Last month, Bishr Omary, M.D., Ph.D., began in his new role as the university’s chief scientific officer and executive vice dean for research.
Headlines recently caught up with Omary to discuss his new role and his vision for the future of the organization’s research enterprise.
Q: You recently began your new role on May 1. What is your vision for the immediate future in terms of strengthening the research enterprise at Michigan Medicine?
Omary: In the immediate future, we will be focusing on two priorities. First, we have open chair positions that we need to fill — in the departments of biochemistry and human genetics. These are two highly prestigious basic science departments with remarkable legacies; the biochemistry department was established in the 1900s, and the human genetics department was established in 1956 as the first dedicated human genetics department in the U.S.
The second priority is to develop a comprehensive research space strategy to meet the needs of both our current faculty and anticipated new faculty recruits. We plan to renovate to establish new research space at NCRC, and we also have labs on the main medical campus that need to be upgraded.
Read more of Dr. Omary’s Q&A in Michigan Medicine Headlines.