DALLAS – February 16, 2022 – UT Southwestern Medical Center has completed a five-year, $1 billion campaign to advance its commitment to advancing brain research and clinical care at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. did. A brain-focused investment in an academic medical center in the United States.
A new nine-story research tower, the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Biomedical Research Building, will open this year, significantly expanding lab space on campus for brain research.
The campaign generated over $500 million in community philanthropic support for research, technology enhancement, and faculty recruitment, combined with a $500 million investment in facilities and programs from UT Southwestern University. to further translational and basic research, training, and cutting-edge care. The fields of neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and the fundamental neurosciences underlying brain disease and injury.
“This multi-billion dollar investment will serve as a pioneer in basic science and clinical research aimed at understanding brain function, revealing groundbreaking insights for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders that affect the brain. It is our hope that one day patients diagnosed with brain disease will no longer hear the words ‘there is no cure,'” said UT Southwestern. said Daniel K. Podolsky, MD, president of Southwestern.
“We want to thank everyone who contributed to this campaign,” said Robert B. “Bob” Rowling, campaign chair of the Brain Steering Committee. “The funds raised will ensure that the O’Donnell Brain Institute is the epicenter of brain research.
This support will enable the O’Donnell Brain Institute to:
- Advance research into the underlying mechanisms of brain diseases to develop more effective treatments.
- Enroll more people in clinical trials to quickly communicate research findings to patients.
- Expand UT Southwestern’s research and clinical expertise by recruiting rising stars in a variety of related fields.
- Providing state-of-the-art facilities to carry out the Institute’s mission, including the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Biomedical Research Building, a nine-story research tower opening later this year to significantly expand O’Donnell’s research space More than 2,100 Brain Institute faculty, additional recruits and staff, as well as the third tower of William P. Clements, Jr. University Hospital, opened last year as the Brain Institute’s inpatient home, providing a premier care environment. did. Our patients who suffer from brain diseases.
- Expand the computational and analytical support needed to effectively analyze large numbers of proteins, genes, neurons, and other potential therapeutic targets.
- Get enhanced image processing and other advanced techniques such as the most sensitive magnetoencephalography (MEG) in the countrymapping brain activity to assess everything from concussion to dementia.
- We offer breakthrough treatments such as high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for patients with essential tremor (ET) and tremor-predominant Parkinson’s disease (TPPD).
Epilepsy and neurosurgery specialists at the O’Donnell Brain Institute helped SMU student Hope Anderson get her life back on track after being diagnosed with glioma. Check out her inspiring story.
“I believe the brain is the next frontier in medicine. and supported some of the most innovative and impactful programs at the medical center: “Discovery is needed, and it will be done by the most talented people we can find and support. You can’t make it happen by just wishing for it, you have to make it happen.”
Cooperation with the O’Donnell Brain Institute is the key
Collaboration is a fundamental feature of the O’Donnell Brain Institute. These include the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, the Translational Neurodegenerative Research Center, the Texas Institute for Brain Injury and Repair, the Mobility Foundation Center for Rehabilitation Research, and the Annette G. Strauss for Neuro-Oncology. Center, Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, and Center for Advanced Imaging Research. UTSW’s Whole Brain Microscopy Facility, supported by the Texas Institute for Brain Injury and Repair, is particularly well suited to advance the study of traumatic brain injury using cutting-edge microscopy strategies.
“To solve brain diseases, it takes people studying molecules in the lab, clinicians who understand their patients’ symptoms, staff who care for them, and everyone in between.” The Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience were acclaimed for their work on dystonia and Parkinson’s disease.
discovery in progress
Already, scientists at the O’Donnell Brain Institute are doing everything from treating depression with brain electrodes, to correcting lethal genetic mutations, to detecting processes underlying Alzheimer’s disease with neuron analysis, 10 to 20 years ago. Attempting a medical feat that never seemed possible. The O’Donnell Brain Institute leads national discoveries in several areas. For example:
- Biomarkers that distinguish between types of psychoses better understand the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and related disorders, explore how the brain drives hallucinations or delusions, and provide insights at the cellular and synaptic level To do.
- Depression to identify pharmacological, psychosocial, and non-pharmacologic treatments for depression, including MRI brain imaging biomarkers that provide new levels of precision for prescribing the most effective antidepressants UTSW’s Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, a national collaborative depression initiative, and to expand detection and treatment of depression and other disorders.
- Development of a single-cut gene-editing technique using CRISPR technology that stopped Duchenne muscular dystrophy in an animal model.
- The gene therapy program, which is focused on developing treatments for rare and fatal neurological disorders in children, led to the start of its first clinical trial last year, which has drawn patients from around the world.
- Direct recording of stereo-EEG is used to determine the cause of epileptic seizures in the brain, improve memory function, and develop strategies that can restore memory in patients with brain injury or tumors.
- Uncover disease-associated gene expression patterns by investigating molecular pathways important for the evolution of the human brain, which is also at risk for cognitive disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Pioneered the use of forward genetics and positional cloning in mouse models as tools for discovering genes underlying neurobiology and behavior, including the description of conserved circadian clock mechanisms in animals.
- Invest in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) – visualize proteins at the atomic level to reveal structure and function of receptors on the surface of brain cells and how they interact with drugs Imaging system.
“Understanding the complexity of normal brain function in the human brain and how it changes with brain injury and disease is a huge challenge,” said Dr. Podolsky. “We needed help meeting this challenge. The Southwestern Medical Foundation’s community of supporters and friends has responded with extraordinary generosity during an extraordinary time. We are deeply grateful for the trust and partnership that (philanthropists, patients, scientists, caregivers and collaborators) have shown in unlocking the mystery of brain function and alleviating the suffering of so many affected patients and their families. I have brain diseases and injuries.”
Dr. Dauer serves as Royce CA and Darwin E. Smith Distinguished Chair of Neurological Mobility Research.
Dr. Podolski holds the Philip O’Brian Montgomery Jr., MD Distinguished Presidential Chair of Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair of Medical Science.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
One of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, UT Southwestern combines pioneering biomedical research with excellence in clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has won his six Nobel Prizes, his 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, his 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute research person is included. More than 2,800 full-time faculty members are responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and are committed to rapidly translating science-driven research into new clinical treatments. A physician at UT Southwestern, in approximately 80 specialties, he provides care to over 117,000 inpatients, over 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversees nearly 3 million outpatient visits annually.
