Rebecca Jackson, MD, associate dean for Clinical Research in the College of Medicine, professor of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and professor of Physical Medicine at The Ohio State University, is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of osteoporosis. She has long been committed to researching and finding solutions to women’s health issues and continues to be a major force in the NIH Women’s Health Initiative. Jackson specializes in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism disorders and has a subspecialty in metabolic bone disease. She earned both an undergraduate degree in microbiology and her medical degree from Ohio State. Jackson was selected to be the first director of The Ohio State University Medical Center’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science, which recently received $34 million in NIH funding. The Clinical and Translational Science Award will strengthen Ohio State’s programs in clinical and translational science, to the benefit of patients in central Ohio and beyond.
William Malarkey, MD, professor of Internal Medicine and of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, was co-principal investigator on Ohio State’s CTSA grant submission. Malarkey is the director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science's Clinical Research Center, which provides investigators with leading-edge equipment as well as interdisciplinary collaboration through nursing, bionutrition, biostatistics, informatics and laboratory support to explore the pathophysiology and treatment of disease. Malarkey specializes in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic disorders, with clinical interest in pituitary disorders. He has been involved in extensive research into the mind-body relationship, including internationally recognized studies on the affects of stress on the body.
Joel Saltz, MD, PhD, professor and chair of The Ohio State University Department of Biomedical Informatics, professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and Dorthy M. Davis Chair of Cancer Research, was co-principal investigator on Ohio State’s CTSA grant submission. Saltz, a board-certified clinical pathologist, is trained both as a computer scientist and a medical scientist, receiving both his medical and doctoral degrees at Duke University. Saltz specializes in biomedical informatics – using mathematics, computer science and biology to acquire, store, analyze and interpret biologic information. He is principal investigator and director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Center for Grid-Enabled Medical Image Analysis at Ohio State. He also plays a lead role in developing an international biomedical informatics network that will accelerate cancer research and discovery at 50 institutions, including Ohio State. This network, called the cancer Bioinformatics Grid, or caBIG, enhances scientific collaboration that could lead to more cancer research breakthroughs.
John Barnard, MD, president of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University, was co-principal investigator on Ohio State’s CTSA grant submission. Barnard directs the Center for Cell and Developmental Biology in the Research Institute, one of the fastest growing pediatric research centers in the United States. In 2007, the Research Institute received a record $49 million in external funding, including a 16-percent increase in NIH funding. Barnard’s NIH-funded research program focuses on regulation of intestinal epithelial growth by transforming growth factor beta. He is president of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and was named among the “Best Doctors in America” for several years in a row.