Dr. Edward J. Wing took over as Brown University’s dean of medicine and biological sciences in July 2008. His department encompasses the Warren Alpert Medical School and Brown’s Programs in Biology and Public Health, giving him responsibility for overseeing the division’s $131 million annual budget.

Wing, a specialist in infectious diseases, was physician-in-chief at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital from 1998 until last year. He talked with Providence Business News about the coming construction of a new home for the Alpert Medical School.

PBN: The Corporation, Brown’s governing body, recently approved the design of the new Medical School building in the Jewelry District. How big a deal is this for the school?

WING: The approval of the schematic design is enormously important for the Alpert Medical School because we can move the process to the next step of putting the project out to bid. After a construction firm is approved for the design-build process, a firm budget can be determined. The project will then be presented to the Brown Corporation in February for final approval. If approved, restoration will begin in the spring and be finished in August 2011.

The new building will allow Alpert medical students for the first time to have the most modern educational facilities in a home of their own. The building will be the right size, be close to the major hospitals of the school and our Program in Public Health, have parking, be in an emerging research district and yet be close to College Hill.

PBN: The information released about the new facility mentions that it will allow you to implement an “academy program” for your medical students. Could you explain what that is, and why it appeals to you?

WING: The academy model has been in place at several other medical schools including Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic. Students will be assigned to one of three academies for their four years of medical school. Each academy will have their own physical space in the building, including lounge space, computer facilities, lockers, a pantry and study space. Most important, each academy will have a senior physician on site to advise, teach and support the members of the academy.

Students will spend most of their first two years in the academy. During the third and fourth year, when they are primarily in the hospitals, students will be able to return to their academy for advice (for example, regarding residencies) or simply a “home” to relax in. Even after graduation, the alumni of the academy will stay connected to the other members, continuing to collaborate.

PBN: What else are you particularly excited about that the new facility will allow you to do?

WING: The building will have a clinical skills suite that contains examination rooms. Students will practice [patient] history-taking and examination in these rooms on “standardized patients,” individuals who have been trained to act like patients with illnesses. Our students can practice their interviewing skills and their diagnostic skills over and over, thus perfecting their craft. We will also have mannequins, sophisticated models of humans that our students can practice their CPR skills and procedures. The clinical suite will allow us to educate our students in the best and most modern way available.

PBN: What impact do you think this project and related initiatives by Brown will have on the Jewelry District?

WING: I am convinced that the Alpert Medical School building will be a catalyst for the further development of the Jewelry District. Brown University has made a major commitment to this district through the Medical School Building, its 70 Ship St. research building, and its purchase of other buildings for future development. Rhode Island Hospital and Women and Infant’s Hospital similarly have invested in large medical research and clinical buildings.

Over the past 10 years, this infusion of people, resources and vision in the medical-care, education and research industries has resulted in an amazing growth of the district. By attracting health, science and biotech industries, it will stimulate sustainable, high-value-added employment and support economic development in the city and state. I predict that this upward trajectory will continue and that these industries will become one of the mainstays of Providence’s economy and the state’s, as it has in other cities like Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Boston.

PBN: On a sad note, the Division of Biology and Medicine recently lost Professor Emeritus Michael Lysaght, who passed away on Oct. 24. Could you talk a little about the role he played in building up your institution?

WING: Professor Michael Lysaght was an incredible scientist and entrepreneur whose untimely death was a blow to our community. Professor Lysaght helped found Cytotherapeutics Inc. and was responsible for important discoveries in the field of bioengineering.

What may not be appreciated as much by the wider community is what a gifted teacher he was. His funeral on the Brown campus brought out scores of students who Professor Lysaght had taught and inspired. His legacy at Brown and in Rhode Island is a rich one. •