Dr. Eli Michaelis of the Higuchi BioSciences Center at KU believes that critical mass in the region will yield more federal funding for research. Interim director of the Life Sciences Institute Dr. Bill Duncan observes. .
ASPIRATIONS AND REALITY
For all the energy and excitement, the life sciences initiative has not yet established Kansas City as a recognized center. To be sure, there is a buzz about the city, as several participants acknowledged, but no one was willing to place Kansas City among the top ten such centers nationally.
Still, said KU's Hagen unabashedly of top ten status, "We aspire to be there." John McConnell, CEO of Labconco, stressed the need for the city to set its sights high. He spoke passionately about "models of excellence" like MRI, Children's Mercy and most recently, The Stower's Institute. The city's goal, he believed, should be to become "the best of the best." Hagen cited the Midwest Bioethics Center as an existing "model of collaboration." He add, "This is truly a gem for Kansas City"
UMKC's Gililand also argued for excellence. We have to make sure that "we don't hire anyone but A-plus people." O'Donnell of Children's Mercy shares the ambition. "Children's Mercy," he acknowledged boldly, "wants to be recognized as the best children's hospital in the world. This is not an "ego trip," he added, but a genuine desire to provide the best in teaching, research and, of course, clinical care.
As testament to the Hospital's vision, he cited the recruitment of "triple threat" Dr. Bill Truog away from the Seattle area. Said Truog in affirmation, "I am confident that all the resources in Kansas City will come together to make us truly one of the leaders in the country."
In addition to Truog, several other acknowledged "cutting edge" scientists were in attendance - among them, Dr. John Hunkeler of the Hunkeler Eye Centers. Said Hunkeler, when asked, "We are involved in clinical studies that are far reaching in their importance." The challenge for the life science movement, as Hunkeler observed, was to bridge the gap between clinical care and research.
Hunkeler cited as another example of Kansas City's state-of-the-art efforts the work of Dr. Richard Hellman, an endocrinologist representing the Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City. As Hellman noted, "Every new advance is a tremendous move forward." This progress, he implied, benefited the health of the area's citizens at least as much as the reputation of its life science community.
O'Donnell of Children's Mercy also saw the Life Science movement as going "beyond the notion of beakers and Bunsen burners." The ultimate benefactor is this "living community that we have."
"From bench to bedside" is how John Bluford described the transition from research to application, especially as seen at places like Truman. "There's a great deal of energy I sense coming out of this"
Dr. Richard Hellman
