The major program interest of The Whitaker Foundation in 1993 continued to bebiomedical engineering, as it has been since the foundation was established in1975. While the focus of the foundation has remained constant, biomedicalengineering has changed dramatically during this period of time. Unfortunately,the perception of the field has not kept pace with the changes that haveoccurred.
What is often misunderstood is the breadth of modern biomedical engineering.Many still associate the discipline solely with the development of medicaldevices such as bionic arms, kidney dialysis machines and magnetic resonanceimaging. In fact, biomedical engineering extends beyond applied research tobasic research areas including studies of molecules, cells, tissues andorgans.
As chair of the foundation committee, it has been my policy to attend peerreview meetings for research grant applications and to participate in sitevisits for universities seeking grants to expand their graduate trainingprograms. At the annual meeting of investigators under the BiomedicalEngineering Research Grants Program, I have listened to presentations byspeakers and reviewed the posters presented by the third year investigators.This has provided me with a unique opportunity to observe first hand theresearch being conducted by today's biomedical engineers. Clearly, there is anabundance of both basic and applied science. The individual grants featured inthis annual report demonstrate the current scope of biomedical engineeringresearch.
For example, the projects featured under the Biomedical Engineering ResearchGrants Program involve new protocols for magnetic resonance imaging, thedevelopment of an artificial liver and the use of tissue engineering to developimproved synthetic ligaments. Research and educational programs featured underthe Biomedical Engineering Development Awards Program involve the applicationof tissue engineering to create an artificial pancreas; the use of tissueengineering to create substitute tissues, such as skin and blood vessels; andthe use of "biobased engineering" to create biologically based medical devices,including an artificial retina.
The mixture of basic and applied research extends to the two new programsinitiated by the foundation during 1993. The Special Opportunity Awards inBiomedical Engineering program provides grants up to $750,000 over three yearsfor unique research initiatives or innovative educational programs. It isinteresting to note that one of the awards involved the collaboration of threeformer grantees from different institutions under the foundation's researchgrants program. Their research project deals with protein assembly and behaviorin the lungs and on other surfaces in the human body.
A second new initiative in 1993 involved a collaborative program with theNational Science Foundation to encourage biomedical engineers to addressproblems associated with the cost of health care. Awards by The WhitakerFoundation supported research to develop less costly magnetic resonance imagingequipment; less expensive chemical tests for cystic
fibrosis, leukemia, infectious diseases and other disorders; and the design ofan intelligent patient monitoring system.
Although a few of the research projects mentioned above could easily becategorized as applied research; for many others, the delineation between basicand applied is blurred. Certainly, one does not create an artificial pancreasor liver, or develop synthetic skin, without significant basic research.Biomedical engineering no longer can be classified solely as an appliedscience.
In recent years, biomedical engineering has been undergoing a revolutionsimilar to the one that previously occurred in molecular biology. The new scopeof biomedical engineering requires educational programs and peer reviewmechanisms that recognize the full breadth of the field. The WhitakerFoundation, through its grant programs, is attempting to provide the supportthat will enable medical investigators to pursue these exciting new areas inbiomedical engineering and permit educational institutions to establishtraining programs for the future leaders of the discipline.
During 1993, the foundation awarded biomedical engineering grants totaling morethan $23 million, which represents a 44% increase over the prior year. Thefoundation is the preeminent private supporter of this emerging field. Theaddition of new biomedical engineering grant programs and the expansion ofpreviously established programs was possible because of the planned depletionof the foundation's assets over the next twelve years. We continue to believethat the best use of these assets is to concentrate on the development of theinfrastructure and future leadership.
In early 1994, I will relinquish the position of chair of the foundationcommittee; therefore, this represents my concluding report. I look back with agreat deal of satisfaction on what has been accomplished since I assumed theposition of chair in May 1990. We have added three new biomedical engineeringgrant programs, nearly tripled the amount of the awards and greatly expandedthe foundation's presence in the biomedical engineering community. This wouldhave been impossible without the support and involvement of the other membersof the foundation committee, the commitment of the advisory committees and thededication and effort of the foundation staff.
As I conclude my tenure as chair of the foundation committee, I often reflecton the extraordinary vision of my father, Uncas A. Whitaker. Prior to 1970,when biomedical engineering was in its infancy and largely restricted toapplied research, he was fostering collaboration between engineers and lifescientists. While recognizing that engineers were essential to applied medicalresearch, he foresaw the need also to involve engineers in basic medicalresearch. My father would be pleased that The Whitaker Foundation now supportsboth basic and applied research as well as educational programs that preparefuture biomedical engineers to contribute their unique skills in both of theseareas.
Ruth Whitaker Holmes, Ph.D.
Foundation Committee Chair