GUMC Update

GWIM Program Probes Protected Time

March 7, 2009

The program, organized by Georgetown Women in Medicine (GWIM) and moderated by Dr. Karen Gale, “Protecting Research Time for Clinicians” brought together faculty members and GUMC and GUH leaders for a dialogue about how to best support clinical research at Georgetown.

The panel included
• Richard Goldberg, MD, VP for Medical Affairs/Chief Medical Officer, GU Hospital
• Joe Verbalis, MD, Former Chair, Department of Medicine
• Lou Weiner, MD, Chair, Department of Oncology and Director, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Steve Evans, MD, Chair, Department of Surgery
• Helain Landy, MD, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Aziza Shad, MD, Professor of Pediatrics
• Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences and Executive Dean of the School of Medicine
• Gabriel Hauser, MD, Vice Chair and Professor of Pediatrics


The NIH has acknowledged that clinical translational research is underfunded nationally, and this challenge was also addressed by a 14-person task force as part of the Strategic Planning Initiative led by Howard Federoff. From the outset, Federoff has made clinical research and strengthening the partnership with MedStar a priority. “I can’t overstate this—research is extremely important in order to provide great clinical work.” He emphasized that focus should be on the patient and the way science impacts their care for a good outcome.

Panelists acknowledged the difficulties of balancing the expectations of clinicians wishing to conduct research with demands of the clinical enterprise. Steve Evans, MD, Chair, Department of Surgery, explained that such conflicts were particularly acute for surgeons, because of the unpredictable schedule of outside referrals, which account for 85 percent of surgical revenues.

Submit your news at any time to the GUMC Office of Communications at gumccomm@georgetown.edu.

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