A Message from Dr. Bruner

Welcome to a new year of research and scholarship at Emory.

Hopeful that this year is the year we get the COVID19 pandemic under control, we hope this newsletter will inform, inspire, encourage, and support your resilience in the face of global and wearing challenges. Emory faculty have been amazing in the most difficult of times, leading us to record-breaking awards of over $831 million and to impressive NIH rankings, with Emory at number 18 nationally and the Department of Pediatrics reaching number 1; Rollins School of Public Health at number 4; and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at number 5. 

How do we continue to grow and protect research in these demanding and difficult times?  By exploring and fostering research that cuts across schools and disciplines, we can forge stronger connections with each other—connections that, in turn, give rise to fresh ideas and innovative discoveries. Innovation often comes about through what I like to call “constructive collisions.” What do I mean by this phrase? Constructive collisions take place when faculty across programs and units come together to examine a research problem from new angles. These creative intersections unfold outside traditional academic silos, sometimes upending conventional theories and assumptions. Constructive collisions invite multiple perspectives, and they do so purposefully, understanding that when faculty encounter different methods, voices, and practices, new molecules can spin off from that collision—and the resulting breakthroughs can be game-changing.

Beth A. Brown, an astrophysicist and the first African American woman to earn a PhD in astronomy from the University of Michigan, once said, “My head is crowned with blazing stars; whirling galaxies play at my feet.” Visionaries such as her lead us to imagine bright, expanding worlds. A mind-to-mind collision of our own thoughts on science with the ideas of researchers such as Brown can explode into numerous innovative particles and pathways that elevate the work of all involved. We will seek to foster constructive collisions along these lines in the coming months and years.

Where should we start? The SVPR Research Council has identified three cross-cutting research themes that focus on Emory’s strengths, including (1) race, equity, resilience, and social justice (2) information science and technology, and (3) global health impact. Over the next several semesters, we will further refine these themes, identifying faculty engaged in each area and creating opportunities to connect and promote innovative research partnerships. Our office also works to support funding opportunities for Emory’s health sciences priorities, including three areas that further leverage our multidisciplinary strengths and overlap with FY21 funding opportunities in the federal omnibus bill: brain health, cancer, and infectious diseases. 

In honor of Black History Month, our first newsletter showcases the theme of race, equity, resilience, and social justice. The articles in this newsletter profile just a few of the remarkable early-career faculty members conducting pioneering research in this domain.  I’m excited to share their insights with you.

In this uniquely challenging time, all of us in the SVPR office remain committed to supporting you—Emory’s faculty—as we advance our mission as a leading research university. I hope the research highlighted in this issue inspires you to think about your own work from a new vantage point and sparks ideas about those you might want to reach out to for a constructive collision. 

Sincerely,

^{Senior Vice President for Research
Professor and Robert W. Woodruff Chair in Nursing
Emory University}