DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

I’m pleased to introduce the latest IMMpact Report for The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM). The IMM is a stand-alone research institute within McGovern Medical School. Our mission is to deliver translational outcomes from research in molecular medicine that benefits patients. Inside you will find in-depth articles on five of our faculty and highlighted donor, plus an account from each IMM faculty member describing their research programs and recent progress.

Many metrics are used to quantify research and institutional success, including grant funding, scientific publications, spin-off companies, and the capacity to recruit and retain stellar scientists from around the world. By all these metrics, the IMM excels; I am especially pleased to report, that once again IMM faculty had remarkable success in garnering new grants from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), and other extramural funding agencies. It is a testament to the outstanding quality and creativity of our scientists that the IMM remains so successful in attracting research funds.

Full implementation of our mission remains heavily dependent on support from alternative sources, including research charities and foundations, industry collaborations, and, most importantly, the continuing generosity of our friends and donors. Such funding is critical to allow our faculty to start innovative new projects and generate preliminary results that will, in turn, lead to new grant proposals.

This year saw the opening of a new research building in Helix Park, the TMC3 collaborative building, which is an exciting project that seeks to facilitate collaborative research among UTHealth Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Texas A&M University. The UTHealth Houston space was allocated to the Texas Therapeutic Institute from IMM. Accordingly, investigators from Dr. Zhiqiang An’s center who work on antibody drug conjugates moved into the building this fall. They are located adjacent to the drug discovery group from Texas A&M. In other developments, Dr.
Brian Davis, director of the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine left the IMM this summer to take up a prestigious new position at the University of Alabama. We wish him well. His departure has allowed us to establish a new IMM research center in neuroimmunology and glial biology, which will ramp up in 2024, but is introduced in this report.

This brings me to our annual IMM symposium – an illuminating and entertaining evening where you can hear exciting research stories directly from our faculty, and discuss the implications for the future of medicine and health care. This year the symposium will be held at IMM in the fall on October 29 and will highlight new insights into brain and neural imaging – areas in which IMM researchers are at the forefront of their fields. The work has important implications for treating many diseases of the nervous system, from childhood to old age – so something for everyone! The talks will be followed, as in years past, with a reception in the Dr. J.T. Willerson Discovery Hall. I look forward to seeing you all there.

John Hancock, MA, MB, BChir, PhD, ScD
Executive Director, Institute of Molecular Medicine
Executive Dean McGovern Medical School
John S. Dunn Distinguished University Chair in Physiology and Medicine