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Dear Alumni/ae and Friends:
 As one of the leaders in ophthalmology and visual science in
America, the
University of Michigan W.K.
Kellogg Eye Center, featured in this issue of Medicine
at Michigan, is renowned for providing exceptional vision care to
its patients. Kellogg also conducts groundbreaking vision research and, as
the Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences,
expertly trains the next generation of leading ophthalmologists. The fourth-oldest
such department in the nation, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences ranks fifth
in research dollars awarded by the National Eye Institute to ophthalmology
departments, and its physicians conduct 90,000 patient visits each year. Kellogg
currently is one of just a few ocular disease genetic counseling centers in
the world, helping patients and their families understand scientific complexities
and make informed decisions regarding their sight and its care.
Today, 25 percent of people over the age of 65 are likely to suffer from age-related
macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, and just
since 1996, the number of patients seen at Kellogg with this debilitating disease
has increased 67 percent. Cataracts affect half of Americans over age 65. Since
1996, the number of cataract patients at Kellogg has increased 79 percent.
And glaucoma afflicts approximately 3 million Americans; glaucoma patients
receiving care at Kellogg have increased by nearly 20 percent in the last six
years.
And Kellogg’s job is about to get tougher.
As the population of older Americans increases, so will Kellogg’s work.
People over the age of 60 currently comprise 57 percent of patient visits,
and eye diseases that affect the older population will become much more common
as the number of Michigan residents age 65 or older increases by 52 percent
from the year 2000 to 2025.
Kellogg is preparing now for the challenges that lie ahead. An expansion of
facilities, made possible through strong philanthropic and institutional support,
will enable growth in research and educational programs and in clinical services
that will help address not only the increases in age-related eye diseases,
but also pediatric, diabetes-related and other eye disorders. The burgeoning
data about the human genome and the genetics of eye diseases, advances in vision
technology, the new and promising field of pharmacogenetics — which will
help identify effective drugs and their doses according to an individual’s
genetic makeup — are just a few of the important focuses of Kellogg’s
work.
Our pride in Kellogg’s achievements and international stature is exceeded
only by our confidence in its potential to even more greatly influence the
future of vision science and care.
There is another preparation for the future featured in this issue. As the
business of medicine and health care delivery grows more complex and demands
more of today’s physicians, the acquisition of degrees in business administration
are providing a mix of skills to equip future physicians and create new career
opportunities. The M.D./M.B.A program at
the University of Michigan combines the powerful resources of two
top schools in the country to help prepare
tomorrow’s health care leadership.
In fact, the benefit of degrees in dual disciplines to the professional development
and contributions of our graduates is not limited to collaboration with the
Business School; students are increasingly broadening their perspectives through
graduate degrees in the Schools of Public Health and Pharmacology, and the
College of Engineering as well. And for nearly 25 years, the Medical School’s
Medical Scientist Training Program has provided the opportunity for medical
students to also pursue a basic science-oriented Ph.D., combining clinical
expertise with laboratory research in a fashion fundamental and critical to
building the bench-to-bedside bridge.
As the world evolves beyond the concept of multi-tasking to one more akin
to multi-functioning, dual degrees are ever more important professional tools
for success and innovation in the expanding field of health care. We are proud
of the opportunities available at the University of Michigan for students to
learn in expanded and innovative ways, and we will continue to mold medical
education at Michigan with a focus on the future and with the unwavering goal
of providing the best possible training to students who represent some of the
brightest and most dynamic minds in the country.
Sincerely,
Allen S. Lichter (M.D. 1972)
Dean
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