Academic medical centers like UI Health Care are the research engines of the American health system. Many of the most important discoveries over the past 100 years have been made at university medical centers.
There are more than 220 research laboratories within the UI Carver College of Medicine. More than 90 of them employ six or more people and six of them employ more than 30 people each. These laboratories are housed in 630,000 square feet of space in six major research buildings on the campus in Iowa City and nearby.
Academic medical centers are where patients receive the newest breakthroughs in treatments for the first time. These centers sponsor what are known as clinical trials in which patients receive new medicines and medical techniques that have been discovered recently. This is known as taking research from bench to bedside.
The establishment of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science at the UI marks the beginning of a new chapter in UI/community physician collaboration. The Institute, established in December 2006, was awarded a $33.8 million Center for Clinical and Translational Science grant by the National Institutes of Health to connect and fund an array of activities designed to improve patient care by bringing the newest research discoveries to Iowans even more quickly, oftentimes in their home communities.
Private-Sector Research Relies Upon Academic Medical Centers
A great deal of biomedical and pharmaceutical research goes on in the private sector. When it comes time to bring their discoveries and inventions to patients, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers turn to centers like The University of Iowa as their partners in large-scale clinical trials.
There are many good reasons for these partnerships. The University of Iowa treats many, many patients with a wide variety of diseases and conditions. The people at the UI have the academic and professional training necessary to oversee and participate in large-scale projects that require the careful collection and recording of data. And in many cases, the devices, medicines, and treatments are based on discoveries made in medical schools or engineering colleges that have been patented and are being licensed to a private-sector firm for commercialization. |
