OB/GYN one of 4 departments to advance in rankings

The Wayne State University School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology recently was ranked first in research awards by the National Institutes of Health with more than $16 million in total grants.

The rankings, which had previously listed WSU's OB/GYN program third, are a reflection of the department's continuing commitment to innovation in medicine, particularly in the areas of women's and infant health. During the past 15 years, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in conjunction with its clinical partner, Hutzel Women's Hospital, have made medical history in several areas.

"The School of Medicine is proud of the contributions its OB/GYN department has made to research in its field. Its work continues this institution's long-standing tradition of working to improve quality of life through education and research," Dean John D. Crissman said.

In 1995, the department was the first to successfully perform an in-utero bone-marrow transplant on a fetus. WSU also has been a leader in developing the latest prenatal diagnostic techniques, including gold standards for using 4D ultrasound and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a technique that allows physicians to determine whether a child will have potentially devastating diseases before an embryo is implanted in the mother's womb.

Most recently, the department published groundbreaking research demonstrating that sperm plays a larger role than simple fertilization. Dr. Stephen Krawetz, a WSU professor, showed that sperm actually carries RNA critically important to early embryo development, a function scientists previously thought was solely performed by the embryo.

In 2002, the department demonstrated its unique capabilities to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to win a 10-year contract to house its Perinatology Research Branch (PRB), an intramural branch of NIH that conducts studies into maternal and infant health and disease .

"We are proud of this new ranking; it is a manifestation of years of hard work, creativity and discipline," said Dr. John Malone, chair of the WSU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "We are also grateful to be able to collaborate with so many talented scientists and physicians who are a part of the Perinatology Research Branch. Through this unique collaboration, we look forward to learning more and translating that newly acquired knowledge into better lives for our patients."

The PRB is one of only a few NIH intramural branches located outside of its main campus in Maryland, representing a unique partnership between the NIH and an academic medical center. The contract, with a potential estimated value of $125 million over its duration, is expected to have profound and far-reaching social and economic impact in Detroit and the surrounding community.

Although the PRB was created to address the causes of high infant mortality in the United States, with a particular emphasis on premature birth and congenital anomalies, scientists are now learning that prenatal life is the most important determinant of adult health and disease. Problems developing as early as the fetal stage of life can predispose people to coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and renal failure.

In addition to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, three other WSU School of Medicine departments moved up in NIH rankings. The Department of Emergency Medicine made its debut in the rankings at No. 4, with $717,000; the Department of Family Medicine advanced from No. 35 to No. 21 with $826,000; and the Department of Pathology advanced from No. 43 to No. 29 with almost $7 million.