For all the reasons Mississippi get knocked for housing the nation's unhealthiest residents, the state's brightest medical researchers see opportunities.

 

Leaders at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) have developed a multi-year plan that includes hiring more researchers, enhancing research salaries, adding a graduate degree program for research staff, developing new research centers to focus on Mississippi health problems, and building a research park to promote economic development.

 

"Mississippi is a living laboratory for research on many chronic diseases," said John Hall, PhD, associate vice chancellor for research at UMMC, who leads the medical center's efforts to boost existing research programs to world-class status. His agenda includes increasing research in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and cancer to produce results that translate to improving the health—and quality of life--of Mississippians.

 

"Our major goal is to double research productivity at the University of Mississippi Medical Center," Hall said. "Many people think that means only doubling grant money, but grant money is just a part of it, just a tool to get us there."

 

Because state salaries for researchers were lower than in neighboring states, retaining experienced researchers had become a challenge. Hall's team developed a strategic plan that provided more competitive salaries by relying on state funds and research-grant income.

 

"It incentivizes researchers to get grants to support their research programs," Hall said. "We hope to have everyone who is active in research participate in this plan."

 

The advisory board also initiated a tiered salary structure that provides more competitive salaries for staff researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral students, and advances them tier-by-tier.

 

Joey Granger, PhD, dean of the School of Graduate Studies in Health Sciences, anticipates starting a new graduate program for laboratory technicians and research staff within a year. Traditionally, those employees are recent college graduates, he explained, and by offering a path to a master's degree, technicians will have the opportunity to advance more quickly, earn higher salaries and stay longer. More than 100 lab technicians work in dozens of UMMC labs.

 

"The tech support staff is the engine that really drives the laboratories," Granger emphasized.

 

The graduate-level program, currently in committee discussions, could result in Masters of Science degrees in biomedical sciences or biomedical technology. A separate but parallel effort with community colleges, Granger said, could result in a certificate-degree program in animal husbandry that funnels laboratory workers to the medical center.

 

New research centers will focus on Mississippi's hot-button health issues: diabetes, obesity and cancer. Plans also call for a clinical research center.

 

"Multidisciplinary centers bring people together from bench to bedside," said Hall, who wants to attack health issues from multiple angles, combining the expertise of basic, clinical and population-science researchers.

 

For example, Granger pointed out, the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular-Renal Research brings together the basic sciences with clinical MDs and PhDs.

 

"Our vision is for the medical center to be a leader in certain strategic areas," Hall said. "We can't excel in everything, but we can lead in some."

 

Among other markers, research advances will be determined by the amount of extramural funding and the number of investigators, journal publications, and leadership positions in professional organizations. The mission, Hall pointed out, involves ranking in the top 50 percent of U.S. medical schools in National Institutes of Health funding before 2020.

 

"Our goal is to add 10 new research faculty members per year for the next five years," Hall said, pointing out the plan was set in motion at the beginning of fiscal year 2009.

 

A research park, slated for the site of the former Farmers Market, is in the planning stages. With a $7.2 million grant in hand, leaders plan to call for RFPs (request for proposals) to begin developing the research park, which could facilitate new businesses, promote technology transfer, and boost Mississippi's economy.

 

"We're putting together a solicitation to develop some plans for the park, such as how it would look, what kind of infrastructure is in place, what needs to be added, and how much all that may cost," said David Dzielak, PhD, associate vice chancellor for strategic research alliance for UMMC.

 

While the park could incubate and recruit medical-technology businesses, any increase in research funding would give the economy a shot in the arm, Hall said, while also increasing the overall skill and education level of workers and raising the state's economic profile.

 

UMMC hopes to receive funding from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill for several projects, including the planned Biotechnology Research Park.

 

"The funds that will be provided to the National Institutes of Health will likely be directed to projects and infrastructure that can be implemented soon and that do not carry long-term obligations," said Hall.