2022 Highlights in Research
Kara Wools-Kaloustian, MD, named Vice-Chair of Research
Dr. Wools-Kaloustian, the Joe and Sarah Ellen Mamlin Professor of Global Health Research, was named the Vice Chair of Research in April 2022. As Vice Chair, Dr. Wools-Kaloustian is leading the development of the 5-year Research Strategic Plan for the Department of Medicine. She is working to ensure consistent and quality mentorship for early stage investigators joining the Department of Medicine faculty; identify and implement programs that support investigators transitioning from early to middle stages of their career; increase cross-disciplinary research within the department; and introduce reciprocal innovation as a platform to enhance research productivity while also enriching diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Department of Medicine Research Strategic Planning
A team of research leaders from the Chair’s Office and the divisions has developed and refined a Research Strategic Plan for the department. This group is collaborating with Dr. Sylk Sotto, Vice Chair Diversity, Health Equity, and Inclusion, to ensure that these principles are integral to our approach. The group has initiated the first in a series of three surveys to garner faculty input on the plan, which will be finalized at the Department of Medicine Research Retreat on June 9, 2023.
Growth in Cardiovascular Disease Research
The Cardiovascular Disease Research portfolio has grown significantly with both recruitment of investigators as well as mentorship of existing faculty who have secured new awards for their science. The division’s research growth is in sync with Cardiovascular Institute’s establishment of the Krannert Cardiovascular Research Center and recruitment of Rohan Dharmakumar, PhD, as its Executive Director.
Continued focus on Aging and Dementia
The Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and the Division of Clinical Pharmacology continue to significantly contribute to research focused on Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD). The IUSMPurdue TREAT-AD (Target Enablement to Accelerate Therapy Development for AD) Center, an NIH-NIA funded Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery initiative, is in its fourth year of operation and has made tremendous progress in translating new research insights into potential new therapies. This highly collaborative, interdisciplinary program is focusing on the role of neuroinflammation on the origin and progression of ADRD, and have advanced several novel drug targets along the path toward therapeutic discovery.
The Digital Detection of Dementia Studies (D cubed Studies) Team is working on leveraging advances in information technology and machine learning to develop, test, and implement an evidence based and scalable tool to detect people with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias in urban and rural primary care clinics. With support from the NIH-NIA, they are conducting a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a Passive Digital Marker compared to a patient reported measure in enhancing the early detection of Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia. This pragmatic study is being tested in the Federally Qualified Health Centers associated with Eskenazi Health, who serve a diverse population of older adults. The work of the TREAT-AD Center and the D Cubed studies are part of the internationally recognized Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research program at IUSM bridging cutting-edge preclinical, clinical science, and implementation.
Replication of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH)
The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) has expanded into AMPATH Global with new institutional partnerships in Mexico, Ghana, and Nepal that form the foundation for academic activities in service, education and research. The AMPATH Kenya partnership between Moi University, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, and the AMPATH Consortium of 15 academic health centers around the world, led by IU, provides the model for creating opportunities for faculty to engage in global health research in areas of importance to local faculty and partner institutions.
Initial efforts have focused on assessing and supporting existing research infrastructure and capacity; identifying needs; and designing service, education and research programs that strengthen health systems and improve population health outcomes. The opportunity to engage in implementation research in multiple sites across the world has fostered collaboration between the leaders of these host country institutions and created a network of global partners that are committed to learning from one another and improving lives across a variety of geographic areas. AMPATH Global reflects a commitment to the principles that have defined the Indiana University Center for Global Health’s focus on equity in partnership in Kenya over 30+ years including the concept of reciprocal innovation, the bi-directional, iterative exchange of ideas, resources and innovation.