From the Dean: The news SMHS Strategic Plan is here!
The UND SMHS has three foundational missions: education, discovery, and service to the people of North Dakota and the region. In fact, those three essential components of what we do as a school are embedded in the language of the North Dakota Century Code, the laws of the State of North Dakota that have been passed by our legislature and signed by the Governor. We are the only institution of higher learning in the state that has its purpose specifically and clearly defined by state law (NDCC Chapter 15-52-01). Those three missions also are essential components of the UND LEADS Strategic Plan, where the L stands for learning (education), D is for discovery (research and scholarship), and S is for service. Also integral to how we function as an institution of higher learning is E for equity (inclusiveness) and A for affinity (community).
To that end, I’d encourage you to check out the new SMHS Strategic Plan, based on UND LEADS.
As the plan indicates, our primary mission – that of educating the next generation of healthcare providers – is closely tied to our mission of discovery of new knowledge. It is crucial that our graduates practice what is called “evidenced-based medicine”; that is, they base their clinical management decisions on what science tells them is the right thing to do. The problem is that the scientific foundations of practice may change over time as new information comes to light. That’s why it is crucial that we educate our students in the need for life-long learning, because, sad to say, not everything that they learn in their time with us will turn out to be true over the long run. As new discoveries and information become available, our graduates will need to adjust their clinical management to align with the new information.
Take my own field of cardiology, for example. Until recently we would often recommend low-dose aspirin to many individuals who were at risk of blockages of the arteries supplying their hearts with blood in the belief that the risk of a heart attack and other ailments would be reduced. But three recent large clinical trials of low-dose aspirin in this setting have pretty clearly shown that the potential benefit of aspirin is quite small, but the risk of bleeding is significant. Thus, in light of this new information, we now usually reserve the use of low-dose aspirin to those people with evidence of narrowed arteries (so-called “secondary” prevention) and no longer ordinarily recommend aspirin for those simply with risk factors for blockages (“primary” prevention).
This is a good example of how research, with the discovery of new information, can change how we manage patients. Thus, I am exceptionally proud of the efforts of the faculty, staff, and students of the UND SMHS who are part of our research enterprise. One measure of the success of such a research effort is the amount of funding that is provided to the School by outside organizations (like the federal government through the National Institutes of Health). The investigators at the School have been exceptionally successful especially of late; for example, the amount of funding that they’ve attracted to the School has doubled in the last 10 years. And funding so far this calendar year is in the range of $22 million!
Of particular note in this regard is the recent announcement of funding of almost $11 million for a five-year grant submitted by Dr. Gary Schwartz, professor and chair of our Department of Population Health, to expand our efforts in clinical and translational research and hopefully accelerate the development of new bedside treatments and preventive strategies for various diseases. The grant is called TRANSCEND, for Translational Science Engaging North Dakota. The end result of the grant will be a shortening of the time between discovering something and actually using that discovery to help a patient in need. Well done, Dr. Schwartz and colleagues!
Finally, we note with sadness the passing of staff member and student Kalisi D. Uluave last week. Of Tongan and Diné (American Southwest) descent, Kalisi served as a tribal tobacco control coordinator and principal investigator in the Department of Indigenous Health, as well as a graduate instructor at UND. We extend our sincerest condolences to Kalisi’s family, friends, colleagues, and classmates here at the School.
Joshua Wynne, MD, MBA, MPH
Vice President for Health Affairs, UND
Dean, UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences
