Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/610185
t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 24 24 Paul Ogden, M.D. In t er i m Sen ior Vice P r esi den t Texas A&M Health Science Center De a n Texas A&M College of Medicine David W. Leebron P r esi den t Rice University George V. Masi P r esi den t a n d Ch i ef Ex ecu t i v e Of f icer Harris Health System A key advantage of Rice is the location of its beautiful campus across the street from the renowned Texas Medical Center. Our collaborations with the TMC and its member institutions have intensified in recent years. This year those collaborations have revealed genetic clues that could help combat antibiotic resistance, shown how genes are turned on and off in human chromosomes, applied the latest techniques from bioengineering to design new bioreactors for the study of acute gastroenteritis and discovered how some leukemia cells brush off chemotherapy drugs. Through the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative, our students competed in a startup event at TMCx, and we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Gulf Coast Consortia. The BioScience Research Collaborative sits literally at the intersection of Rice-TMC collaborations. Visit our campus to enjoy works of art, watch the Owls compete, take in a stimulating public lecture or enjoy coffee with a collaborator at the Brochstein Pavilion. In 2015, Harris Health System reached new milestones in our journey of transformation. In the last few years, Harris Health has seen dramatic changes—spurred on by the 1115 Medicaid Waiver and the Affordable Care Act. We continue our focus of providing world- class clinical excellence as well as platforms for teaching and research as southeast Texas' leading safety-net provider. Process improvements have driven greater efficiency and access to clinical services for our patients, and we now serve more patients than ever before. We are focused on meeting the community's need for trauma care, and have begun work to add surgical capacity at Harris Health's Ben Taub Hospital. In approximately 24 months, we will have added seven state-of-the-art surgical suites to accommodate more Level 1 trauma volume. As the Affordable Care Act continues to transform the health care industry nationwide, Harris Health is using the opportunity to innovate and design a value-based health care delivery system to better serve all Harris County residents. 2015 marked a time of significant growth in Texas A&M Health Science Center's (TAMHSC) educational and research affiliations throughout the state, and more specifically, the Texas Medical Center; partnerships that, in turn, allow us— together—to transform health. Earlier this year, we launched a partnership with Houston Methodist Hospital, affording medical students the opportunity for clinical training alongside world-class doctors and scientists in the Texas Medical Center. Working hand-in-hand with colleagues across Houston, our researchers are also pushing the frontiers in biomedical research—from discovering new drugs to boost the body's natural immune system, to leveraging a $6 million CPRIT grant to repurpose current drugs into new therapies in the fight against cancer. Looking ahead, 2016 promises exciting endeavors for TAMHSC, including the proposed TMC3 campus. We greatly value our partnerships among collaborating institutions within the Texas Medical Center and look forward to further expanding the Aggie presence in Houston over the next year. The best is yet to come. STATE INSTITUTION O F T H E