Martin Zand to Lead Clinical Research at URMC
Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., a co-director of the University of Rochester Clinical and Translational Science Institute, has been named Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Zand, who is also a professor of Nephrology and Public Health Sciences, will take up the post on August 1, 2018, pending approval from the University’s Board of Trustees.
Zand wears many hats, ranging from clinician to biomedical researcher and data scientist. He is an internationally recognized expert in solid organ transplant immunobiology – studying how the immune system responds to transplanted organs – and his clinical practice focuses on holistic care of kidney transplant patients. As a data scientist, he aims to understand and improve influenza vaccination, population health and healthcare delivery.
“Martin was a natural choice for this position,” said Mark B. Taubman, M.D., dean of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and CEO of URMC. “He is perfectly positioned, through his intersecting clinical and scientific interests, to guide and support the University’s clinical research efforts.”
We want our patients and community members to have access to the best clinical trials, right here in Rochester, and I’m honored to be able to lead that effort.
URMC is taking several steps to boost the number and quality of clinical trials conducted at the Medical Center. This includes developing a new office to speed start-up times for clinical trials and improving management and analysis of trial data. These efforts will help URMC answer clinical research questions faster and offer patients cutting-edge therapies and opportunities to participate in health research sooner.
“Martin’s expertise is exactly what we need to invigorate our clinical research programs at the Medical Center,” said Stephen Dewhurst, Ph.D., vice dean for Research at URMC. “We’re confident his efforts will allow us to offer new clinical trials and advance our understanding of diseases as well as promising treatments.”
Zand’s new role will dovetail with his current positions as co-director of the UR CTSI and its new Center for Leading Innovation and Collaboration, to offer medical center research teams greater access to clinical and translational research resources and collaborators across the nation. As Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, Zand will focus on starting up the new Office of Clinical Research; creating a data ecosystem that integrates laboratory and clinical data; supporting clinical researchers by ensuring they have more time available to conduct research; and improving how we implement treatments and therapies.
“I am excited to take on this new role,” said Zand. “We want our patients and community members to have access to the best clinical trials, right here in Rochester, and I’m honored to be able to lead that effort.”
Zand will succeed Jill Halterman, M.D., MPH, who is now chief of General Pediatrics at URMC and pursuing new opportunities to expand her nationally recognized clinical research program in childhood asthma.
# # #
The University of Rochester Medical Center is home to approximately 3,000 individuals who conduct research on everything from cancer and heart disease to Parkinson’s, pandemic influenza and autism. Spread across many centers, institutes and labs, our scientists have developed therapies that have improved human health locally, in the region and across the globe. To learn more, visit www.urmc.rochester.edu/research.
Author
