RICHARDSON, Texas (Jan. 8, 2003) – The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) announced today that it has created a new Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Technology to provide added focus and effort to the university’s research and education initiatives in areas related to combating disease and improving health. Noted researcher Dr. Steven Goodman, who heads UTD’s Center for Sickle Cell Disease Research, was appointed director of the institute.
According to university officials, the institute will coordinate the expertise of faculty, students and staff from many academic units at UTD to create the kinds of interdisciplinary teams necessary to ensure progress in the biomedical research of the 21st century, as well as play a key role in inter-institutional cooperation. Many of these initiatives involve collaboration and cooperation between UTD faculty and students and their counterparts at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, with collaborations with other health-related institutions also increasing.
“UTD has made significant progress during the past several years in developing research programs that contribute in vital ways to the increasingly complex field of biomedical science and technology,” said university President Dr. Franklyn Jenifer. “Dr. Goodman’s leadership of the sickle cell center and our partnership with UT Southwestern in a new National Institutes of Health-funded sickle cell research effort – the first in the Southwest – is the latest in a series of success stories that make him uniquely qualified to head our new biomedical research thrust.”
“Increasingly, medical science experts are calling for interaction between medical school faculty and university faculty in the areas of physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering, as well as the biological sciences,” Jenifer said. “UTD’s new Institute of Biological Sciences and Technology is charged with a leadership role in developing additional high-level collaborations.”
“I am excited to be a part of UTD’s efforts to ramp up its involvement in biomedical research, which holds such great promise in the fight to cure deadly diseases and advance the welfare of mankind,” said Goodman. “The establishment of this institute is the next logical step as UTD continues to grow into a premier research institution that collaborates with other top universities, in particular UT Southwestern.”
Last September, the two Dallas components of The University of Texas System announced they had been selected by the National Institutes of Health to establish one of 10 federally funded sickle cell research centers. When funded in April, the grant is expected to total almost $8 million.
Other recent cooperative efforts between UTD and UT Southwestern include research programs in medical imaging, cochlear implants, advanced brain mapping and brain plasticity, as well as a joint Medical Management Education master’s degree program for physicians.
In accepting the new position, Goodman will continue to serve as director of UTD’s Center for Sickle Cell Disease Research and to hold the C.L. and Amelia A. Lundell Professorship of Life Sciences at UTD. However, he will relinquish his duties as head of the university’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, a position he has held since moving to UTD from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in the fall of 2001.
Goodman is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on sickle cell disease. He holds a doctorate in biochemistry from St. Louis University Medical School and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Goodman did post-doctoral research in cell biology at Harvard University and molecular biology at Harvard Medical School.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 13,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at http://www.utdallas.edu.