We are
committed to the creation of new knowledge and for the
translation of these findings to the overall well being of
patients from our community, region and nation.
The reputation of the Department of Internal Medicine at Wake
Forest University Health Sciences as a nationally prominent
research department continues to be sustained by substantive
extramural funding from prestigious agencies such as the
National Institutes of Health. Our overall objective is to move
into the ranks of the top 30 Departments of Internal Medicine,
as ranked by NIH funding. Total extramural research funding is
approximately $24 million dollars annually. In the last
available rank of Departments of Medicine by NIH funding, our
Department was ranked 40th among all US Departments
of Medicine. Several new investigator-initiated programs by
physician-scientists, clinical investigators, and
research-scientists in several Sections throughout the
Department have contributed importantly to our recent success.
The Tinsley R. Harrison Translational
Research Training Program is a new departmental
initiative designed to provide an introduction to clinical and
basic research for residents and fellows. Internal Medicine
residents who have already had substantial research training may
apply to enter the Internal Medicine Resident
Research Pathway
which provides an intensive research experience for promising
future academic physician-scientists. Many of the
Sections within the department have excelled in the career
development of young investigators through a strong mentoring
experience. It is our hope that residents, fellows, and faculty
in this department will succeed in such a system.
A unique feature of our department is a graduate training
program in
Molecular Medicine. Over 30
students are currently working towards a PhD or MD-PhD in
Molecular Medicine and several junior faculty are participating
in a masters level program. The curriculum emphasizes
translational research and, unlike standard graduate programs,
provides students with significant clinical exposure with the
goal of linking knowledge from the bedside to the laboratory and
back in order to more directly benefit patients.
Faculty in the department are vital to the success of several
major research programs at Wake Forest University Health
Sciences including the
Center for Human Genomics, the
J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation,
the
WFU Comprehensive Cancer Center,
the Diabetes Research Center, the
Section on Molecular Medicine,
and the
General Clinical Research Center.
Many of the essential faculty participating in the development
of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA)
application from this institution reside within the department.
Opportunities exist within these free standing WFUSM Centers of
Excellence for development of multidisciplinary research groups
consisting of both bench investigators and clinicians.
The department has also developed a Clinical Trials Unit to help
match faculty interest with that of potential sponsors. This
unit, nearing completion will occupy ample space that is
contiguous with our major clinic operation and will encourage
participation in research protocols of more of our patients.
A major feature of the environment within the department is
facilitation of collaboration. Multidisciplinary collaboration
is a vital attribute of our character and has been the
reputation of this institution for many years. We strongly
believe our culture of collaborative investigation combined with
new research initiatives and training programs will ensure a
bright and successful future for research within the Department
of Internal Medicine.
Thomas D. DuBose, Jr., M.D.
Tinsley R. Harrison Professor and Chair of Internal Medicine
Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology