Our mission is to improve human health through biomedical investigation

 

It is with a sense of enthusiasm and purpose that I present the vision and mission for Carle Foundation Hospital Research; to improve human health through biomedical investigation.  It is truly an exciting time to be part of the scientific and healthcare communities as the cultures merge in the areas that encompass translation research.  

 

Since discovery and development of the first antibiotics during the 20^th century, the pace of scientific discovery has exponentially increased.  The last several decades have given us numerous biomedical advancements which have improved techniques for diagnosis and treatment of human illness.  As a result, there have been marked improvements in prognosis; and, reductions in mortality and morbidity caused by many diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.  But much work is left to be done.  Many challenges remain, and with each new development, new questions and opportunities for investigation arise.  With the interest of improving the lives and care of our patients, the Carle Foundation Hospital will pursue these opportunities in biomedical research.

 

 An example of how research has contributed to improvement of medical care is in treatment coronary artery disease.  Since the first coronary wall stent was implanted by Jacques Puel and Ulrich Sigwart in Toulouse, France in 1886; and approval of the Palmaz-Schatz stent by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1994, millions of angioplasties and stent placements have been performed improving the quality of life for patients with coronary artery disease; and impacting healthcare economics by reducing the number of more invasive bypass surgeries.  But Until now, all efforts in coronary artery disease have focused on preventing future damage from occurring. While valuable, this work is limited in the impact in can bring to patients’ lives. We can now look with hope in an entirely new direction; repairing damage that has already occurred using adult human stem cells.

 

This same adult stem cell technology can be applied to repair of virtually any damaged human tissue including bone, cartilage and muscle.  Since 2001, when UCLA professor, Dr. Mark Hendrick demonstrated differentiation of adult stem cells isolated from human fat; the field has expanded, and the clinical application for treating human disease using adult stem cells seems limitless.  Partnership between clinicians at Carle and the outstanding faculty at the Institute for Genomic Biology at UIUC, is giving us the opportunity to be at the forefront of this research which will allow regeneration of damaged tissues.

 

In addition, the Mills family is providing resources allowing a major push into improvement of treatment for breast cancer and breast cancer research. The Carle Foundation Hospital Mills Breast Cancer Institute will improve the lives of breast cancer patients and their families by providing comprehensive care and cutting edge research. Other primary areas of interest include early diagnosis and treatment of other cancers, treatment of gastrointestinal conditions, such as Crohn’s disease as well as improvement of surgical training techniques using 2D and 3D interactive animation.  It is largely through collaboration with our UIUC colleagues at the Institute for Genomic Biology, the Beckman Institute and other biomedical research departments at UIUC that are making these efforts possible. 

 

The Carle Foundation Hospital also participates in clinical research in collaboration with the Carle Clinic Association, which has had an active clinical research program for over two decades.  In these research studies, new treatments for human diseases such as cancer and Crohn’s disease are being tested. 

 

Our research vision is based on four major principles;

• Working towards improvement of human health
• Taking the lead in our areas of interest
• Focusing on educating patients, scientists and physicians
• Building dynamic partnerships to support our mission

 

Allegiance to these principles will bring success to the Research Program at the Carle Foundation Hospital.  I find it a unique privilege to be part of the team leading the efforts in development of this program alongside our dedicated clinical and scientific investigators.

 

 

Suzanne Stratton, Ph.D.

Vice President for Research, The Carle Foundation

Affiliate Professor, The Institute for Genomic Biology

       University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana