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T h rough pa r t nersh ips w it h t he University of Akron, Kent State University, Youngstown State University, Cleveland State University (CSU), Miami University of Ohio, Central State University and Hiram College, as well as 24 hospitals and numerous other affiliates, NEOMED has established a network of professional alliances which introduce its students to the communities in which they will work. Approximately one-third of its medicine graduates remain in northeast Ohio to practice after completing their residen- cies, Dr. Gershen notes. Cultivating strong relationships between future physicians and the com- munities in which they will serve brings a vital dimension to community care. New primary care providers enter their practices with a working knowledge not only of the individuals they care for, but also of the area's socioeconomic dynamics. Social determinants, such as the avail- ability of healthy food options, safe areas for exercise and work demands, can sig- nificantly impact an individual's health. "Healthy communities lead to healthy people, and living in crime-ridden areas with relative paucity of resources will influence a person's health or illness," says Jeff Susman, MD, Dean of the College of Medicine at NEOMED. "We're training the clinician of tomorrow to understand how these sectors interact." Successfully opening students' eyes to the interconnectivity of the social determinants of health required a refor- mulation of curriculum that brought hea lthcare studies and biomedica l research — traditionally insular special- ties, Dr. Susman notes — out of their silos and into an integrated program. Community-based Education The Partnership for Urban Health is an Education for Service initiative col- laboratively led by NEOMED and CSU to promote community-based health ca re through the t wo institution's strengths: urban health, primary care medicine and interprofessional education. In addition to its innovative curriculum that brings together traditionally disparate focuses, the NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health also features a com- munity mentorship program as a resource for advising, counseling and tutoring from community leaders. "Through this program, students who may not have had the opportunities other medical students have can enter our joint program at Cleveland State University," Dr. Susman says. "There, they receive the background in the urban primary care experience that lays the fundamental groundwork for understanding the con- nection between community health and medical services interwoven in the social fabric of the community. We build upon this experience during their medicine coursework at NEOMED." Perh aps most i mp or t a nt ly, t he NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health expands the pipeline of appli- cants seeking admission to NEOMED's College of Medicine by identif ying interested, diverse and academically capable students in the area as early as middle school and by making scholarship opportunities available. I N V ES TI N G I N I N N OVATI O N THIS SUMMER WILL see the completion of Northeast Ohio Medical University's (NEOMED's) Research Entrepreneurship Discovery Innovation (REDIzone) zone, which will welcome 10 startup companies designed to leverage the expertise and knowledge of the organization's faculty and the University's state-of-the-art facilities. As the new companies develop and commercialize intellectual property, they will stay rooted in the University's four areas of scientific focus: + Auditory Neuroscience + Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease + Community Based Mental Health + Skeletal Biology "The companies that will lease the space will match our four areas of focus," says Jay A. Gershen, DDS, PhD, President of NEOMED. "That way, we'll maximize their impact by coordinating their work with our faculty's research. Faculty members can sit on companies' scientific advisory boards and help develop theories, products or diagnostics. Companies can also use the brain trust that is our faculty to help move products forward to the mainstream of commerce." Already, the initiative is making an impact. A team of faculty members from Kent State University and NEOMED devel- oped liquid crystal technology that can detect bacterium in 25 minutes. From this innovation, Crystal Diagnostics was born. To date, the company has raised $15 million in funding to commercialize the product. (L-R) Susan Labuda Schrop, PhD; Jeff Susman, MD; Elisabeth Young, MD; Erik Porfeli, PhD 2 0 1 4 J U LY/AU G U S T ■ M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS Cleveland/Akron/Canton | 9