From the Dean
Dear Friends,
As we enter 2006, I've been reflecting on all we've accomplished and the goals that are still before us. While we lay out our plans and priorities for the Medical School, our friends at the Minnesota legislature are doing the same thing. And this year, there's an opportunity for a collaboration that could benefit our school, our university, and our state.
When the legislature convenes in March, our elected leaders will consider how to divide state bonding funds of up to $954 million to capital projects around the state. One of the items on the table is a biomedical sciences building for our Twin Cities campus. The $60 million cost may seem high, but the benefits are much greater. This facility will provide sophisticated laboratories for scientists who investigate cancer, infectious diseases and the immune system, and neuroscience. More important, it will provide the environment necessary for our researchers to make the new discoveries that will improve people's lives here in Minnesota and beyond.
This may sound lofty, but we've done it before. From pioneering successes in transplantation and open-heart surgery to today's breakthroughs in Alzheimer's and stem-cell research, our faculty has proven time and again that what seems impossible is often within reach. As our University charts a course to become one of the world's top three public research universities, that spirit of innovation is critical—and it requires support.
And now for the issue at hand. Inside this Medical Bulletin you'll read about a few achievements you may not be aware of, from life-extending successes in cystic fibrosis to a new model of approaching prostate cancer. You'll also meet three students who, with help from an innovative scholarship program, are poised to carry this inventive spirit into the next generation.
We have much to do in 2006. With your help, we'll go far.
Deborah E. Powell, M.D.
Dean, University of Minnesota Medical School McKnight Presidential Leadership Chair
