The power and promise of academic medicine have never been more essential than they are today. What sets an academic medical center apart is the unique synergy among the laboratory, the classroom and the patient’s bedside. These connections are critical, especially as the pace of scientific discovery accelerates, and the health-care landscape continues to evolve.
At Weill Cornell Medicine, our mission to care, discover and teach directs all that we do – with our patients serving as our guiding stars. We see it in the drive of our students to learn and innovate, in the compassion and precision of our physicians at the bedside, and in our determination to bring groundbreaking discoveries to the people who need them most.
However, translating laboratory insights into lifesaving therapies is a complex and often lengthy process. Innovation needs catalysts that accelerate progress and bridge the lengthy and expensive gap between discovery and patient care.
I am moved by the generosity of our donors – some who you’ll read about in this issue’s cover story – who understand and support this critical pathway to life-saving therapies. Their visionary philanthropy to bolster our Enterprise Innovation initiative is helping us shorten the pathway from the lab bench to patients’ bedsides, ensuring that discoveries do not remain locked in the laboratory, but are transformed into beneficial solutions for patients. Alongside our essential partnerships with industry, their support is fueling a culture of innovation that is redefining what’s possible and transforming health care.
When we say We’re Changing Medicine, this is exactly what we mean. And thanks to the ongoing support of our donors and friends, together with the tireless work of our world-class faculty and staff, we are making that vision a reality.
With gratitude,
Robert A. Harrington, M.D.
Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, Weill Cornell Medicine
Provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University
