Cottage Health Research Institute and UCSB Scientists Gather for 2018 Collaborative Research Symposium
Physicians, nurses, UCSB scientists and other researchers recently gathered for the 2018 Collaborative Research Symposium, hosted by the Cottage Health Research Institute in collaboration with UCSB.
Held at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, the event provided an opportunity to bring together clinicians, healthcare providers, fellows, residents, faculty and staff to share ideas, make new connections and attract grant funding.
A total of 22 different presentations were shared with the audience of 150 guests who attended the free, all-day event. The keynote address was given by Kevin W. Plaxo, PhD, Professor, UCSB Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program Director for the Center for Bioengineering. Dr. Plaxco’s presentation discussed drug delivery using high- precision, feedback-controlled devices.
Other presentations came from researchers in the fields of autism, cancer tumors, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes, gastroenterology, neurology, retina research and more.
Since its debut in 2014, the research symposium has grown to attract a larger number of participants and wider variety of projects.
“We have seen growth in our network of collaborative partners throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,” said Richard Beswick, PhD and Vice President of Research and Chief Research Officer at Cottage Health. “We began with the collaboration between just UCSB and Cottage, but now the event has expanded to also include other academic institutions, such as Santa Barbara City College, and local organizations like Advanced Life Technologies, Evidation Health, Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, Community Memorial Hospital, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Imagine X Functional Neurology and California Retina Consultants.”
Meredith Murr, UCSB Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Development and Strategic Planning added, We're also seeing a wider range of expertise of the attendees - from clinicians and nurses, to scientists, engineers, and social scientists. It's really exciting to move into broader research projects and to reach a larger number of people who are interested in participating in collaborative research."
The number of research projects has quadrupled since 2016 to more than 200 active studies, Dr. Beswick said, and the total amount of funding for 2018 has reached $325,000, with the addition of three new grant awards: the Janet Larson Dunbar Research Award, the Alex Pananides Research Award and the Bidwell Trauma Research Award. Each of the new awards will grant up to $25,000 in funds. Other grants are available for up to $50,000.
