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RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Alan I. Faden, M.D., a professor of neuroscience at Georgetown University, will share a vision for UC Riverside’s Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) in an open forum on campus at 4 p.m., Monday, March 26, in the Statistics Building, room B650.

“The HSRI should establish an internationally recognized research program that expands and complements biomedical research at UC Riverside; that enhances and provides new educational opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate level; and that helps to create the academic base to support a highly competitive four year medical school,” said Faden, the founding director of the Georgetown Institute for Cognitive and Computational Sciences. “Proposed areas of focus would be neuroscience and oncology, with connecting sub-themes related to aging and development.”

According to Dr. Faden’s vision, major HSRI research topics would include neurodegeneration, neuroplasticity and regeneration, as well as stem cell biology. Key technology areas would be enhanced or developed to support the research effort and to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations, including systems biology, nanotechnology, molecular imaging, and medicinal chemistry.

Dr. Faden’s vision includes also an emphasis on establishing strategic partnerships with other universities, industry and government to maximize the effectiveness and productivity of the new institute, as well as to promote the translational potential of its research.

From 1991-1996, Dr. Faden served as the first dean of research at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and as scientific director of the Medical Center. At Georgetown, he also was associate dean for biomedical sciences in the Graduate School, and directed the M.D./Ph.D. program.

Before joining Georgetown, Dr. Faden was a professor and vice-chair of the Department of Neurology at UC San Francisco, as well as chief of neurology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center and director of the Center for Neural Injury. Currently, he is the president of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics.

Dr. Faden’s research interests include molecular/cellular neuroscience and genomics related to cell death and neurodegeneration, with a strong translational component that includes drug discovery.

The HSRI aims to strengthen and focus research and graduate education in the biomedical and health sciences on campus. It also aims to bring together researchers from all sectors of health research to help produce ground-breaking discoveries in biomedical/health research. The vision for the institute includes association with the proposed UCR medical school that would attract strong clinical researchers and offer unique graduate and professional programs in health.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.