Investing in Wright State's Research Enterprise Much of the NIH budget boom has been invested in core resources such as icroarray technology. The federal government has made a commitment to double National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding over a five-year period culminating in 2003. There are unprecedented opportunities for research development in the basic and clinical sciences, but success rates for individual, investigator-initiated proposals (10-15% for first submissions) have not increased as dramatically as the budget. NIH insiders say the agency has been careful about funding new long-term grant commitments. Instead, much of the budget boom has been channeled into startup programs and core facilities. The strategy is clear: investing in the research enterprise makes everyone more productive and competitive in the long run. Wright State University School of Medicine made a comparable strategic investment in 2001 when it established a new Office of Research Affairs to expand the school's research infrastructure and promote research opportunities for faculty. The new office is headed by Robert E.W. Fyffe, Ph.D., associate dean for research affairs. "Dr. Fyffe provides exemplary leadership for the research enterprise at the School of Medicine," says Dean Howard Part. "His experience as a scientist, educator, and administrator is excellent preparation for the challenge of establishing a new research office." Dr. Fyffe is a neuroscientist and professor of anatomy who joined Wright State's faculty in 1992. He served previously as director of the Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program and continues to work as director of the Center for Brain Research. His Research Affairs staff include administrative secretary Kathleen Friedman, who came to Wright State in 1999 as senior secretary in the Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program after more than 20 years professional administrative experience in the Miami Valley; and research coordinator Mark Willis, M.A., who worked for 17 years as a science writer and public affairs professional at the School of Medicine. The Research Affairs team builds on the work of two colleagues who made significant contributions to the school's research enterprise. Robert Weisman, Ph.D., was appointed interim dean of Wright State's College of Science and Mathematics in September. Deborah Vetter moved to Omaha last year to become director of sponsored programs administration at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They established the school's ongoing Central Research Forum (see Research Agenda, p. 4, for upcoming events) and published The Investigator, precursor of this new publication. Research Enterprise is a newsletter for the School of Medicine faculty. In it you will find useful information about grant competitions and other resources for research investigators, as well as research news from national, state, and community perspectives. It also will provide a forum for your opinions and insights about the evolving research enterprise at Wright State. Please contact editor Mark Willis at (937) 775-3814 (mark.willis@wright.edu) with your ideas and suggestions. Issue 1, Spring 2002

Return to Research Affairs For more information, contact: Office of Research Affairs 054 Biological Sciences Building Wright State University School of Medicine P.O. Box 927 Dayton, Ohio 45401-0927 Phone: (937) 775-3018; Fax: (937) 775-3009 E-mail: som_ra@wright.edu