Delivered October 26, 2017 This content is archived.
Good morning!
I am pleased to participate in this important conference with all you today.
As you would expect, the future of medicine is of great importance and interest to the University at Buffalo—especially at this point in our evolution as a premier public research university.
A decade ago, we envisioned moving the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences downtown. Today, we have realized that vision. Just a few weeks from now, faculty and staff will move into our new building. And in January, students will start taking classes there.
This state-of-the-art facility was built with the future of medicine in mind. Everything about it – including its location here on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus – positions our students, our trainees and our faculty for success in the health care landscape of the 21st century. We are rightly proud of this magnificent new building. But we know that our greatest resources are the people teaching, training, and conducting research inside.
From UB’s founding as a private medical school to today, we have always been forward thinking—in our mission and in our actions. As a result, we have been on the cutting edge of innovations that have profoundly impacted medical care and treatment. Consider Wilson Greatbatch, who created the first practical implantable pacemaker. Or Lawrence Jacobs, who developed the drug most prescribed for relapsing multiple sclerosis. Or crystallographer Herbert Hauptmann, whose algorithms have been critical to drug discovery.
Fast forward to today. Our 21st century faculty continue to create the therapies and treatments that will improve quality of life for today’s and tomorrow’s patients –locally and globally. These include:
Moving the medical school just steps from where we’re gathered today facilitates discoveries like these. Being in the heart of our region’s biosciences corridor brings researchers and clinicians together into a highly collaborative ecosystem. And within this environment, we can accelerate bench-to-beside discoveries and enhance quality of life for patients locally and beyond.
We know that the discoveries that will shape the future of medicine don’t take place in silos. They take place when professionals across disciplines intersect and engage. For the same reason, UB has been at the forefront of inter-professional education.
Considered the wave of patient care for the future, inter-professional education enables UB’s future health care professionals collaborate across disciplines to ensure the best patient care possible. Enhancing quality of life for our communities has always been a core aspect of UB’s mission. And we know that the impact of this progress will impact people far into the future.
The students we educate, and the discoveries and treatments generated here, will save lives and improve the quality of life for people around the world. Together, we are helping shape the future of medicine. And because of this dedication, I believe the future of medicine—in Buffalo and beyond— is bright indeed.
I look forward to a productive conference with you, and to hearing from our local and guest speakers. Thank you.
