Combining bioinformatics and mouse models to better understand diabetes . understanding how the immune system is programmed . determining how neurons are connected..

These are among the many Medical College of Georgia research breakthroughs highlighted in this 2007 edition of MCG Tomorrow.

This annual magazine disseminates news of MCG's important laboratory findings, particularly in our thematic areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes/obesity, infection/inflammation and neurological disease.

Even amid an increasingly competitive research funding environment, MCG continues to make great strides, with all indicators pointing up. The past fiscal year marked a 3.9 percent increase in sponsored research funding for a total of $64 million. The university's National Institutes of Health funding increased 4.6 percent to $45.2 million and its total number of sponsored research awards increased 25.3 percent. Thirty-six MCG scientists submitted invention disclosures or were named on patents, and research findings were publicized in dozens of prestigious scientific journals. I take great pride in using this magazine to share the many implications behind these statistics: the lives that are improved, the years extended and the suffering alleviated through MCG research.

Rest assured that MCG research findings will benefit people for generations to come-and that the breakthroughs will just keep coming.

Daniel W. Rahn, M.D.
President
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Approximately two years ago, I began my tenure as vice president for research at the Medical College of Georgia.

What an adventure it has been, full of advances that only a very few years ago would have been inconceivable. Who could have guessed that science would progress to the point where we could manipulate genes to forestall disease, transplant cells to halt disease in its tracks and trace agerelated diseases to their earliest clues in childhood?

These are just a few of the breakthroughs unfolding on campus, with the promise of many advances yet to come. It's hard to imagine a more dynamic field than biomedical science, where every finding leads to more insight, more probing, more questions- and ultimately, more answers.

It is a privilege to oversee MCG's research initiative and to support the faculty, fellows, students and staff who devote their time and passion to pursuing knowledge that will improve the lives of those throughout Georgia and beyond.

It is an exhilarating experience, and one I am proud to share in the following pages. Thank you for taking the time to read about and support MCG's research.

Sincerely,

Dr. Frank A. Treiber
Vice President for Research,
Associate Provost,
Regents Professor of Pediatrics
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