November 10, 2020
UMSOM’s Special Trans-Disciplinary Recruitment Award Program (STRAP) Concludes as One of Most Successful Dean’s Challenge Initiatives
University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today the conclusion of the Special Trans-Disciplinary Recruitment Award Program (STRAP), a highly successful faculty initiative that brought dozens of top researcher-physician-scientists and biomedical scientists to the UMSOM faculty. This program will be succeeded by a new Dean's challenge initiative that will focus on large program project and center grants, known as the LGAP Initiative (Large Grant Award Program).
The STRAP Initiative was led by Terry Rogers, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Associate Dean for Research Development and Administration, along with the Office of Research Affairs (ORA) Director, Joni Prasad, PhD.
The STRAP Initiative was among recent components of UMSOM's multi-year research strategy called ACCEL-Med (Accelerating Innovation and Discovery in Medicine). ACCEL-Med was implemented in 2013 to increase the pace and scope of clinical 
and basic science research, and move the UMSOM to the top-upper echelon of research-intensive medical schools. The initiative included a slate of new programs, including the UMSOM’s annual Festival of Science, the formation of a Scientific Advisory Council, a renewed focus on interdisciplinary research and collaboration, the opening of new core biomedical research facilities (CIBR), the introduction of the new course, Foundations in Research and Critical Thinking (FRCT) in the MD curriculum, and the development of a research continuum across the UMSOM, in which faculty, trainees, and students at all levels play a role in advancing science and discovery. The newest component of ACCEL-Med is the recently launched LGAP (Large Grant Award Program) Initiative, which aims to secure large NIH program project, center grants, or the equivalent grants.
STRAP Produced Exceptional Results
Launched in 2017, the STRAP Initiative produced exceptional recruitment results, with the addition of preeminent physician-scientists and biomedical scientists to the UMSOM faculty, while further elevating the UMSOM’s national and international research profile. In all, the STRAP Initiative attracted 26 teams of scientists from leading institutions across the U.S., with more than $100 million in total research funding at its conclusion (see figure 1 showing list of STRAP recruits).
“The success of the STRAP Initiative was a result of the outstanding collaboration across UMSOM leadership groups involved. In particular, the Chairs and Directors played a pivotal role, working with the ORA leadership, and the external recruiting firm to secure these highly sought-after individuals, in a highly competitive marketplace.”
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore
John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and
Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Recruits Attracted by New Facilities and Collaboration
Faculty recruited in the STRAP Initiative came from a variety of leading academic institutions and from a diverse range of disciplines. Many were attracted to the exceptional resources of the newly-constructed Health Sciences Research Facility (HSRF III) and its state of the art laboratories, while others saw new opportunities to expand and collaborate across various research platforms.
“Ms. Louisa Peartree, MBA, Senior Associate Dean and Chief Operating Officer for the UMSOM, and her team in Finance and Administration deserve special recognition and thanks, as they provided critical support in helping to meet the specific laboratory and other resource requirements of the many STRAP recruits, as part of the occupancy program of the new HSRF III research building,” Dean Reece said.
Dean Reece and Dr. Rogers noted that the STRAP Initiative evolved and broadened during its three-year tenure. Many recruits were purposely recruited through the original established criteria. Over time, the definition expanded and evolved. Other top scientists, who were recruited during this STRAP period, came to the UMSOM faculty as part of a “halo effect”—in which many of the new scientists were attracted to join existing UMSOM faculty.
According to Dr. Rogers, the result has been an infusion of highly talented researcher-physician-scientists and biomedical scientists who have brought tremendous synergy and opportunities for collaboration to the UMSOM.
“We have seen STRAP-recruited faculty dramatically expand the scope and impact of their research,” Dr. Rogers said. “Many have pointed to their ability to engage in crucial collaborations with our existing faculty. This has resulted in technology development start-ups, cutting edge interdisciplinary work, and partnerships leading to new drug development programs and future therapies.”
Figure 1: Preeminent STRAP Faculty Recruits
Tracy L. Bale, PhD
Chair: Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, Department of Pharmacology
Prior Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: stress modeling in mice, neurodevelopment
Total $$ Awarded: $14,783,124
Konstantin G. Birukov, MD, PhD
Chair: Peter Rock, MD, MBA
Department of Anesthesiology
Prior Institution: University of Chicago
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: lung injury, vascular biology
Total $$ Awarded: $7,350,769
Anna A. Birukova, MD
Chair: Stephen Davis, MBBS
Department of Medicine
Prior Institution: University of Chicago
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: Lung Injury; cytoskeletal changes; inflammation; vascular biology
Total $$ Awarded: $10,871,799
Xuefang Cao, PhD
Chair: James Kaper, PhD, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Director: Kevin Cullen, MD, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
Prior Institution: Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: Graft v. Host Disease, ovarian cancer, T cell immune response
Total $$ Awarded: $1,543,981
Linda Chang, MD, MS
Chair: Elias R. Melhem, MD, Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine
Prior Institution: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: brain development and biology, addiction
Total $$ Awarded: $3,555,638
Motomi Enomoto-Iwamoto, DDS, PhD
Chair: Andrew Pollak, MD, Department of Orthopaedics
Prior Institution: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: skeletal development and function, cell signaling, osteoarthritis, cartilage and tendon repair
Total $$ Awarded: $7,918,843
Thomas M. Ernst, Dr. rer. nat.
Chair: Elias R. Melhem, MD, Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine
Prior Institution: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: magnetic resonance imaging, spectroscopy
Total $$ Awarded: $3,606,029
Masahiro Iwamoto, PhD
Chair: Andrew Pollak, MD, Department of Orthopaedics
Prior Institution: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: connective tissue repair, developmental biology of bone and cartilage, heterotopic ossification
Total $$ Awarded: $3,358,435
Zhongjun Jon Wu, PhD
Chair: Christine Lau, MD, MBA, Department of Surgery
Prior Institution: University of Louisville
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: artifical organ development, hemodynamics, cardiovascular diease
Total $$ Awarded: $3,736,006
Li-Qun Zhang, PhD
Chair: Victoria G. Marchese, PhD, PT, Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science
Prior Institution: Northwestern University
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: joint rehabilitation robotics, neurological disorders, musculoskeletal injuries
Total $$ Awarded: $3,925,056
Charles C. Hong, MD, PhD
Chair: Stephen Davis, MBBS, Department of Medicine
Prior Institution: Vanderbilt University
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: drug discovery and development, cardiovascular genetics, pluripotent stem cells, chemical biology
Total $$ Awarded: $2,738,751
Yang Liu, PhD
Chair: Christine Lau, MD, MBA, Department of Surgery
Prior Institution: Children's National Health System
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: experimental therapy in cancer and autoimmune diseases, cancer genetics, cancer stem cells
Total $$ Awarded: $976,842
Pan Zheng, MD, PhD
Chair: Christine Lau, MD, MBA, Department of Surgery
Director: Robert C. Gallo, MD, Institute of Human Virology
Prior Institution: Children's National Health System
Recruitment Year: 2017
Area of Research: signal transduction in hematopoietic stem cells in aging, TSC-mTOR, tumor immunology
Total $$ Awarded: $3,298,923
Raymond F. Regan, MD
Chair: Brian Browne, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine
Prior Institution: Philadelphia University & Thomas Jefferson University
Recruitment Year: 2018
Area of Research: cell tissue injury during strokes/brain trauma, Intracerebral hemorrhage
Total $$ Awarded: $10,434,727
Liqing Justin Yu, MD, PhD
Chair: Stephen Davis, MBBS, Department of Medicine
Chair: Richard Eckert, PhD, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Prior Institution: Georgia State University
Recruitment Year: 2018
Area of Research: fatty liver disease, liopid metabolism
Total $$ Awarded: $2,528,884
Roger A. Bannister, PhD
Chair: Stanford Stass, MD, Department of Pathology
Prior Institution: University of Colorado
Recruitment Year: 2019
Area of Research: ALS, muscle biology
Total $$ Awarded: $923,197
Eli E. Bar, PhD
Chair: Stanford Stass, MD, Department of Pathology
Prior Institution: Case Western Reserve University
Recruitment Year: 2019
Area of Research: tumor stem cells, glioblastoma
Total $$ Awarded: $689,388
Allan Doctor, MD
Chair: Steven Czinn, MD, Department of Pediatrics
Director: Thomas Scalea, MD, Program in Trauma
Prior Institution: Washington University School of Medicine
Recruitment Year: 2019
Area of Research: ultrasound, nanoparticles, nervous system control
Total $$ Awarded: $1,424,196
Zhe Han, PhD
Chair: Stephen Davis, MBBS, Department of Medicine
Prior Institution: Children's National
Recruitment Year: 2019
Area of Research: leukemia, renal biology, heart development
Total $$ Awarded: $5,716,300
Alexander S. Krupnick, MD
Chair: Christine Lau, MD, MBA, Department of Surgery
Prior Institution: University of Virginia
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: Lung transplant
Total $$ Awarded: $2,338,739
Hong C. Lai, PhD, MPH
Chair: Jay Magaziner, PhD, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health
Director: Robert C. Gallo, MD, Institute of Human Virology
Prior Institution: Johns Hopkins University
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: Ophthalmology - Age related Maculopathy
Total $$ Awarded: $4,851,552 (Jointly awarded with Dr. Shenghan Lai)
Shenghan Lai, MD
Chair: Jay Magaziner, PhD, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health
Director: Robert C. Gallo, MD, Institute of Human Virology
Prior Institution: Johns Hopkins University
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease and Cocaine Use
Total $$ Awarded: $4,851,552 (Jointly awarded with Dr. Hong C. Lai)
Christine L. Lau, MD, MBA
Chair: Department of Surgery
Prior Institution: University of Virginia
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: Lung transplant
Total $$ Awarded: $797,560
Valeria Mas, PhD
Chair: Christine Lau, MD, MBA, Department of Surgery
Prior Institution: University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: transplant immunology; epigenetic modifications on kidney graft and outcomes
Total $$ Awarded: $3,209,249 (Jointly awarded with Dr. Maluf)
Lishan Su, PhD
Chair: Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, Department of Pharmacology
Director: Robert C. Gallo, MD, Institute of Human Virology
Prior Institution: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: HIV research
Total $$ Awarded: $2,543,409
Daniel G. Maluf, MD
Chair: Christine Lau, MD, MBA, Department of Surgery
Prior Institution: University of Tennessee (UT) / Methodist Transplant Institute
Recruitment Year: 2020
Area of Research: transplant surgery, liver donor liver transplantation, and robotic minimally invasive surgery
Total $$ Awarded: $3,209,249 (Jointly awarded with Dr. Mas)
26 Teams of Scientists
$101,000,000
in NIH Funding Awards
Department Chairs and Directors Echoed the Great Success and Value of the STRAP Initiative
Across the UMSOM, senior leaders in basic science and clinical departments, centers, and institutes commented on the impact of the STRAP initiative.
“The STRAP Initiative was very valuable to the UMSOM. It was extremely beneficial in helping us identify outstanding teams of funded investigators, and in certain cases, enabled us to recruit them successfully to the UMSOM faculty.”
Sanford Stass, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology and Chair,
Department of Medical and Research Technology
“The impact of the STRAP recruits on the UMSOM research mission is broad and deep. The excellence and expertise they bring is both transformative and enduring.”
Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD
James & Carolyn Frenkil Dean’s Professor,
Chair of the Department of Pharmacology
“When the STRAP program was first announced, I was intrigued by the prospect of being able to recruit and fund a team of multidisciplinary scientists to continue to bring research to the forefront of our institution. I was thrilled when The Department of Pediatrics was able to recruit world-renowned physician-scientist Allan Doctor, MD. His revolutionary research on the development of an artificial blood product in the Center for Blood Oxygen Transport & Hemostasis has resulted in the recruitment of 12 additional researchers among two campuses. Dr. Doctor and his team have done exactly what the STRAP Program was meant to accomplish – accelerating discoveries, cures, and therapeutics for the most serious diseases.”
Steven J. Czinn, MD, FAAP, FACG, AGAF
The Drs. Rouben and Violet Jiji Endowed Professor
of Pediatrics and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
"The STRAP recruitment program has been pivotal in facilitating a cultural transformation towards research in our clinical department with many of our clinical faculty now being proud recipients of NIH grants."
Elias R. Melhem, MD
Dean John M. Dennis Chair in Radiology
“The STRAP program was a great success. STRAP allowed the recruitment of Internationally renowned clinical and translational scientists. These accomplished researchers provided important scientific breakthroughs. In doing so, STRAP increased knowledge and education for the benefit of the UMSOM and all its components, including faculty, staff, trainees, students, as well as our patients, and the surrounding population.”
Stephen N. Davis, MBBS
Theodore E. Woodward Chair in Medicine
"The STRAP initiative allowed us to recruit a world-class scientist who has helped expand the breadth and depth of our research program. From our perspective, the STRAP initiative has been a terrific accomplishment and has contributed greatly to the success of our research program."
Peter Rock, MD, MBA
Dr. Martin Helrich Chair for Anesthesiology
"The STRAP program has encouraged great collaboration in recruitments across departments, centers, and programs in the School of Medicine. This is a big factor behind the 70 percent increase in cancer research funding on the campus, compared to our last NCI center grant renewal in 2015."
Kevin J. Cullen, MD
Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Distinguished Professor in Oncology
"The STRAP initiative is an important effort in helping the School’s leadership recruit established and rising talented faculty members. The Institute is appreciative of the Dean’s support to better position ourselves as we continue to attract and recruit top researchers from around the world."
Robert C. Gallo, MD
Homer and Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine and Co-Founder & Director, Institute Of Human Virology (IHV)
"Although my department did not do any recruiting under this very innovative program, the STRAP initiative has added breadth and depth to the School of Medicine and campus research community."
Jay S. Magaziner, PhD, MSHyg
Chair, Department Of Epidemiology & Public Health; Director, Center For Research On Aging
"The STRAP Initiative provided a phenomenal opportunity for new faculty to share ideas and insights with existing faculty."
Christine L. Lau, MD, MBA
Dr. Robert W. Buxton Chair of Surgery
"The tremendous success of the STRAP Initiative, along with the opening of Health Sciences Research Facility III, and the other components of ACCEL-Med, has significantly accelerated the upward trajectory of UMSOM as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the nation,” said Dean Reece. “Our advanced laboratories and leading edge technology in genomics, personalized medicine, cancer, and diagnostic imaging in the new facility are among the best in the world. Our teams of preeminent, well-funded physician-scientists and biomedical scientists are working on the most critical 'big science' research questions. Indeed, UMSOM’s leadership position continues to rise among the upper echelon of research-intensive medical schools.”
About the University of Maryland School of Medicine
Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $563 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu
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Monday, July 25, 2016
UM SOM Launches Unprecedented Initiative to Recruit Scores of Top Scientists
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, today announced the launch of a bold, new and unprecedented faculty recruitment initiative, Special Trans-Disciplinary Recruitment Award Program (STRAP), designed to attract top scientists to the School, and to significantly catalyze UM SOM’s focus on accelerating discoveries, cures and therapeutics for the most serious diseases that cause morbidity, mortality and disability.