I am often asked what sets Stanford apart, how it has achieved excellence in so many fields. This University was founded on the notion that through its teaching and its research, it would make a positive contribution to society. Through the decades we have taken that to heart. This founding principle is clearly and strongly visible at the Medical Center, which comprises the School of Medicine and the hospitals and clinics.
This year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the School of Medicine. It has been a century of extraordinary accomplishment, marked by a long list of groundbreaking “firsts.” The Stanford medical community's many innovations include the first use of a linear accelerator to treat cancer in the Western Hemisphere, the world's first successful combined heart/lung transplant, the first synthesis of DNA in a test tube and the development of the DNA microarray. Two things stand out about this list. The first is the far-reaching impact of these innovations on modern medical practice. The second is the range of these innovations, from basic scientific discoveries, which help us understand the nature of human biology and set the stage for new treatments for disease, to new clinical developments that are immediately applicable to patients. Extraordinary success in bridging basic research and clinical applicability distinguishes Stanford.
The School of Medicine began with the acquisition of Cooper Medical College in 1908. For 51 years, the school remained in San Francisco and focused on educating physicians. In 1959, the school moved its clinics from San Francisco to the Stanford campus and expanded its vision by beginning to build world-class basic science departments. Throughout the past five decades, the school has offered excellent patient care at the same time it conducted cutting-edge research and pioneered advances in treatment. Enabled by the close proximity of different disciplines on campus, it remains a leader in fostering active collaboration not only among biological sciences and clinical sciences but also in engineering and the physical sciences.
New programs like Bio-X in the Clark Center have enhanced these collaborative efforts and have produced early breakthroughs in new therapies and scientific capabilities. The Clark Center is also home to one of Stanford's newest departments: bioengineering. Established six years ago, bioengineering is the only department at Stanford housed in two schools—engineering and medicine—and it already is recognized as one of the top departments in the country.
Another area that bridges basic science and promising new therapies is that of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Stanford researchers have been working with stem cells for many years and played key roles in isolating and identifying blood stem cells in the 1980s. In the past few years, the availability of funding through California's Proposition 71 has allowed us to greatly expand our efforts in bringing some of the world's best stem cell scientists to Stanford. One particular area of research is the intersection between stem cells and cancer, a field that ranges from basic cellular biology to new cancer treatments made possible with stem cell therapy. For example, our researchers were the first to isolate several forms of cancer stem cells, including human leukemia and breast cancer stem cells, as well as the first to isolate human blood-forming stem cells and use them to regenerate bone marrow in chemotherapy patients.
Today, the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine focuses on these important areas: expanding our understanding of adult stem cells that could be used in new therapies; studying human embryonic stem cells to learn about tissue regeneration; and developing new stem cell lines to find ways to treat such disorders as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's diseases.
In the next few years, these researchers and others will be able to conduct pioneering biomedical research in a new facility, the Stanford Institutes of Medicine 1 (SIM 1). When it is completed, SIM 1 will provide much-needed laboratories and flexible, work spaces for the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, as well as our National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center.
The Stanford medical community is working to advance a new model of medicine. When future generations mark the Medical School's second centennial, I have no doubt it will be celebrated as another milestone in Stanford's proud history of pioneering treatments and discoveries. But the Medical School has another crucial role beyond those of research and teaching: providing care to patients through the two hospitals and associated clinics. I will discuss that topic in the November/December issue of Stanford.
