Larry Schlesinger MD, Saslaw Professor of Medicine, recently
received a $100,000 inaugural Harrington Scholar-Innovator Grant from the
Harrington Discovery Institute. The
Institute is housed at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in
Cleveland. The grant program focuses on
providing support to physicians’ efforts to accelerate promising drug
discoveries and novel treatments for patients.
Ultimately, ten physician-scientists were selected from a wide pool of
greater than 150 elite applicants nationally; Dr. Schlesinger’s award will
further his research on tuberculosis (TB), specifically the development of a
new class of anti-TB drugs that has the potential to shorten the duration of TB
treatment. TB threatens people
world-wide, so Dr. Schlesinger’s research as part the Harrington
Scholar-Innovator Grant will literally resonate across the globe.
“Being selected to receive this award will not only provide
additional financial support to further the development of this new class of
compounds to fight TB which is increasingly becoming more resistant to our
current therapies, it will also provide new resources and opportunities to form
partnerships with drug development experts in the private sector which is key
in moving ideas from the bench to the bedside.”
Dr. Schlesinger has been a part of the Ohio State community
since 2002, when he began as the Director of the Division of Infectious
Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine and founding Director of the
University-wide Center for Microbial Interface Biology (CMIB). More recently he has become the first Chair
of the new Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity in the College of Medicine
and Director of the NIH-supported OSU Medical Scientist Training Program. He is also Chair of the steering committee
for the OSU Targeted Investment in Excellence program, Public Health
Preparedness for Infectious Diseases. His focus now is squarely on fundamental
and applied research on infectious diseases that are of major concern to human
health.
“The infectious disease research community throughout the
university has grown tremendously in recent years and is broadening its impact
national and internationally. The CMIB drug discovery platform in infectious
diseases complements a highly successful program in cancer and is part of a
university-wide focus on new therapies to maintain health and wellness.” The
Harrington grant focuses on a project that is in close collaboration with Dr. Ching-Shih
Chen in the College of Pharmacy, a widely recognized leader in drug discovery
efforts.
Dr. Schlesinger is internationally recognized for a career
devoted to better understanding the human immune response to pathogens,
specifically for his efforts as a physician-scientist in the pathogenesis of
TB. While he has been continuously
funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies for nearly 25
years, this most recent award from the Harrington Institute affirms not only
the caliber of Dr. Schlesinger’s research, but his intrinsic commitment to
matters of global health.
As evidenced by his
being named OSU’s 2011 Distinguished Scholar, Dr. Schlesinger translates his
passion and intellect into discoveries that shape not only those whose personal
health benefit from his efforts, but also the OSU students he mentors and
teaches.
“The academic environment continues to fuel my curiosity and
passion for creative problem solving as well as my desire to impart my
knowledge to others. The scientific community at OSU has an outstanding cadre
of dedicated and collaborative scientists, all working hard to make a
difference in society and I am happy to be part of it.”
