For John A. Robson, his appointment as the administrative director at the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute – and also the associate director for medical research and clinical programs at the Brown Institute for Brain Science – is a great opportunity to help build a research center from scratch.
The timing is perfect, says Robson, for the institute to develop new advances to treat neurological diseasest.
Robson, who served as vice president of operations for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which managed $3 billion in stem cell research funding, says that the new institute will become a magnet for commercial companies. Providence Business News asked Robson to talk about the opportunities presented by the neurosciences institute.
PBN: What attracted you to come to Rhode Island from California to work at the Prince Neurosciences Institute?
ROBSON: The short answer is: opportunity. It isn’t very often that one gets the chance to help build a research institute from scratch.
I have spent most of my career in positions related to neuroscience research. For 10 years, I was the research director at the Montreal Neurological Institute, which is a freestanding neuroscience research institute at McGill University that also houses a small, highly specialized neurological and neurosurgical hospital. I saw many advantages from having researchers, clinicians and patients in the same facility. Research benefits because scientists have easy access to each other to collaborate on projects that cross disciplines, often involving patients. Clinicians and patients benefit because they have access to cutting edge research tools for diagnoses and treatments, without having to travel long distances. Everything is in one building.
At the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute, we will incorporate similar ideals to create an organization that promotes collaborations between basic, translational and clinical scientists. The institute is an initiative of Rhode Island Hospital but will run in close partnership with the Brown Institute for Brain Science. Another partner is Butler Hospital, an exceptional psychiatric hospital across town.
The Institute will augment the strengths of its partner organizations by creating research links between scientists, clinicians and patients that will lead to advances in understanding and treating neurological disorders, while, at the same time, providing outstanding clinical care.
PBN: Your new position puts you at the convergence of three institutions. What kinds of strategic collaboration do you envision?
ROBSON: The strategic collaboration began before I arrived. When the Institute was established thanks to the generous $15 million gift to Rhode Island Hospital from the Frederick Henry Prince 1932 Trust, it catalyzed a concerted effort on the part of Brown’s Alpert Medical School and its affiliated hospitals to move forward as a unified entity that combines strengths in basic, translational and clinical neuroscience research with clinical care that spans neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry. A key first step in that process was the recruitment of Dr. Rees Cosgrove, who is the Institute’s clinical director as well as chief of neurosurgery at Rhode Island Hospital and chair of the department of neurosurgery at the Alpert Medical School.
The structure of my position is another example. I am an employee of both Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, and I will also work closely with Butler Hospital.
In this capacity I will be able to work across all of these institutions to build collaborations between the neuroscience research programs at Brown with the clinical programs in the hospitals.
PBN: How will the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute serve as a catalyst with the new Knowledge District in Providence? Where will it be located initially?
ROBSON: The Knowledge District has tremendous potential as a site for developing joint research programs between different institutions. Lifespan already has a significant and growing research presence there. The recent move of the Alpert Medical School to Richmond Street is an anchor for Brown.
The Institute is still in its developmental phase. In fact, my appointment and that of Dr. Cosgrove are the first two. Since receiving the $15 million gift, Rhode Island Hospital has been renovating space on its campus so that the three clinical disciplines that will be the focus of the Institute – neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry – are located close to each other.
We are also starting to define areas of neuroscience where there are complementary strengths in the partner institutions so that we can create opportunities for key scientists and clinicians to work together.
As one example, Dr. Cosgrove recently recruited a young neurosurgeon who runs a basic science research lab in addition to treating patients. His clinical work is done at Rhode Island Hospital but his research lab is on the Brown campus, allowing him to become integrated into both the clinical and research communities. My expectation is that the Institute will include several individuals who will bridge between basic or translational research and patient care, and that we will eventually be able to house those enterprises in the same building.
PBN: What are the sources for research funding that you will be seeking? What is the competitive advantage that you see with the Prince Neuroscience Institute?
ROBSON: The Institute has the advantage of starting with an endowment of $15 million. However, in order for its programs to grow, additional support will be required. Those funds will come from a variety of sources, including individual gifts, public and private grants, and corporate contracts. Since many of the programs will be interdisciplinary and focused on neurological diseases and patients, they should be especially attractive to companies, disease-specific foundations and public programs that fund large clinical research centers. The vast majority of these new funds will come from outside Rhode Island and almost all of them will be expended in the state, creating jobs and tax revenues.
PBN: Do you see the Prince Neurosciences Institute creating the critical mass for a neurosciences industry cluster here in Providence?
ROBSON: Providence already has a reputation for excellence in the neurosciences, especially as represented by Brown. That research excellence is providing a platform on which to build clinically connected programs. The Institute will support collaborations and joint programs between basic, translational and clinical researchers at Brown and its affiliated hospitals. This should lead to a significant expansion of research targeted at patients with neurological disorders. As these programs mature, new scientists will be recruited and we will always strive to attract the most talented and creative people that we can. I expect that some of those researchers will make discoveries that will be commercialized.
I also anticipate that the Institute will become a magnet for companies looking to test new drugs and therapeutic protocols and for others conducting clinical trials.
The Institute represents a new opportunity for expanding the neurosciences in Providence. It will complement existing programs and it will create new connections between researchers and clinicians that will lead to discoveries and advances in care that we can’t yet predict. Since neurological diseases largely affect the elderly, they are rapidly becoming a growing burden as the population ages. Consequently, there is tremendous need for this type of effort. Our timing is perfect.
