A Vision for the Future

2023 was a groundbreaking year for UVA School of Medicine. The institution celebrated strategic hires, faculty promotions, research advances, and a surge in research funding. In this interview, Melina Kibbe, MD, dean of UVA School of Medicine, James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Science, and chief health affairs officer of UVA Health, highlights many remarkable achievements, including the school’s growth in federal research grants, particularly from prestigious entities such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to Dr. Kibbe, this substantial increase in support for UVA Health’s medical science research programs underscores the faculty’s dedication and talent. It also illustrates a belief in their ability to make transformational discoveries leading to new life-extending treatments and medications. 

Dean Kibbe also emphasizes the pivotal role of private philanthropy in supporting novel research that may not immediately qualify for federal funding. She explains that by offering crucial resources for research, private donors help inspire a culture of exploration and discovery at UVA Health, propelling advances in medicine, medical technology, and clinical care. Furthermore, she emphasizes how the generosity of donors supports the education and training of the next generation of physicians and scientists. 

In this conversation, Dean Kibbe highlights her pride in the institution’s commitment to diversity. She details the increased representation of women and individuals historically underrepresented in medicine, which is fostering a more inclusive and innovative environment. She also explains how UVA Health’s commitment to talent retention and support of endowed professorships helps maintain a low attrition rate and ensures continuity and excellence in its pursuits.

PULSE: UVA Health recently broke ground for the new Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. How will this institute benefit patients who come here seeking treatment options?

Dr. Kibbe: We are involved in over 600 clinical trials for new medicines right now, but we would like to be able to offer even more to the people in the commonwealth. The School of Medicine is investing in setting up a full-service clinical trials unit, and once the Manning Institute of Biotechnology opens, we aim to expand this into a statewide clinical trials unit. The idea is that the researchers will develop the therapies, and we’ll have the manufacturing facility to produce human-grade therapeutics. Then, through the Clinical Trials Network, we will offer access to our patients. The preponderance of these trials are early-stage, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials, but we may also have some late-stage phase 3 trials available. 

PULSE: Dean Kibbe, 2023 was a milestone year for new hires and promotions. Please tell us about these new leaders. 

Dr. Kibbe: I am proud of the amazing new talent we’ve hired and promoted, including the new chairs for various departments that started this academic year, including Dr. Lu Le (Dermatology), Dr. Colin Derdeyn (Radiology), Dr. Madhusmita Misra (Pediatrics), Dr. Andrew Muck (Emergency Medicine), Dr. Matt Gurka (Public Health Sciences), and Dr. Ling Qi (Molecular Physiology). These brilliant individuals will lead us to many exciting breakthroughs in their fields. I am also proud we now have more women and individuals underrepresented in medicine on our team. Furthermore, we are doing great at retaining our outstanding talent, as we have a very low attrition rate—currently 3%—which is considerably better than the industry average.

PULSE: In your annual “State of the School” address, you highlighted the significant rise in federal research grants. How was this accomplished?

Dr. Kibbe: We had year-over-year growth of our research portfolio of 27%. The growth was largely from grants from the NIH, our largest sponsor. The growth is primarily due to the incredible work of our faculty and researchers. In my first year here, we did a deep-dive strategic analysis of our research portfolio and found that our budget sizes were smaller than some of our peers, and we were a bit shy on our number of grants per principal investigator (PI). We’ve been very strategic in disseminating that information and finding ways to help our faculty move ahead. So, what we discovered with this recent growth of our research portfolio is that we increased the number of grants per PI and the overall budget sizes of the grants. A small portion of the growth was due to the hiring of new faculty.

PULSE: How is private philanthropy helping support novel, early-stage research that may not qualify for federal grants? 

Dr. Kibbe: Obtaining NIH grant funding is a very rigorous process, and you need to have the right preliminary data. If an idea is at a very early stage of development, it’s less likely to be supported by an NIH grant. That’s where private philanthropy comes into play. It helps fund nascent ideas and lets investigators capture preliminary data so they can then submit for foundation and federal grants. A great example of success is the incredibly generous backing from Paul and Diane Manning, who, as well as their extraordinary gift to create the Manning Institute of Biotechnology, invested early in the artificial pancreas system through the LaunchPad for Diabetes Innovation Fund. After that initial investment, the effort landed a $13 million NIH grant with Boris Kovatchev, PhD, as the PI. Several multicenter trials were then conducted, and one of the outcomes is a successful product called Dexcom, which automatically senses and regulates blood glucose levels. This device is now widely used and helps many people with Type 1 diabetes. 

PULSE: Please tell us about endowed professorships and why they’re essential to the School of Medicine.

Dr. Kibbe: Endowed professorships are extremely important for the School of Medicine, and we are incredibly grateful to our donors for their generous support in making these a reality. It’s their way of giving back to create a permanent legacy. It’s also a tremendous honor for our faculty to hold a named chair. It helps us recruit top-caliber people and recognize a faculty member’s body of work and accomplishments. Endowed professorships provide critical resources and support for our academic missions. They also fund research and afford career development for educational pursuits, so they’re vital to our success.

PULSE: The School of Medicine is launching an important $25 million student scholarship initiative. How will that impact student recruitment and help graduates overcome debt challenges after earning their degrees? 

Dr. Kibbe: Our vision is to become the nation’s leading public academic school of medicine, and scholarships are vital for helping us achieve this goal. We have some of the best and brightest students coming to UVA School of Medicine. With the generosity of our steadfast donors, this additional funding will help us ensure future medical leaders and innovators make UVA their first choice. 

This added scholarship support will also help reduce the debt burden for many students, regardless of their finances, including those from backgrounds already underrepresented in medicine. I’ve talked with students who come here, and there is a recurring theme when I ask: How were we able to get you to come here? They often answer that we’d offered the best financial package. We are excited about working closely with our supporters to enhance this effort.