Past BRI Directors

Ursula Kaiser

Ursula Kaiser, MD

2020-2022 (FY 21 & FY 22)

  • Professor of Medicine | Harvard Medical School
  • Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes And Hypertension | Brigham and Women’s Hospital

COLLABORATION

  • BRI hosted 24 virtual, in-person, and hybrid events 

                2,346 registrants (DB 468 & other events 1,878) 
                1,456 attendees 
                All events are transitioning to fully hybrid starting fall 2022 

  • BRI and ORC are continuing to work with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) to collaborate, and actively work to become more inclusive.
  • Initiated annual symposia on incorporating sex and gender as a biological variable in research.
    Drs. Janine Clayton (NIH) & Donna Maney (Emory)
  • Hosted annual Lung Research Day
    Dr. Marlene Rabinovitch (Stanford) 
  • Hosted Obesity Research Symposium
    Dr. Frank Scheer (Brigham)

 

CENTERS/PROGRAMS/PRIORITIES

  • Evolved the BRI Centers and Programs model from closed ‘working groups’ to entities that are open to all investigators with related research interests. 
  • Established a Centers, Programs and Initiatives funding pool to sponsor events and programs hosted by BRI entities or other BWH groups to support and promote cross-collaborative research. 
  • Launched a comprehensive survey with more than 500 responses from the research community on their needs and priorities. Will host focus groups and workshops to further identify important areas where BRI support will have significant impact.
 

INDUSTRY/INNOVATION

  • Continued to partner with MGB Innovation to support the “Brigham IGNITE Innovation” initiative to increase clinical innovation, enhance Brigham commercial outcomes, create new capabilities, and increase investigator engagement.
  • Continued active BWH participation in the Harvard Health Innovation Network – an association of Harvard-associated hospitals, i-Lab, HSPH and the Harvard Business School to share innovation resources.

FUNDING/INFRASTRUCTURE

  • Distributed >$4.1M to the BWH research community through various grants and awards in FY21-22; Continued working with BWH Development to engage donors and seek support for the BWH Health Technology & Innovation Fund (Shark Tank Awards), BRIght Futures Fund and the Fund to Sustain Research Excellence.
  • Engaged J&J Innovation and other Boston area companies expressing interest in research at BWH through the Shark Tank platform with the goal of leveraging these interactions for fundraising in conjunction with MGB Innovation and BWH Development.
  • Continued supporting the BWH community through our available menu of funding opportunities – microgrants, FSRE, shark tank/health tech awards, BRIght Futures Prize, pilot grants.
  • Continued working with the Program in Opioid Pain Management (POPI)  to host shark tank events.
  • Continued to elevate collaboration infrastructure to the MGB level by working with MGH to identify synergies, develop joint platforms and cros s-promote events as applicable.


FUNDING/INFRASTRUCTURE – ORC

  • Expanded eligibility criteria for CDI travel awards to include post doctoral fellows.
  • Put in place a lease guarantee program for post doctoral fellows.
 

COMMUNICATION  & VISIBILITY

  • Research Connection: Redesigned the Friday Funding Opportunities e-newsletter to be more concise and direct users to our new website, featuring a redesigned funding Airtable which is sortable, filterable & downloadable. Science Spotlight cadence improved – now sent the first week of the month.
  • Produced a new video series, Discovering Brigham, hosted by Dr. Robert Higgins featuring three segments (neuroscience, cardiovascular & thoracic surgery) garnering a total of  >1600 views to date.
  • @BrighamResearch Twitter account,originally launched by the BRI then managed by Office for Strategic Communications,  has been transferred back to the BRI to oversee.
  • Laboratory websites: Developed 29 new WordPress lab websites for investigators/studies & worked to streamline production & improve tracking of the same.
  • Soft launch of new research, discovery and innovation website meant to be “one stop shopping” for all things related to those areas.
  • Launched a new poster website (poster.bwh.harvard.edu) currently featuring nearly 600 posters.
 

DIVERSITY/EQUITY/INCLUSION

  • Worked to make sure the research community is represented in ongoing BWH efforts around equity & inclusion.
  • Promoted BRI funding opportunities as open to projects related to health equity (Bright Futures, Pilot awards, microgrants etc).
  • Worked to use existing tools to promote and support diverse researchers.
  • Microgrants – expanded award limit for URM investigators to $2,500 and encourage use for equity projects.
  • Began looking into collecting race/ethnicity across our award mechanisms.
  • Work with BWH CDI to diversify speaker lists for events to ensure our community is represented. 
  • Developed Inclusion Statement – standard language with the help of CDI, ERGs and OBGYN to encourage all BRI speakers to consider equity, inclusion, and bias in the content or research they present.
Marc Sabatine

Marc Sabatine, MD, MPH

2018-2020 (FY 19 & FY 20)

  • Professor of Medicine | Harvard Medical School
  • Lewis Dexter, MD Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Chairman of the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group
  • Resources were allocated in FY19 to activities defined through a BRI-wide strategic assessment and planning process last year. We continued to host thematic research roundtable discus­sions focused on thematic areas aligned with centers/programs to define priorities in those areas and foster innovation and collaboration.
  • Distributed ~$3.2MM in internal awards in FY2019. These awards ranged from $500 awards to the BRI Director’s $500,000 Transformative Awards. The BRI handled the solicitation and selection process for the newly launched Presiden­tial Scholar Awards, intended to support/recognize Assistant or Associate Professors at the hospital who have made outstanding contributions to their chosen field of research and who have exceptional potential.
  • Continued hosting bi-annual research faculty and trainee lunches. In 2019 we had two each for post-docs/trainees, instructors, assistant professors, associate professors and professors.
  • Added a new member to our illustrious external Brigham Health Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), now comprised of nine highly accomplished scientific and industry leaders who provide guidance to enrich our strategies to promote biomedical advances at BWH. The SAB meets annually in the fall.
  • Launched a new monthly e-newsletter, “Science Spotlight” to celebrate BWH faculty pub­lications in high impact journals and keep our community informed about their peers’ research
  • BWH researchers published more than 9,400 publications in 2019 (ranking second among healthcare institutions in the world in terms of total article count according to Nature Index), with ~490 of these in top-rated journals).
  • BWH research revenue was ~$698M in FY2019, representing nearly a quar­ter of the hospital’s revenue.
Elizabeth Henske

Elizabeth Petri Henske, MD

2016-2018 (FY 17 & FY 18)

  • Professor of Medicine | Harvard Medical School
  • Director, Center for LAM Research and Clinical Care | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Co-Director, Pulmonary Genetics Center | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Reassessed Center/Program structure, strategic priorities, activities and ideal metrics for “NextGen BRI”
  • Encouraged and developed new programs that allowed for mechanisms such as the NextGen BRI awards
  • Expanded the BRI Undergraduate Internship Program CVDM, IID, MSK and Neuro centers
  • Supported research centers that hosted successful research symposiums and poster sessions
  • Increased BWH footprint in the Boston innovation ecosystem by running the BWH/MassBio Clinical Mentoring Program, as well as launching a series of events in collaboration with MassBio
  • Hosted academic/biopharma delegations from the State Government of Victoria, Australia, Netherlands, Erasmus MC, University of Pavia, Italy and the Government of Saudi Arabia
  • Created a monthly newsletter, “Petri Dishes,” to highlight research events and awards, migrated to a new and better equipped email platform, and continued to effectively promote the many resources that the BRI has
  • Disbursed funds in award amounts that ranged from $500 – $500,000 through a broad range of programs benefiting faculty with various needs at all levels.
  • Launched two Shark Tank events that amplified donor engagement in the BWH Health Technology & Innovation Fund and established a “digital innovation track” in collaboration with the iHub
  • Launched two new funding programs: BRI Pilot Awards and the BRI NextGen Awards Program
  • Helped the Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation launch two funding mechanisms: the 2018 Innovator Award & the 2018 Spinal Cord Research Innovator Award
  • Added four new members to the BWH Scientific Advisory Board
  • Reorganized the Office for Research Careers, appointed a new Faculty Director and hired a project coordinator
Richard Blumberg

Richard Blumberg, MD

2014-2016 (FY 15 & FY 16)

  • Professor of Medicine | Harvard Medical School
  • Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Establishment of a $10MM BRI endowment, with a goal of $100MM, through the Life.Giving.Breakthroughs campaign
  • In collaboration with Development, launched Stepping Strong Innovator Awards – in FY15 two $100,000 prizes were awarded. A third project was funded with a spontaneous $100,000 philanthropic gift.
  • Convened the nascent external Scientific Advisory Board twice
  • Issued an RFA for the BRI Director’s $500,000 Transformative Awards and engaged the external SAB in selecting the recipients
  • Published the first annual Research Report, showcasing the BRI’s leadership and provides impressive data about the size and scope of the BWH research enterprise, including a synopsis of Partners Innovation activity at BWH.  It highlights the BRI’s thematic research centers and their efforts to foster interdisciplinary research that transcends departmental barriers and promote career development and education, as well as community outreach and fundraising activities
  • Launched bi-annual Senior Principal Investigators lunches which provide opportunities for principal investigators ranking Professor from across departments to meet with the BRI Executive Committee and provide feedback directly.
  • Redesigned the BRI public website, deploying a more modern platform to allow increased functionality and engagement
  • Officially launched the HOPE program, an online patient community, as a collaboration between BWH/MGH and transitioned support of the project over to the Center for Clinical Investigation
  • Launched the Lung Research Center, the tenth BRI research center, which aims to highlight the exciting current research activities of lung researchers at BWH and to encourage future advances in our understanding of lung biology and disease
  • Continued developing relationships with industry partners through increased PI meetings, participation in industry association events (e.g., MassBio), and attendance at industry conferences and by working closely with Partners Innovation.
  • Expanded efforts around planning for the Translational Accelerator , which secured institutional funding and support from BWH Research Administration
  • Launched the Research Navigator, a PHS supported portal that centralizes access to all research management resources. The Navigator replaces the retired research intranet.
  • Implemented upgrades and enhancements to the Find A Researcher tool, including the ability for researchers to assign a proxy editor.
  • Launched BRINK, an online quarterly e-newsletter that highlights BRI activities, metrics and updates.

Christine Seidman, MD

2012-2014 (FY 13 & FY 14)

  • Professor of Genetics and Medicine | Harvard Medical School
  • Director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Center | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Shaped and launched the BWH Center for Human Genetics and integrated the activities and structure of the existing BRI Center for Human Genetics into this larger institutional center.Established council leaders to lead the Outcomes (Robert Green, MD), Interpretive Genomics (Heidi Rehm, PhD) and Translation (Calum Macrae, MD, PhD) endeavors of the BWH Genomics Center.
  • OurGenes OurHealth OurcCommunity operations successfully transitioned to the Partners level with continued funding from Partners.
  • Held five larger scale symposia focused around the research centers, and launched 2 new monthly seminar series.
  • Hosted the 1st Annual BWH Research Day with approximately 1,500 attendees.
  • Promoted all appropriate BRI events as Blueprint events, in collaboration with Communications/Public Affairs. BRI authoreed a chapter in the History of BWH
  • Continued to explore options for durable BRI funding. Accomplishments: BRI’s Director of Strategy and Innovation has been working diligently to expand our funding repertoire to include significantly more industry funding.
  • Initiate Research Enhancement Fund (REF) incentive program Accomplishment: Worked closely with Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD to develop the specifics for the REF.
  • Launched the Community Learning Network with CCHHE, which sponsored two successful events for the community including a prostate cancer event in May 2013 and a Nutrition event November 2012.
  • Launched Regenerative Medicine center under leadership of Richard T Lee.
  • Funded the Infectious Disease and Immunology (IID) Center’s proposal to develop a user toolkit for the new CytoF instrument as well as an iPS cell core through the Regenerative Medicine Center
  • Launched various research websites for labs and events, including the Research Day, Clinical Innovation Day, and iHub websites, that utilize a more modern platform, resulting in higher traffic for these sites, better positioning in Google search, and more engagement with website visitors.
  • Archived all relevant research news and press releases under their related BRI center/program, providing a more in-depth look at the history of research in those areas. 
  • Rebranded the Research Connection e-mail newsletter and switched to a more modern platform that streamlined the process for administrative staff to send the emails each week and created a newsletter that is mobile-device friendly, with a sign-up process that is more accessible for subscribers. 

 

Patient Engagement:

Worked with Communication and Public Affairs and Marketing to develop strategies for educating patients on patient-centered research and to promote patient engagement in the research process.

BRI staff members have begun contributing to the BWH HealthHub blog on subjects related to patient-engagement and patient-centered research;

Hosted Seminars/Workshops that focused on educating patients about research and engaging them in the research process. The talks are available on the BRI PCERC website; 4) developed a patient engagement best-practices resource document to educate researchers on patient engagement and promote engagement of patients within research studies; 5) worked with Patient Gateway to outline an online platform for engaging patients in the research process and streamlining clinical trial recruitment.

  • Developed a consistent look across BRI Centers for event print and web collateral.  Created a look and feel that was highlighted in promotional print/web materials, and across the hospital during Research Day in relevant signage.
  • Developed plan and working group around translational medicine center.  Met with many stakeholders doing pre-clinical and clinical work. In process.
  • Continue to develop relationships with industry partners: connections with more than 180 significant potential industry partners leading to several opportunities. Established Lunch and Learn series bringing industry to present to potential BWH collaborators. Played matchmaker between more than 80 BWH faculty and industry.
  • Worked to bring industry relationships to fruition by creating revenue or collaborative opportunities for BWH scientists. Accomplishments: Negotiations and introductions ongoing with AstraZeneca Oncology, Biogen Idec, Verastem, Amgen, Sanofi, Novartis, Ono, Ipsen and many others.
  • Additional accomplishments: 1) Launched the BWH Innovation Hub (iHub): http://www.bwhihub.org 2) Hosted first iHub event—the BWH Hackathon—with an anticipated 110 participants and another 50+ attendees 3) Hosted first BWH Clinical Innovation Day with close to 500 attendees; plans in place for 2nd annual
Joseph Loscalzo

Joseph Loscalso, MD, PhD

2010-2012 (FY 11 & FY 12)

  • Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine | Harvard Medical School
  • Chair, Department of Medicine | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Established a working model for the integration of the Institute for the Neurosciences and the BRI Neurosciences Research Center.
  • To further enhance the presence of research on the web, the BRI launched Find a Researcher in February 2011.  Find a Researcher is BWH’s first web-based directory of faculty researchers on the BWH website.  As of August 2011, Find a Researcher houses over 1000 researcher profiles, approximately 600 of which also link to the Brighams physician directory, Find a Doctor.  Visitors to the site may discover research faculty by entering generic search terms, names or they can filter by department or BRI research center affiliation. 
  • In FY 11 the BWH Biomedical Research Institute hosted two successful interdisciplinary research workshops: ‘Inflammation :A shared mechanism of disease’ (October 2010) and “Exploring Space Health: Benefiting Earth’ (June 2011) as well as a follow-up event to the Vitamin D workshop (April 2010) on its one year anniversary in May 2011. A total of over 150 researchers and clinicians from the Brigham and the extended Harvard community attended these events which were organized by the BRI with the goal of bringing together investigators from multiple research centers/departments and providing a forum for them to learn about one another’s research, connect with other investigators exploring similar research questions and discover scientific resources available to them at BWH.
  • The BRI’s Technology and Innovation Program issued an RFA in FY12 to solicit grants that facilitate solutions to important diagnostic, therapeutic or care delivery issues by supporting innovative research projects at BWH that are likely to be rapidly translatable to the clinic, and which bring together experts, tools and technologies from diverse fields including medicine, life sciences, physical sciences and engineering. Four $50,000 grants were awarded to the top 4 teams for their pioneering work in a range of exciting research projects.
  • The BRI, in collaboration with the CFDD’s ORC supported 2 x 30K Faculty Career Development Awards and launched a pilot microgrant program in March 2012 to support seed funding for projects and career development (grants $1-2K). Through this program, more than 40 recipients have been awarded a grand total of nearly $75K to launch new scientific projects.
  • The Fund to Sustain Research Excellence supported new applications for one year of bridge funding ($50K each), bringing the total number of bridge fund recipients up to 62 with more than $4 million awarded. OUTCOMES/METRICS AS OF April 2012: Funds brought in by grantees since bridge fund award = $59,569,428.00, funds brought in by non-grantees since FSRE application = $28,174,511.00; 4/58 awardees left = 6.8%, 6/48 non-awardees left = 12.5%
  • The research strategic plan was shared with BRI leadership (ROC) and the research community in various settings. Resource allocation and initiative planning have been aligned with strategic plan.
  • New BRI Director of Strategy and Innovation; this position is entirely aligned with the strategic plan. Began to develop a translational medicine initiative.
  • In an effort to explore and develop novel research & innovation strategies, the BRI: 1) developed a pipeline of industry opportunities with companies such as Novartis, Janssen, Biogen Idec, VBS Pharmaceuticals, Eleven Biotherapeutics and more. 2) launched the Lunch and Learn series for industry to visit with BWH faculty to share work and foster relationships and collaborative opportunities;
  • In order to foster collaboration/interdisciplinary science, the BRI planned and executed interdisciplinary research workshops, including: a) a Cancer Immunology Workshop hosted by the BRI Cancer and Infectious and Immunological Disease Research Centers which was attended by over 90 people from the Brigham research community and covered a wide range of disciplines within cancer immunology research including immunoregulation, cancer progression and cancer therapy. B) a workshop focused on the basic degenerative mechanisms of aging and potential strategies to reverse the aging process.
  • The Center for Human Genetics OurGenes initiative recruited a total of nearly 2800 BWH patients as of Sept 2012 and expanded recruitment to three more Brigham clinics. Working with Partners Business Development, the OurGenes study also received a philanthropic gift of $50,000 from Hewlett Packard’s Global Social Innovation arm.
  • The Technology and Innovation Program launched an ‘Innovation Grand Rounds’ in 2012 which hosts monthly seminars and workshops with the aim of promoting broad perspective dialogue on opportunities and approaches relevant to innovation at BWH.
  • The BRI established a Patient Centered Comparative Effectiveness Research Center (PCERC), with more than 60 people attending a highly successful June BRI workshop on patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) organized with the goals of bringing together investigators across BWH who are currently working on PCOR.

Cynthia Morton, PhD

2008-2010 (FY 09 & FY 10)

  • William Lambert Richardson Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and Pathology | Harvard Medical School
  • Medical Geneticist | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Conducted strategic planning exercise with ROC leading to development of strategic themes/priorities for the BRI (shared mechanisms of diseases, personalized medicine, targeted therapeutics, health disparities, comparative effectiveness).
  • To increase attendance at its monthly research forum, the BRI rebranded the event as part of the successful Research Connection (RC) E-mail Series, which is distributed weekly to all BWH research employees. The BRI collaborated with the Center for Clinical Investigation, the Office for Research Careers and Research Administration to thoroughly promote the monthly RC LIVE Lunches, which attracted standing-room-only crowds
  • The BRI staff worked with the Center for Clinical Investigation and Harvard Catalyst to communicate significant grants and resources available to investigators, particularly junior investigators, when Catalyst launched and throughout the academic year
  • The BRI organized a Town Hall Meeting open to the greater BWH research community to disseminate up-to-the-minute information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Established an ARRA LISTSERV to continue to facilitate conversation and distribute information about the ARRA; established an ARRA webpage on the BWH Research Internet that is updated as new information and funding opportunities become available
  • In collaboration with the Simmons College Graduate School for Library and Information Science, the BRI began a needs assessment study of the research intranets across Partners (BWH, MGH and Partners) to identify the Web behaviors and online communications needs of investigators and research administrators
  • The BRI provided seed funding for a significant project with its Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Research Center, developing a tissue biorepository for the BWH research community
  • Pilot phase of the ‘OurGenes, OurHealth, OurCommunity’ project officially launched on July 13, 2010. Project received enthusiastic media coverage including a very positive front page article in the Boston Globe. OurGenes, a flagship project of the BRI, aims to advance the practice of personalized medicine at BWH by creating a state-of-the-art biorepository containing genetic and health information (lifestyle and environmental variables, personal and family health histories) derived from every Brigham patient over 18 years old who consents to participate..
  • Genomic Medicine Leadership Program launched to educate BWH primary care physicians about different aspects of genetic testing and its application in clinical care with the goal of providing guidance to BWH patients as they explore the complex genomic information landscape of the 21st century
  • The BRI published BRIefs, a quarterly report designed to highlight BRI investigators, research projects and centers, to enhance research literacy among the BWH patient community, and to solicit donations.  Themes for 2010 included research on vitamin D, genetics, and inflammation.
  • To feature the BRI, its resources and research, the BRI created the 2011 BRI Calendar.  Each month will feature a BRI research center, program or the BRI’s community building and fundraising efforts.
  • The BRI released Find a Researcher, an online directory of faculty investigator profiles.  Modeled after Find a Doctor on the BWH website, the goals of Find a Researcher are to improve the visibility of BWH research on the Hospital’s public website, and to make it easier for administrators to promote the esteemed science at BWH.  Find a Researcher is a collaboration between the Office of the Senior Vice President, Research, the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), PHS Research Applications Group, and the Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, with help from the Department of Marketing and Planning and the Harvard Catalyst Profiles team.
  • In collaboration with the Simmons College Graduate School for Library and Information Science, the BRI concluded a needs assessment study of the research intranets at BWH and MGH.  Findings from this study will inform the next generation of the BWH Research Intranet.
  • The BRI redesigned research-relevant content on the Hospital’s public website, including BRI research center and program websites, to better feature our investigators and their research.  Also added was a flash presentation on the front page of research to better connect the lay audience with BWH research.
  • Working with the Department of Marketing and Planning, the BRI participated in a significant overhaul of the BWH website, which includes a new design, significant changes to website infrastructure and additional navigation elements. 
  • The BRI’s renamed Online Support and Strategy group continued to provide excellent customer support and outreach to nearly 100 web editors who work in research.  One tactic was to improve the process for creating and editing web and intranet sites at BWH by changing its “replication” workflow so that research web editors may focus their efforts on web or intranet.
  • The BRI continues to collaborate with Partners Research Applications Group on developing and maintaining several web-based initiatives, including Lyris, Interwoven, Find a Researcher and more.
  • With insights and guidance from the BRI Research Oversight Committee, the BRI developed a communications strategy to steer all internal and external communication efforts.  The primary goal is to integrate research with clinical information wherever possible on the public website, to help the lay audience connect science with health. Using personable, lay-appropriate language, the BRI will emphasize the Brigham’s role as a leader in research and innovation and the significance of research executed within a hospital setting.
Thomas S. Kupper

Thomas Kupper, MD

2005-2008 (FY 06 & FY 07 & FY 08)

  • Thomas B. Fitzpatrick Professor of Dermatology | Harvard Medical School
  • Chairman, Department of Dermatology | Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Chairman, Department of Dermatology | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Director, Center for Cutaneous Oncology | Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
  • Director, Cutaneous Lymphoma Clinic |  Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
  • Established Research Oversight committee (give specifics)
  • Launched 8 BRI Centers and 3 programs – The eight Research Centers (Cancer, Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Metabolic Disorders, Human Genetics, Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Musculoskeletal, Neurosciences, Stem Cell/Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering, and Women’s Health) and five programs (Pre-clinical Models, Clinical Investigation, Biomedical Imaging, Bioinformatics, Technology Innovation), each led by one to three Co-Chairs and populated by a working group or advisory board with individuals representing a breadth of relevant research activities, met regularly to determine Center/Program priorities and introduce initiatives to enhance the BWH research enterprise
  • All Centers were awarded funds for projects to galvanize their research efforts and/or funds to help launch both the BRI website presence and the BRI development campaign
  • The BRI centers underwent a strategic planning process. BRI staff worked with the Analysis and Planning Group at the BWH Center for Clinical Excellence to develop Strategic Assessment and Planning templates. These templates were further refined based on input from the BRI center and program leaders, and the centers each developed a strategic plan
  • Worked with Development office to hire the first Director of Development, dedicated to fundraising for research
  • Hired dedicated BRI staff – Administrative Director, two Program Managers , Portal Coordinator, Web Coordinator, Program Coordinator
  • In response to the expressed needs of the research community, the Fund to Sustain Research Excellence was designed to offer interim support, based on need and merit, to investigators who submitted a non-mentored NIH grant application that was reviewed by the NIH but missed the funding payline.
  • The Research Excellence Award recipients were celebrated with a poster session and awards ceremony in May 2007.  These awards were made possible by a gift from the Partners HealthCare Research Accelerator Program which seeks to recognize graduate and postdoctoral fellows and related research staff whose research is deemed to be most promising and innovative.
  • The Enterprise Information Portal (EIP), to assist in consolidating and presenting the intellectual capital of BWH Research and to build a cohesive identity to all those who perform biomedical research at BWH, was begun.  The first phase of the BWH Research Intranet/Portal project was completed in May 2006 and delivered an integrated content management system (CMS) using Interwoven combined with page templates to distributed ‘content owners’ across the organization to help solve some of the baseline needs.
  • Introduction of the Research Connection, a series of research emails for the BWH research community, allowing users to choose to receive the information of greatest interest to most efficiently communicate with BRI constituencies.   These email areas include general research announcements, notices for faculty and fellows, funding and grant opportunities, notices for clinical researchers, and subject specific notices corresponding to specific BRI research centers and programs.