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January 23, 2013

Inaugural Clinical and Translational Research Day
By Michelle Romanick

The Inaugural Clinical and Translational Research Day was held in Caspary Auditorium at The Rockefeller University on Thursday, September 20, 2012. The program highlighted translational medicine research progress at Rockefeller and focused on research being conducted by investigators and trainees. The event, which was co-organized by Dr. Neil Renwick and Michelle Romanick, was designed to enhance collaborations between members of different Rockefeller laboratories and other investigators in the area.

In fact, the program attracted participants from Columbia University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell Medical Center, and Yale University. Virtual attendees from across the United States, as well as from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and United Kingdom viewed the event via a webcast conducted through the Clinical Directors Network, Inc.

The opening presentations were devoted to the past, current, and future of translational research at The Rockefeller University Hospital. Dr. Jules Hirsch, Professor Emeritus, spoke about “The Rockefeller University Hospital and the Translational Research Enterprise,” highlighting the historical roles that Rockefeller University and the Rockefeller University Hospital, respectively, played as the country’s first institute and hospital devoted exclusively to biomedical and clinical research. Dr. Hirsch shared his own experiences at Rockefeller University since 1954, emphasizing that while the technologies for conducting research have changed, the mission of Rockefeller University has remained the same.

Dr. James Krueger, Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, presented “Along a 100- year Path of Bedside-to-Bench Translation: Updating Pathways of Pathogenic Inflammation in Psoriasis” in which he delineated the steps from a diagnosis to current research in advancing the treatment of this disease.

Dr. Barry Coller, Physician-in-Chief of the Hospital, addressed the future of translational research with his presentation entitled “Bringing Science to the Clinical Investigation Process.” Dr. Coller highlighted how the Center for Clinical and Translational Science is using data to speed the development of the higher quality research protocols (Navigation Program), recruit individuals into research studies, and learn about research participants’ perceptions of their research experience.

Dr. Charles Rice’s presentation, “Hepatitis C: Is the End in Sight?” focused on the challenges of diagnosing and treating hepatitis C virus with the goals of improving the lives of millions of infected individuals and eradicating the disease. Dr. Jean-Laurent Casanova’s presentation, “From Childhood Infectious Diseases to Inborn Errors of Immunity” described how his lab has identified the genetic basis to explain why certain children develop severe clinical infections whereas others remain unharmed despite identical exposure.

The poster session was a highlight of the day, with 24 posters from, Clinical Scholars, members of the Rockefeller Early Phase Physician Scientists, and other investigators.

The Keynote speaker, Dr. John I. Gallin, Director of the NIH Clinical Center presented on “The Importance of Rare Diseases in Translational Research.” Dr. Gallin focused on the rare hereditary immune disorder, chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). His laboratory described the genetic basis for several forms of CGD and has performed pioneering research on therapies to reduce life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections in CGD patients. He emphasized that studies of rare diseases can be highly informative and useful for identifying molecular targets for treating common diseases. He also extended an invitation to the audience to apply for the new NIH grant “Opportunities for Collaborative Research at the NIH Clinical Center,” to support collaborative research projects aligned with NIH efforts to enhance the translation of basic biological discoveries into clinical applications that improve health.

The last session of the Research Day included a presentations from Drs. Nina Papvasiliou, entitled “Co-opting a Host- Pathogen Interface for Therapeutic Purposes” in which she described her fascinating studies on trypanosomes.

Drs. Alexander Tomasz and Jonathan Tobin jointly presented on “Translational Microbe Hunters: Tracking MRSA in the New York Community”. They described how their collaboration spanned from community-based diagnosis and treatment to molecular characterization of the microbe at the DNA level.

Judging from the active engagement of many participants in discussions throughout the day and the written evaluations at the end of the day, the inaugural Clinical and Translational Research Day was considered a great success.