èßäapp

Dear colleagues,

As you may know from a previous announcement, we will soon be welcoming Dr. Richard J. Barohn as executive vice chancellor for health affairs. In this position, Dr. Barohn will lead efforts to strategically advance the missions of MU Health Care and the MU School of Medicine. He brings to the table his expertise in expanding clinical and translational research from his time at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he served as vice chancellor for research and president of the Research Institute.

As an enhancement to this strategic alignment, we’ve asked Dr. Barohn to take on leadership responsibilities of the NextGen Precision Health Institute when he officially joins us on May 11. Dr. Barohn’s extensive experience includes developing infrastructure tools for faculty, including obtaining an NIH Clinical Translational Research Award that provided more than $5 million annually to stimulate research. His role in this project will further contribute to the health care and translational research at the University of èßäapp and our precision health goals.

We are currently most focused on supporting the health of èßäappans during the coronavirus pandemic, and addressing what we expect will be a long-term financial challenge. Within that context, the NextGen Precision Health Institute and èßäappSystem-wide NextGen Initiative remain priorities as they are critical to the future of our world-class research and the long-term health of èßäappans in every part of our state. As we address the immediate needs of this challenging time, our long-term research planning continues.

We are also appointing five Faculty Research Leads (FRLs) to work closely with Dr. Barohn to coordinate research activity at the NextGen Institute, as well as build partnerships and develop support for research projects. The FRLs will focus our efforts by developing and implementing collaborative research and engagement plans within their expertise at the NextGen Institute.

• Dr. Jeffrey Bryan, will serve as the Cancer Faculty Research Lead. Dr. Bryan is a professor of oncology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and an associate director of comparative oncology at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at MU Health Care.
• Dr. Julie Kapp will serve as the Population Health Research Lead. Dr. Kapp is an associate professor of health management and informatics in the School of Medicine.
• Dr. Kerry McDonald will serve as the Cardiovascular Faculty Research Lead. Dr. McDonald is the Margaret Proctor Mulligan Professor of Medical Pharmacology & Physiology at the School of Medicine.
• Dr. David Schulz will serve as the Neurological Faculty Research Lead. Dr. Schulz is a professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science
• Dr. Thomas Spencer will serve as the Basic and Emerging Research Lead. Dr. Spencer is a professor of animal sciences and obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health in CAFNR and the School of Medicine.

The activity of many other faculty members, administrators and university leaders will continue through their service on NextGen Institute committees focused on research, infrastructure and operations, and external partnerships and relations.

Our communities continue to face unprecedented uncertainty and challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates that health care research remains a critical need for society, and the èßäappSystem is committed to helping meet that need, in the short term, and for the future.

Thank you for your continued support and hard work in carrying out our mission.

Mun Y. Choi

President, èßäappSystem and Interim Chancellor, MU

Latha Ramchand

MU Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

Mark McIntosh

MU Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development