Executive Vice President For Research Dr. Ronald Kaplan to Retire

Ronald Kaplan, PhD, executive vice president for research and Chicago Medical School vice dean for research, will retire on Sept. 30, 2024, after 27 years of service. Joseph DiMario, PhD, dean of the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, has been appointed as interim vice president for research.

Dr. Kaplan reorganized the basic sciences at CMS, realigning research strengths around core areas of scientific expertise with the goal of fostering innovation. He championed the founding of the Innovation and Research Park and Helix 51 incubator, and led the expansion and development of research across RFU academic programs.

The recruitment and retention of top scientists, including NIH-funded faculty who are making substantive contributions in their fields, was a priority for Dr. Kaplan. He also championed the establishment and funding for the Michael Reese Foundation Center for Health Equity Research, which serves as a resource to researchers, interprofessional trainees and community partners.

Dr. Kaplan served in numerous administrative and academic positions, including as CMS professor of biochemistry and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. An investigator in the Center for Proteomics and Molecular Therapeutics, Dr. Kaplan is an international expert in the field of mitochondrial transporters.

Dr. Larson Retires from College of Nursing

College of Nursing Founding Dean Sandra Larson, PhD, CRNA, APRN, FAANA, FNAP, retired on June 30 following 13 years of service with RFU, including as vice president for clinical partnerships and associate professor in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia.

Lisa Hopp, PhD, RN, FAAN, will serve as the college’s interim dean. Dr. Hopp previously served as vice dean and professor in the MSN for Entry into Nursing Practice program.

In a message to the RFU community praising Dr. Larson’s contributions to the university, Provost Nancy L. Parsley, DPM, MHPE, noted that Dr. Larson steered the college through the process of opening its doors, from chairing the task force that recommended the expansion, navigating the accreditation requirements and assembling high-value clinical partners.

These key clinical partnerships initiated by Dr. Larson have helped shape the vision and structure for the college, the expansion of nursing programs and RFU’s response to a critical nursing shortage in its region.

Dr. Larson also shepherded a key feature of the college, the Nursing Education to Workforce Pathway, a powerful resource for healthcare systems that want and need to employ clinicians from the communities they serve.

Helix 51 Company Advances Treatment for Scleroderma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an Orphan Drug Designation in March for BLR-200, an investigational therapy developed by Helix 51 company BLR Bio to treat systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma.

BLR-200 is different from other therapies in development for the treatment of scleroderma, a rare rheumatic disease that affects connective tissue and the vascular system, producing excessive collagen that causes fibrosis in the skin (localized) or in internal organs (systemic sclerosis). The cause of scleroderma is unknown, and there is no cure.

“Our therapy addresses multiple disease-supporting elements or redundancies in the pathways to initiation and progression, and targets a key scar-forming cell population of myofibroblasts,” said Dr. Bruce Riser, CEO of BLR Bio. “The FDA’s granting of Orphan Drug Designation to BLR-200 highlights the urgent need for new and innovative therapeutic options for patients afflicted with the disease.”

BLR Bio was awarded a $780,000 grant in collaboration with expert investigators at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2022 to further study BLR-200 in scleroderma. This research is ongoing and has demonstrated promising in vivo results.

RFU Board of Trustees Welcomes New Members

Leaders in fields that span academic and clinical research, health care, higher education, and government and community relations, joined the RFU Board of Trustees this spring. They include:

Neil A. Bradbury, PhD, a professor with Chicago Medical School’s Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and an investigator with RFU’s Center for Genetic Diseases.

Don Coulter, MD, a tenured professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and director of the UNMC Pediatric Cancer Research Group.

David Kalsbeek, PhD, a consultant with the Human Capital Research Corporation (HCRC), a higher education consultancy based in Evanston, Illinois.

Matthew Primack, PT ’99, DPT ’04, MBA, president of Advocate Condell Medical Center, a 300-bed, Magnet Level I Trauma Center in Libertyville, Illinois.

Meghan Clune Woltman, MA, vice president of government and community relations for Advocate Health Care, the largest provider of health services in Illinois.