U.S. ambassador to Australia meets with leadership of IU School of Medicine
The Indiana University School of Medicine leadership participated in a "power breakfast" with the U.S. ambassador to Australia on March 22 at the Health Informatics and Translational Sciences building. The breakfast was hosted by IU.
Jeffrey L. Bleich, U.S. ambassador to Australia, met with School of Medicine leaders to discuss health care innovation and research. The visit was part of a larger U.S. tour, "Opportunity Australia," hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.
Participants in the discussion included D. Craig Brater, dean of the IU School of Medicine and vice president for university clinical affairs at IU; David Wilkes, executive associate dean for research affairs and founder and scientific director of ImmuneWorks; Mervin Yoder, assistant dean for entrepreneurial research and founder of EndGenitor Technologies; and Anantha Shekhar, director of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and associate dean for translational research; Tony Armstrong, president and CEO of the IU Research and Technology Corp.; and Bill Stephan, vice president of the IU Office of Engagement.
Topics under discussion included an overview of resources designed to catalyze research and innovation at the IU School of Medicine. This included the role of the IURTC in enhancing IU's infrastructure to generate intellectual property and increase the number of disclosures and patents filed by IU investigators, as well as the mission of the Indiana CTSI to strengthen the translational research pipeline that brings new discoveries out of the lab and into clinical care. Other connections between the Indiana CTSI and Australia include a summer exchange program established last year to send medical students studying translational science to Australia National University.
In addition, Bleich met with business leaders and research developers from the Indianapolis community for a day of exchange beginning at a reception and luncheon at the J.W. Marriott Indianapolis.
The visit to Indianapolis came only days after a visit to New York City, including meetings with a group of innovators at the Yale Club and dinner with the Australian consul general to New York. The tour also included a visit to Washington, D.C., during which Bleich met with officials from the U.S. departments of state, defense and commerce, as well as the Pentagon and the White House.
Other members of the delegation include Charles Blunt, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia; Joe Kaesshaefer, senior commercial officer at the U.S. Mission, Australia; and Jonathan Fritz, economic counselor at the U.S. Embassy, Australia.
