Cornell Stories: Life Sciences
Catch up with the latest developments in the New Life Sciences Initiative.
Marie Caudill is a recent hire in nutritional sciences
The New Life Sciences Initiative (NLSI), launched in 2002, is the largest academic initiative in Cornell's history. Since the launch, Cornell has made major strides toward establishing itself as one of the world's top comprehensive life sciences institutions.
At stake are advances in understanding the basic functions of life, as well as breakthrough improvements in human and animal health, the world's food supply, the environment, and the ethical and social aspects of scientific research.
Now, Cornell's heightened emphasis on its global land-grant mission has made the NLSI more important than ever. The university is building on historical strengths in ecology and evolutionary biology, neurobiology and behavior, nutritional sciences, plant sciences, veterinary medicine, physical sciences, and engineering. It is also enhancing complementary strengths in cell and molecular biology, biomedical engineering, and computational biology.
The administrators and faculty driving the NLSI have pursued an ambitious approach to research, teaching, and recruitment, supported by major enhancements to Cornell's physical and financial infrastructure. Here is a snapshot of recent progress within core priorities.
Faculty
With hires averaging 8 to 12 per year, Cornell is about halfway to the goal of adding approximately 120 life sciences faculty. The aim is to create an optimal blend of established senior scholars and promising junior professors who will build Cornell's competitive standing and bolster its collaborative culture.
Recently, there have been some especially prominent appointments:
Scott Emr took the reins as the first Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 Director of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology. He was also elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Emr is now focusing on the institute's recruiting targets, with the short-term goal of hiring one senior-level and two junior-level professors in the next year.
The College of Veterinary Medicine appointed Michael Kotlikoff, chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, as its new dean. His vision for life sciences research includes increasing the college's emphasis on collaborations, especially in infection biology, genomics and genetics, cancer biology and cell signaling, and reproductive and cardiovascular biology.
The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences has recruited Natalie Mahowald, an international expert on climate variability and the human role in it. She studies mineral aerosols--tiny suspended particles drawn into the atmosphere from arid locations--that are related to precipitation patterns and other climactic conditions.
The Division of Nutritional Sciences has hired Ling Qi, from the Salk Institute, who investigates stress and inflammation, both of which are linked to obesity and diabetes. And Marie Caudill explores nutrient requirements and the effects of genetic variation on human metabolism.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering welcomed Peter Doerschuck, who develops mathematical models for analyzing large volumes of data associated with complex microscopic imaging of viruses, and Claudia Fischbach-Teschl, who uses 3-D imaging to analyze the conditions under which cancer tumors progress.
Jeff Pleiss recently joined the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics faculty. His research examines the ways in which the structure of RNA affects its cellular function. He is particularly interested in how organisms regulate the expression of their genetic material.
In the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell recruited two international leaders. Robert Raguso is an expert on the ecological roles of floral scent as a mode of chemical communication between plants and their insect pollinators. Kerry Shaw is an expert on reproductive behavior and the evolution of mate recognition among closely related species.
Students
Recruitment of faculty and students works in tandem: the quality of one shapes the quality of the other--and both are essential to Cornell's success. Up to 100 new graduate fellowships are slated for creation as part of the NLSI.
Of those, the most prestigious are the Presidential Fellows. The fellowship program is designed to recruit the best possible graduate students and offer them a flexible introduction to research programs across the university. Rather than commit immediately to a lab, students first rotate through fields as varied as molecular medicine, chemical engineering, or physics before selecting a graduate advisor with whom to pursue PhD research. This approach empowers them to combine ideas from seemingly disparate disciplines--producing high-achieving, creative scientists.
Interdisciplinary Teams
The Cornell Theory Center has been reorganized as the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing. The center will offer life scientists and other researchers access to computational expertise, including bioinformatics and biological statistics capabilities.
The number of Ithaca-Weill collaborations has seen intensive growth recently, inspired as much by successful “grassroots” faculty collaborations as by increasing strategic emphasis from the administrations of both campuses. The university has recently identified four major focus areas for intercampus collaborations:
- Biomedical engineering, nanomedicine, and systems biology
- Multidisciplinary approaches to cancer biology
- Chemical biology and experimental therapeutics
- Global health and infectious diseases
These areas will guide the development of new research investments and collaborations in the coming years. One of the noteworthy new collaborations is the creation of the Center for Reproductive Genomics. Spearheaded by faculty on both campuses and co-directed by Paula Cohen in the College of Veterinary Medicine, the center will focus on the genetics of infertility. About 15 faculty members are involved. Eventually, about 100 faculty members from both campuses will be affiliated.
Facilities
The 262,000-square-foot Life Sciences Technology Building is on schedule for occupancy in spring 2008. A formal grand opening is expected the following fall. The Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology will be its primary occupants, as two of the NLSI 's lynchpin programs. Other key features include a business incubation center, a three-story atrium, and the high-tech H. Laurance and Nancy L. Fuller Learning Center.
Construction of the Physical Sciences Building, which is a joint priority for the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, began in September. The 197,000-square-foot building will enhance the core research capacity for physics, applied engineering, and chemistry. It will also facilitate the physical sciences' rapidly expanding interaction with the life sciences in areas like biophysics and nanobiotechnology.
Looking Ahead
The NLSI remains one of the largest priorities within Far Above…The Campaign for Cornell. While great progress has been made, much work still lies ahead--fueled by the remarkable generosity of Cornell's donors.
The key university campaign priorities for the NLSI include support for the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, and the Life Sciences Technology Building--three of the newest components of the initiative. Within these areas, as well as more broadly across the university, there is a critical need for faculty endowment and start-up funds, as well as graduate student fellowship support and other programmatic endowment.