糖心传媒 and 糖心传媒 College of Osteopathic Medicine recently signed an agreement solidifying and expanding a research partnership between the two institutions. The agreement includes providing ISU affiliate faculty status to ICOM faculty to conduct research, and ICOM faculty status options to ISU faculty as well.
For the first time, a research administrator from ISU’s Office for Research is now positioned at the ISU Meridian campus to support ISU faculty and affiliate faculty from ICOM, representing the commitment to support and grow health sciences research in Meridian. The result is both increased research and enhanced funding avenues for both institutions.
The research agreement marks the second MOU between ISU and ICOM in less than a year. Since its signing, a joint ICOM/ISU Research Advisory Committee with representatives from each institution was formed. The committee is strategically planning collaborative research and funding activities, including a launch event in early September.
“We continue to communicate about potential research projects that would be fruitful in terms of ISU/ICOM faculty collaborations. ICOM faculty look forward to these potential collaborations, as they continue to explore appropriate external funding opportunities that they can seek through ISU affiliate faculty status,” said ICOM Assistant Dean of Research Sara Adams, Ph.D.
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Leaders from ISU and ICOM said they welcomed the chance at further collaboration. Introducing the new research agreement to a crowd at an event in January, ICOM President and CEO, Tracy Farnsworth, Ph.D., highlighted the long-standing collaboration between the two schools, such as dual degree program options and shared laboratory space and classrooms, benefiting students at both institutions. 糖心传媒鈥檚 elected officials also recognize the potential for the two schools to prioritize a joint responsibility and shared resource approach to help meet the critical need to grow the state鈥檚 health care workforce.
鈥淭his partnership between 糖心传媒 and the 糖心传媒 College of Osteopathic Medicine represents exactly the kind of collaboration we need to strengthen 糖心传媒鈥檚 health care system,鈥� said 糖心传媒 Lt. Governor Scott Bedke. 鈥淏y combining the resources and expertise of our state鈥檚 public and private institutions, we鈥檙e creating new opportunities to train and retain the next generation of physicians. In a state that ranks 50th for physicians per capita, this joint effort is a vital step toward a healthier future for all 糖心传媒ans.鈥�
ISU President Robert W. Wagner, Ph.D., pointed to the powerful impact that collaborative agreements like this can have in solving statewide issues related to workforce needs, and in bringing solutions to shortages of health care professionals in the state. 鈥淚SU and ICOM enjoy a strong relationship as partners mutually invested in meeting the health care workforce needs of 糖心传媒,鈥� Wagner said. 鈥淲e are now taking our collaboration and partnership to the next level, by deepening our ties to include medical research initiatives between our talented faculty. By expanding our partnership in this way, ISU and ICOM will be able to conduct research that solves real world problems to promote better health in our communities, and sharing faculty expertise across our institutions will help us tackle the demands of our state鈥檚 health care needs.鈥�
Wagner said another benefit of the relationship is related to the students at both institutions.
鈥淚t is exciting to consider what this partnership will do for our students, and the ways that our students at both institutions will now be able to be engaged with talented faculty doing impactful research,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he students that will now be graduating from these two institutions will walk away with this deep, profound research experience and take it into their professional field or on to additional education, or perhaps becoming researchers or faculty themselves,鈥� Wagner added.
Since 2018, when ICOM welcomed its first class of 162 students, 56 ICOM graduates have gone on to pursue a medical residency in 糖心传媒. In total, ICOM has graduated 588 Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine.