To maintain their effectiveness for conducting medical research, academic medical centers must face critical issues such as constrained funding sources, scientific integrity, recruiting physician-scientists, and the increasing costs of research, according to an article in the September 21 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical research.

Lead author Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Washington, D.C., presented the article today at a JAMA media briefing on medical research.

Dr. Cohen and co-author Elisa K. Siegel, A.B., of the AAMC, examined the status of medical research at academic medical centers.

"The present era offers more promise for progress in medical research than ever before. Contemporary science has deciphered the human genome, discovered some of the potential of stem cells, and unleashed the power of information technologies. Any one of these three historic scientific achievements would have the potential to effect a fundamental transformation in medicine; their confluence has created unprecedented opportunity for spectacular breakthroughs in human health."

The authors write that despite this promise for progress, many challenges await medical research:

• The need to manage high (and often unreasonable) public expectations for lifesaving discoveries.
• The need to maintain public trust despite the suspicions aroused by financial conflicts of interest.
• The need to sustain the cultural norms of academe while partnering with industry to promote technology transfer.
• The obstacles to recruiting and retaining physician-scientists to pursue translational research.
• The widening gap between the costs of research and available funding sources.
• The unfunded mandates with which investigators and institutions must comply.
• The need to transform an academic reward structure built to encourage individual scientists to pursue
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Contact: Jordan J. Cohen, M.D.
202-828-0975
JAMA and Archives Journals
20-Sep-2005


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