Weill Cornell Medicine marked an extraordinary year in 2015, capped by launching a new name that exemplifies the unprecedented clinical growth, scientific advancement and educational accomplishments that have cemented the institution as a driving force in healthcare.
“Weill Cornell Medicine could not be where it is today without the ongoing support and dedication of its leadership, donors and friends,” says Dean Laurie Glimcher. “The institution is set on a path for truly remarkable growth.”
In July, the Association of American Medical Colleges named Weill Cornell Medicine the fastest growing medical school in the country based on its increase in operating revenue over the past five years. The successes that led to this period of growth have set the foundation for the institution’s strategic development in the future.
Care
In the past few years, with a significant push in 2015, Weill Cornell Medicine and its faculty practice, the Weill Cornell Physician Organization, have added more than 40 medical practices in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn to connect New Yorkers to a network of exceptional physicians. The institution has added more than 150 physicians to its ranks at NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital, and has established five practices nearby to provide patients with top-tier clinical care.
Donors continue to support the institution’s clinical efforts in a variety of ways, including providing funding for the clinical scholar award program, underwriting recruitment for key clinical departments and bolstering the translational research program. Departments like the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine continue to grow and flourish – providing world-class patient care, recruiting healthcare leaders and working side-by-side with top-tier scientists across the institution.
Discover
Excellence in patient care is realized only through a robust biomedical research enterprise that can translate discoveries made in the lab into advanced treatments for the clinic. The Belfer Research Building – which was made possible by an outpouring of donor generosity and support – is empowering the institution’s investigators to do just that. The building, now 80 percent occupied, is a powerful engine for groundbreaking research.
“This has been a success story by all accounts,” Dean Glimcher adds. “This the first time in at least the past quarter-century that the rate of growth of our sponsored research is actually greater than the percent growth of our clinical programs.”
Dean Glimcher attributes this success to the Belfer building’s state-of-the-art scientific technology and enhanced research support core services that enable investigators to conduct high-impact studies.
One example of a Weill Cornell research powerhouse is the institution’s precision medicine program, which in September received a generous gift from Caryl and Overseer Israel Englander. The Englander Institute for Precision Medicine will bolster the work that Weill Cornell scientists are doing to sequence tumors and pinpoint the most effective treatments for each patient.
Another Weill Cornell Medicine priority has been to establish relationships with industry to advance basic science breakthroughs that have commercial potential into viable treatments. The Daedalus Fund for Innovation, a donor-sponsored initiative now in its second year, provides up to $100,000 in grants to help investigators make their research more attractive to the biopharmaceutical industry.
“Our donors understand that the interaction and collaboration between academia and private-sector industry is absolutely a marriage made in heaven,” Dean Glimcher says. “Discovery is best done in an academic setting, but there are many things we can’t do here as easily as the private sector. Teaming up with pharmaceutical companies, founding new companies – this is the future.”
Teach
While the institution expanded the medical school class size by five students to 106, this year was no less competitive. The students who comprise the Class of 2019 have the highest ever undergraduate GPA scores at Weill Cornell Medicine and are tied for highest-ever MCAT scores. The scholarship endowment continues to grow – raising more than $16 million in 2015 – allowing Weill Cornell Medicine to attract the best and brightest students and keeping student debt down.
Thanks, in part, to funding from the Campaign for Education, Weill Cornell Medicine celebrated the successful launch of its medical curriculum last year, and integrated the feedback from students in the Class of 2018 into version 2.0, unveiled this fall. Academic leaders are continuing their work to enhance the curriculum, with a particular focus on scientific studies during the clerkship years.
2015: A Springboard for Future Growth
Weill Cornell Medicine’s successes over the past year have enabled it to take a strategic approach to guide its future growth. The tactic has resulted in many new recruits and nine new leadership appointments, including Nobel Prize winner Dr. Harold Varmus as senior advisor to the dean, Dr. Leonard Girardi, class of 1989, as chair of cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Silvia Formenti as chair of radiation oncology, and Dr. Jane Salmon as associate dean for faculty affairs.
The institution continues to examine how best to meet its mission to provide patient care, discover new treatments and educate future physician-scientists. Leadership is in the process of identifying key priorities and goals for the next five to eight years, in order to ensure that Weill Cornell Medicine retains its status as part of a premier academic medical center.
“With an impressively strong foundation in each area of our mission, and key partners both locally and globally, we are poised for greatness,” says Jessica Bibliowicz, Chair of the Board of Overseers. “There are endless opportunities ahead of us.”
