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medicalcenter.osu.edu

Hello Columbus:

Why Top Talent Chooses Ohio State

By Sandra Gurvis

Ten superstar doctors, researchers and administrators who joined The Ohio State University Medical Centerin the past year talk about the factors that attracted them here over other cities and other academic medicalcenters. Collaboration opportunities, collegiality, modern facilities and a focused commitment to excellence arebut a few.

New to Ohio State within the last 18 months andprofiled in this story are: First row, l. to r.: Ali Rezai,MD; Ted Teknos, MD; Wael Jarjour, MD. Second row,l. to r.: Maura Gillison, MD, PhD; Susan Brown, RN,MSN; Jason Calhoun, MD, FACS. Third row, l. to r.:Marc Tassé, PhD; Arnab Chakravarti, MD; Steven G.Gabbe, MD. Fourth Row, Peter Houghton, PhD.

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breakthrough news from The Ohio State University Medical Center

H e l l o C ol um b u s

cure for one form of cancer.Relief for chronic pain when all elsehas failed. A new way to treat drug-resistant bacteria. These are but twoof the many goals that top-tier edu-cators, researchers and scientificleaders have brought to The OhioState University Medical Center(OSUMC) in the past year. Somewere lured away from other institutions,while others sought outa unique working environment and found it at Ohio State.Nearly all were surprised at what the University and the city of Columbus had to offer;the term“undiscovered gem”crops up intheir comments more than once.Like Ohio State’s well-known athletic teams, it makes per-fect sense that star players in the medical field are drawn to thelargest university in the United States, despite its location in themiddle of what some call “flyover country.” In addition to thenumerous awards and honors that speak to Ohio State’s and theMedical Center’s excellence (see sidebar), “the opportunitieshere are unparalleled,” observes Steven G. Gabbe, MD, seniorvice president for Health Sciences and chief executive officer of Ohio State’s Medical Center. Rather than protecting their ownresearch and scientific turf, “people here are interested in whatthey can do collectively and collaboratively.”Gabbe himself was recruited twice: First in 1987 as profes-sor and chair of Ohio State’s Department of Obstetrics andGynecology, and again in 2008 from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, where he had been the dean.The second time around, he noticed, “there was amazinggrowth: outstanding physicians and established signature pro-grams that were attracting top-tier talent. Many, if not most, of the people I’d worked with before were also still here,which saysa lot about this institution.” It also provided a chance to workagain with Ohio State President Gordon Gee, whom Gabbeknew fromVanderbilt.“I was thrilled about that – and also to beback in Columbus”with its ever-expanding menu of education-al, lifestyle and cultural opportunities.

They Come from Everywhere

“I had grown comfortable there; it was pleasant,” recallsJason Calhoun, MD, FACS, of his position as the J.Vernon LuckSr. Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri. During hisfour-year tenure there, Calhoun expanded the program fromthree to 23 faculty, quadrupled revenue and saw a tremendousincrease in grants and research publications. This made him aprime target of an Ohio State search committee.As much as he enjoyed Missouri, the opportunity to stepoutside the box was too enticing to resist, and Calhoun came toOhio State in January 2009 as chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and holder of the Frank J. Kloenne Chair inOrthopaedics.“The deans and the entire administration here arededicated to excellence and improvement.”The Medical Center’sstrategic plans and Signature Programs allow him the opportu-nity to grow the Department and extend its offerings in sportsmedicine, a hand center and more. Calhoun is able to continuehis own research on the evaluation and treatment of drug-resist-ant bacteria in bone infections in soldiers injured in Iraq andAfghanistan. “Although I’ve only been here a few months, it’sbeen exciting: a real challenge.”Until he was contacted by an Ohio State search committee,“I hadn’t even considered a professional life outside of Boston,”admits Arnab Chakravarti, MD, Ohio State’s new professor andchair of the Department of Radiation Medicine and holder of the Max Morehouse Chair in Cancer Research. A lifelong EastCoast resident, Chakravarti had been affiliated with HarvardMedical School since 1995, rising to associate professor of Radiation Oncology there, as well as serving as both a radiationoncologist and director of the Brian D. Silber Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Radiation Neuro-Oncology atMassachusetts General Hospital.Among other things,he and his

medicalcenter.osu.edu

lab focus on molecular mechanisms of radiation resistance andways to overcome it, with a concentration on gliomas andprostate cancer.Not only did Chakravarti bring his wife and three childrento Columbus in March 2009,but his entire lab came with him aswell. He says the opportunity and emphasis on collaboration, incombination with having one of the best cancer and medicalfacilities in the world, were attractive,“along with the chance toimprove on our current directions of research and establish ven-ues of research not explored before.” Additionally, he saw thattop investigators were already in place in neurosurgery, internalmedicine and experimental therapeutics, allowing him and histeam access to the latest and most in-depth information.

One-Stop Shopping

Ohio State is renowned for having everything a medicalresearcher or clinician needs in a single place, making it a majordraw for recruits looking to grow their science programs. “Iknew I wanted this job within 90 minutes of my first interview,”says Susan Brown, RN, MSN, who was hired as chief nursingofficer for Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – JamesCancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC –James) in June 2009. “I am, first and foremost, a cancer nurse,”she notes.“This position allows me to focus on high-level nurs-ing, practice and education, and on advancing cancer nursing,both at the Medical Center and beyond.” Previously, Brownspent 12 years as associate vice president for oncologys servicesand director of the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center inScottsdale, Ariz.Indeed, the OSUCCC – James, in addition to being a leaderin teaching and patient care, boasts vast numbers of researchprojects and grants, and is part of a planned $1 billion-dollarfacilities expansion called ProjectONE (see page 5).“As the only freestanding cancer hospital in the Midwest, and the fourthbusiest in the nation,we are growing in an economy where many other organizations are cutting back,” observes MichaelCaligiuri, MD, chief executive officer of the James Cancer

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT OHIO STATE?

The Ohio State University and its Medical Center(OSUMC) are picking up honors almost as fast asBuckeye athletes score points. Along with beingnamed one of “America’s Best Hospitals” for the17th consecutive year by

U.S.News & World Report

,OSUMC was named an Honor Roll hospital thisyear, now ranking it among the top 21 hospitals inthe nation. For three years, the Medical Center hasbeen named one of central Ohio’s “Best Places toWork,” according to the region’s leading businessnewspaper. And in 2009, Ohio State was recog-nized for the second year in a row as a “GreatCollege to Work For” by the Chronicle of HigherEducation.Ohio State and OSUMC have also been prolific inattracting financial support. Faculty at the MedicalCenter hold more than $205.7 million in externalresearch funding. During the past eight years, totalresearch award dollars and NIH research award dol-lars have more than doubled.In addition:• Ohio State led the nation in new fellows elected tothe American Association for the Advancement ofScience in three of the past five years.• In 2008, Nationwide Children’s Hospital andOSUMC received a prestigious $34 million NIHClinical and Translational Science Award.• The Medical Center’s new Biomedical ResearchTower is the largest research facility on the OhioStatecampusandisdesignedtoencourageinterdis-ciplinary activity among principal investigators andlab teams.• Over the past seven years, The Ohio StateUniversity College of Medicine’s ranking among

U.S.News & World Report

’s “Best Medical Schools”has increased more than that of any other college ofmedicine in the United States.• The Medical Center has broken ground on thelargest construction and renovation project inUniversityhistory.It’scalledProjectONE.Seepage5for details.

winter 10

discovery