Cure hunters

Medical research center turns research into results

BY WHITNEY JOSEPH

The advantages of having Cleveland Clinic in our backyard are nothing to sneeze at. With locations in Port St. Lucie, Stuart and Vero Beach, Cleveland Clinic is one of this country’s top-rated academic medical centers. It has been ranked as the best and highest-performing hospital in the world, for the past 20 years, in the fields of cardiology, heart and vascular surgery.

Tradition is also home to Cleveland Clinic’s state-of-the-art, world-class medical research center, the Florida Research and Innovation Center, just a stone’s throw from Tradition Hospital. The center specializes in research focused on immune-oncology and infectious diseases. No one could have predicted how timely its opening, in November 2019, would be: it came just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The research center’s 2020 Endowed Chair and Scientific Director Dr. Michaela Gack described its purpose in simple terms: “To drive constant innovation, ultimately improving the lives of patients and healthcare delivery in our community and around the globe.”

RAPID RESULTS

The center uses an approach called “translational research,” which aims to produce rapid results that can be applied immediately. The center “translates” the findings made in its labs — via public observations, studies, and other clinical tools — to bring its discoveries into practice, as expeditiously as possible.

“The Cleveland Clinic Florida Research and Innovation Center is a cutting-edge research institute dedicated to advancing medicine and saving lives through groundbreaking research, discovery and innovation,” Gack explained. “Researchers work to expedite the timeline of translating basic science discovery to treatments that can extend human life and improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery. FRIC will develop next-generation treatments for a broad scope of diseases that resolve life-threatening illnesses — improving healthcare in Florida and globally.”

Gack is a principal investigator at the FRIC. The research center presently employs 98 “caregivers,” including researchers and support staff, all of whom she oversees. She describes her fellow researchers as “a team of deeply committed scientists who investigate the mechanisms and manifestations of infectious and inflammatory diseases. 

“Another key area of our research is to design novel cancer therapeutics that are urgently needed. Through this pursuit of cutting-edge translational and basic research, together with clinical studies, our discoveries help develop next-generation treatments for a broad range of diseases. Our research drives constant innovation, ultimately improving the lives of patients and healthcare delivery, in our community and around the globe.”

COLLABORATION

Their work “complements and expands research underway at Cleveland Clinic Florida’s five hospitals and the Lerner Research Institute,” Gack said. That allows the scientific teams at the Cleveland Clinic institutes to collaborate closely and “tap into resources at both facilities to develop new treatments for patients around the globe.” 

The collaboration with Lerner is of enormous benefit, providing FRIC researchers access to some of the top medical minds, along with decades of scientific research. Lerner Research, founded in 1945, has 1,800 caregivers; 240 labs backed by $435 million of annual funding; and 650-plus trainees studying subjects ranging from molecular medicine to biomedical engineering. It’s among Cleveland Clinic’s shining achievements: since its founding, it’s grown to be one the largest research institutes in the U.S., according to educations.com. 

As of last year, the FRIC received $30.5 million in external funding. More than 90 percent of that was from the National Institutes of Health, with other monies being awarded through foundations and corporations. Gack noted recent funding from the State of Florida has helped “to support infrastructure/cores,” while philanthropic funding likewise buttresses the center’s fiscal foundation.

Those monies go toward research conducted in the 107,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research center outfitted with ultra-modern laboratory space. The labs have biosafety level 3 facilities designed for safe work with infectious agents, as well as office space for support services, all situated on an 8-acre site. The work conducted at the FRIC addresses “both local and international health challenges, including cancer and emerging pathogens,” Gack said. “The facility provides an exceptional training environment for researchers.”

FRIC’s work is also closely integrated with Cleveland Clinic’s Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health at its Ohio campus, established in April 2020. There, top researchers in virology, immunology, genomics and population health [work] to broaden understanding of emerging pathogens — ranging from the Zika virus to SARS-CoV-2 [which causes COVID-19] — and to expedite critically needed treatments and vaccines.

“FRIC stands out as a world-class research facility due to its focus on cutting-edge areas such as cancer, immunobiology, and infectious diseases,” Gack said. “Such world-class research facilities are not common in mid-sized cities, which gives Port St. Lucie a special advantage as a place for scientific excellence and innovation.”