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On Tuesday, November 4, BWH’s Research Council presented its Annual Report and held its annual celebration, honoring scientific successes over the past year and the researchers who were responsible for those successes. After a formal program in the Bornstein Amphitheater, a ceremony was held in the Cabot Atrium to recognize those with five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service to BWH. BWH President Dr. Gary Gottlieb welcomed the crowd and kicked off the event that revealed promising news from the research arm of the institution. In addition, Gottlieb welcomed and introduced Barbara Bierer, MD, the hospital’s new senior vice president of Research. Victor Dzau, MD, BWH director of Research, followed Gottlieb to provide a “State of the Research Enterprise.” Dzau described a “banner year” for research, concentrating on the discovery and change that has resulted from a nearly $330 million investment in research. “We continue to attract the best and brightest minds in research, and we are thrilled to have them join our already strong league of investigative minds,” said Dzau, who stressed the importance of a continued effort to recruit new researchers to BWH. He also highlighted the many impressive grants attained by leading researchers at BWH; namely the $24 million Reynolds Foun-dation grant received by Dr. Peter Libby and colleagues from MGH and Harvard and the $45.7 million NIH grant bestowed to Dr. Dennis Kasper and the New England Regional Center for Excellence (NERCE) to continue work on Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Dzau also focused on the evolving issue of space planning. He highlighted new space in new buildings in and around the Longwood Medical Area and talked to the exploration of future opportunities. He noted that the Executive Committee on Space, established in 2002 at BWH to serve an advisory role to Gottlieb, would continue to explore and recommend future opportunities for research space.Dzau’s remarks led into a panel presentation that began with a conversation about the need for a strategic plan for research. Each Harvard-affiliated presenter concentrated on a large institutional change that required the endorsement of the institution’s researchers. “We are lucky to have leaders such as President Gary Gottlieb and Research Director Victor Dzau, who both believe in the research agenda with their hearts and souls,” said Michael Brenner, MD, who moderated the panel discussion entitled “The Research Enterprise in Boston: Strategic Planning for the Future.”John Parrish, MD, the Edward Wigglesworth Professor of Dermatology at MGH and past-chair of the MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) provided a case study in multidisciplinary research success. “It is quite difficult to overcome traditional boundaries and silos of conventional research methodology to bring about successful multidisciplinary scientific discovery,” said Parrish, who detailed MGH’s approach to doing just that. Three years into the project, Parrish explained that progress is being made to develop thematic centers and new challenges are being met, as MGH continues with this uncharted territory.Jeffrey Flier, MD, chief academic officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), spoke to the medical center’s comprehensive research strategic planning process, which has been underway for roughly a year. As the third largest academic recipient of NIH funding, behind MGH and BWH, BIDMC has arranged a new governance to their research enterprise. “We are now set up with an approach to establish interdisciplinary, interdepartmental centers of research at BIDMC,” said Flier. One such area that was ideal for this type of collaborative science was BIDMC’s vascular biology center. “The vascular biology center was a rapid win for us,” said Flier, who continues to work with BIDMC President Paul Levy to reshape the research landscape at BIDMC.Finally, Dennis Kasper, MD, the William Ellery Channing Professor of Med-icine, provided insight on Harvard Medical School’s (HMS) research strategic plan. Kasper shared that HMS is moving forward with implementing the collaborative plan and that the highlights include building new space; bringing together hospital and quad-based departments; and establishing a new Systems Biology Department, that is intended to bring about a better understanding of the causes of diseases at the level of cells and organ systems and to identify new approaches for treatment. The keynote panelists were followed by a brief question and answer session, which gave way to the presentation of service awards for 25 and 30 years, led by Joanne Ingwall, PhD. Recipients included (30) Philip Judy, PhD, Robert Zimmerman, MSEE, (25) Amin Iskandar Kassis, PhD, Gerald Bryan Pier, PhD and Mary Graves Tilney, BA. After closing remarks were provided by BWH’s Senior Vice President of Research Barbara Bierer, MD, attendees were invited to the ceremony in the Cabot Atrium held in honor of other Service Award recipients with 20, 15, 10 and five years of service. The festive ceremony concluded the evening’s events and another successful year in research at BWH.