Strategic Plan by Area of Focus

Steven B. McMahon, Ph.D. Senior Associate Provost for Programmatic Science

Programmatic Research

“Programmatic, basic and translational studies are the bedrock of scientific research at Jefferson, and we are continuing to build on our areas of great strength. These include nationally recognized programs in cancer mechanisms and immunotherapies, neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration, infectious diseases and vaccines, fibrotic disease and RNA biology. We will launch other initiatives in highly promising areas as well—and, working across disciplines and disease areas, we are committed to having real impact in reducing disparities in care and addressing the nonbiological causes of disease. To empower our investigators, we will continue making major investments in new research technologies—capitalizing, for example, on recent acquisitions of flow cytometry and cryo-EM systems, expanding our bioinformatics infrastructure, and making large-scale additions to the laboratories and core facilities available to our investigators."

David Whellan, MD, MHS Senior Associate Provost for Clinical Research James C. Wilson Professor of Medicine

Clinical Research

“Clinical research brings the leading edge of our knowledge and scientific creativity directly to patients to improve medical care. Over the next five years, we will continue to empower our physicians and other investigators to advance new and better ways to promote health and detect, diagnose and treat disease. To that end, we will encourage substantially more faculty to engage in clinical research, in several ways: first, by expanding the successful “Clinical Research Boot Camp” for new clinicianscientists; second, by offering more Emerging Medical Science awards, which provide protected time for early career investigators; third, by increasing internal funding for pilot projects that translate faculty research into real interventions. We will also build infrastructure, such as the Jefferson Health Informatics Core, to help investigators organize and analyze electronic health records in ways that yield population-level insights and point the way to community-focused clinical research initiatives.”

Ronald Kander, PhD Associate Provost for Applied Research

Applied Research

“At Jefferson, the term ‘applied research’ has broad application. It ranges from studies of soft materials and surface imaging to antitrust laws’ effect on foreign investment. It includes academic-corporate partnerships where our industrial designers investigate and develop solutions for real people’s challenges, and multidisciplinary projects with concrete impact—such as our initiative that bridges political science, economics, management, and materials science to help develop a sustainable and profitable hemp-based industry.

"In the next few years, we will expand our core capacities to do intellectually rigorous, impactful applied research by providing more bridge and project-completion grants to faculty, expanding dedicated research space on our East Falls campus, and increasing funding for graduate research and technical staff. With those resources, we will grow an array of already strong programs in areas such as business structure and supply chain modeling, product design and development, sustainability and building systems, and textile and materials technology.”