New to Ohio State within the last 18 months and

profiled in this story are: First row, l. to r.: Ali Rezai,

MD; Ted Teknos, MD; Wael Jarjour, MD. Second row,
l. to r.: Maura Gillison, MD, PhD; Susan Brown, RN,
MSN; Jason Calhoun, MD, FACS. Third row, l. to r.:
Marc Tassé, PhD; Arnab Chakravarti, MD; Steven G.
Gabbe, MD. Fourth Row, Peter Houghton, PhD.

Hello Columbus:
Why Top Talent Chooses Ohio State
By Sandra Gurvis

Ten superstar doctors, researchers and administrators who joined The Ohio State University Medical Center
in the past year talk about the factors that attracted them here over other cities and other academic medical
centers. Collaboration opportunities, collegiality, modern facilities and a focused commitment to excellence are
but a few.

winter 10 discovery m e d i c a l c e n t e r. o s u . e d u
A cure for one form of cancer.
Relief for chronic pain when all else
has failed. A new way to treat drug-
resistant bacteria. These are but two
of the many goals that top-tier edu-
cators, researchers and scientific
leaders have brought to The Ohio
State University Medical Center
(OSUMC) in the past year. Some
were lured away from other institutions, while others sought out
They Come from Everywhere
“I had grown comfortable there; it was pleasant,” recalls
a unique working environment and found it at Ohio State.
Jason Calhoun, MD, FACS, of his position as the J. Vernon Luck 1 70
Nearly all were surprised at what the University and the city of
Sr. Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of
Columbus had to offer; the term “undiscovered gem” crops up in
Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri. During his
their comments more than once.
four-year tenure there, Calhoun expanded the program from
Like Ohio State’s well-known athletic teams, it makes per-
three to 23 faculty, quadrupled revenue and saw a tremendous
fect sense that star players in the medical field are drawn to the
increase in grants and research publications. This made him a
largest university in the United States, despite its location in the
prime target of an Ohio State search committee.
middle of what some call “flyover country.” In addition to the
As much as he enjoyed Missouri, the opportunity to step
numerous awards and honors that speak to Ohio State’s and the
outside the box was too enticing to resist, and Calhoun came to

Hello Columbus
Medical Center’s excellence (see sidebar), “the opportunities
Ohio State in January 2009 as chair of the Department of
here are unparalleled,” observes Steven G. Gabbe, MD, senior
Orthopaedics and holder of the Frank J. Kloenne Chair in
vice president for Health Sciences and chief executive officer of
Orthopaedics. “The deans and the entire administration here are
Ohio State’s Medical Center. Rather than protecting their own
dedicated to excellence and improvement.” The Medical Center’s
research and scientific turf, “people here are interested in what
strategic plans and Signature Programs allow him the opportu-
they can do collectively and collaboratively.”
nity to grow the Department and extend its offerings in sports
Gabbe himself was recruited twice: First in 1987 as profes-
medicine, a hand center and more. Calhoun is able to continue
sor and chair of Ohio State’s Department of Obstetrics and
his own research on the evaluation and treatment of drug-resist-
Gynecology, and again in 2008 from Vanderbilt University
ant bacteria in bone infections in soldiers injured in Iraq and
School of Medicine in Nashville, where he had been the dean.
Afghanistan. “Although I’ve only been here a few months, it’s
The second time around, he noticed, “there was amazing
been exciting: a real challenge.”
growth: outstanding physicians and established signature pro-
Until he was contacted by an Ohio State search committee,
grams that were attracting top-tier talent. Many, if not most, of
“I hadn’t even considered a professional life outside of Boston,”
the people I’d worked with before were also still here, which says
admits Arnab Chakravarti, MD, Ohio State’s new professor and
a lot about this institution.” It also provided a chance to work
chair of the Department of Radiation Medicine and holder of
again with Ohio State President Gordon Gee, whom Gabbe
the Max Morehouse Chair in Cancer Research. A lifelong East
knew from Vanderbilt. “I was thrilled about that – and also to be
Coast resident, Chakravarti had been affiliated with Harvard
back in Columbus” with its ever-expanding menu of education-
Medical School since 1995, rising to associate professor of
al, lifestyle and cultural opportunities.
Radiation Oncology there, as well as serving as both a radiation
oncologist and director of the Brian D. Silber Laboratory of
Molecular and Cellular Radiation Neuro-Oncology at
Massachusetts General Hospital. Among other things, he and his

breakthrough news from The Ohio State University Medical Center


lab focus on molecular mechanisms of radiation resistance and
ways to overcome it, with a concentration on gliomas and
prostate cancer.
Not only did Chakravarti bring his wife and three children
to Columbus in March 2009, but his entire lab came with him as
well. He says the opportunity and emphasis on collaboration, in
combination with having one of the best cancer and medical
facilities in the world, were attractive, “along with the chance to
improve on our current directions of research and establish ven-
ues of research not explored before.” Additionally, he saw that
top investigators were already in place in neurosurgery, internal
medicine and experimental therapeutics, allowing him and his
8 team access to the latest and most in-depth information.
One-Stop Shopping
Ohio State is renowned for having everything a medical
researcher or clinician needs in a single place, making it a major
draw for recruits looking to grow their science programs. “I
knew I wanted this job within 90 minutes of my first interview,”
says Susan Brown, RN, MSN, who was hired as chief nursing
officer for Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James
Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC –
James) in June 2009. “I am, first and foremost, a cancer nurse,”
she notes. “This position allows me to focus on high-level nurs-
ing, practice and education, and on advancing cancer nursing,
both at the Medical Center and beyond.” Previously, Brown
spent 12 years as associate vice president for oncologys services
and director of the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in
Scottsdale, Ariz.
winter 10 discovery
WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT OHIO STATE?
The Ohio State University and its Medical Center
(OSUMC) are picking up honors almost as fast as
Buckeye athletes score points. Along with being
named one of “America’s Best Hospitals” for the
17th consecutive year by U.S.News & World Report,
OSUMC was named an Honor Roll hospital this
year, now ranking it among the top 21 hospitals in
the nation. For three years, the Medical Center has
been named one of central Ohio’s “Best Places to
Work,” according to the region’s leading business
newspaper. And in 2009, Ohio State was recog-
nized for the second year in a row as a “Great
College to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher
Education.
Ohio State and OSUMC have also been prolific in
attracting financial support. Faculty at the Medical
Center hold more than $205.7 million in external
research funding. During the past eight years, total
research award dollars and NIH research award dol-
lars have more than doubled.
In addition:
• Ohio State led the nation in new fellows elected to
the American Association for the Advancement of
Science in three of the past five years.
• In 2008, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and
OSUMC received a prestigious $34 million NIH
Clinical and Translational Science Award.
• The Medical Center’s new Biomedical Research
Tower is the largest research facility on the Ohio
State campus and is designed to encourage interdis-
ciplinary activity among principal investigators and
lab teams.
• Over the past seven years, The Ohio State
University College of Medicine’s ranking among
U.S.News & World Report’s “Best Medical Schools”
has increased more than that of any other college of
medicine in the United States.
• The Medical Center has broken ground on the
largest construction and renovation project in
University history. It’s called ProjectONE. See page 5
for details.
Indeed, the OSUCCC – James, in addition to being a leader
in teaching and patient care, boasts vast numbers of research
projects and grants, and is part of a planned $1 billion-dollar
facilities expansion called ProjectONE (see page 5). “As the only
freestanding cancer hospital in the Midwest, and the fourth
busiest in the nation, we are growing in an economy where many
other organizations are cutting back,” observes Michael
Caligiuri, MD, chief executive officer of the James Cancer
m e d i c a l c e n t e r. o s u . e d u

Hospital and Solove Research Institute, and director of Ohio
State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. Caligiuri helped recruit
Brown and others. “In the CCC alone, we have more than 250
investigators doing basic and clinical research from 12 of Ohio
State’s 18 colleges.”
The emphasis on interdisciplinary interaction caught the
attention of Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, at The Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “I looked at 24 dif-
ferent jobs before coming to Ohio State,” says Gillison, now pro-
fessor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Hematology and
Oncology and a member of the Cancer Control and Viral
Oncology programs at the OSUCCC. “I was searching for a
place that would view all the things I bring to the table as
assets…Mike [Caligiuri] was flexible and willing to provide me
with the infrastructure I needed.” A leading human papillo-
mavirus (HPV) expert, Gillison, who came to Ohio State in
January 2009, researches the role HPV plays in the development
of head and neck cancers and studies the connection between
infections and cancers.
“Involving researchers and scientists from many areas of
study is a powerful tool in helping to answer complicated ques-
tions about cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other illness-
es,” adds Wiley “Chip” Souba, MD, ScD, dean of Ohio State’s
College of Medicine and vice president and executive dean of
Health Sciences, who, along with Gabbe, helped recruit
Chakravarti, Calhoun and others.
Attracting
the Best
Souba also points out that Ohio
State enjoys tremendous community
support from legislators to citizens to
alumni. “When people interview here,
they sense our collegiality and esprit de
corps.”
The concept of science as a “team
sport” was a major factor in bringing
192
Ali Rezai, MD, to Ohio State. Formerly
director of the Center for Neurological
Restoration and professor of
Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic,
he is now professor and vice chair for
Clinical Research in Ohio State’s
Department of Neurological Surgery,
holder of the Julius F. Stone Chair in Cancer Research, director
Hello Columbus
of the Functional Neurosurgery Program and also of Ohio
State’s new Center for Neuromodulation.
Neuromodulation holds tremendous therapeutic potential
in movement-disorder neurology, epilepsy, stroke, headache,
pain management, psychology, psychiatry, and physical medi-
cine and rehabilitation through “easing pain, providing hope for
and restoring quality of life to patients with chronic disabling
conditions who have tried all other treatments,” says Rezai.
Although he had offers from major institutions throughout
the United States, Rezai, who started here in August 2009, says
he “chose Ohio State because of its unique combination of
strong leadership, the vision of its leaders and the emphasis on
innovation and patient care.” From the top on down, he says
“leaders, along with department and support staff, are synchro-
nized in pushing the frontiers of medicine forward and develop-
ing new therapies. They are dedicated professionals who deeply
care for patients and their families.”
OSUMC’s partnership with Nationwide Children’s
Hospital in Columbus helped attract pre-eminent cancer
researcher Peter Houghton, PhD, that same month. Houghton,
after 33 years at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, was eager to take
over the Center for Childhood Cancer at Nationwide Children’s
and help develop pediatric oncology programs at Ohio State.
Among other things, Houghton’s groundbreaking research
breakthrough news from The Ohio State University Medical Center
 deals with the basic biology of childhood solid tumors, as well
as the discovery of new therapies to treat tumors occurring in
muscles and other soft tissues, among the most common and
highly malignant cancers in children. He was impressed by the
combination of Ohio State’s pediatric oncology program and
the opportunity to use the powerhouse resources of Ohio State,
Nationwide Children’s and others “to develop large, therapeutic
approaches for childhood cancer.” Plus, he notes, “the timing
was right – both of my kids were in college, and my wife had
accepted an out-of-town position that was equally far from
Memphis and Columbus.” As with Chakravarti and others,
Houghton’s entire laboratory came with him to Ohio State.
1 0
3 stood,” says Tassé, who has more than 20 years of experience in
To Join the Best
Although many scientists and researchers dream of doing
the work they love in an environment that allows them unlimit-
ed access to resources, the reality is that they have families and,
in many cases, colleagues and laboratories, to consider. Ohio
State recruiters make great efforts to accommodate these con-
cerns. Affordable housing and cost of living, ease of commute,
quality of schools and even cultural and recreational opportuni-
ties can make or break a decision to accept a job offer.
“Once we get people to Columbus, they discover it’s a won-
derful community,” Gabbe says. Ohio State staff members work
closely with scientists and their families to find jobs for spouses,
educational programs that meet the needs of children, and
neighborhoods that fit in with lifestyle choices.
Wael Jarjour, MD, who came to Ohio State in June 2009
from the University of Virginia to head Ohio State’s Division of
Rheumatology and Immunology, found the constant communi-
cation from future colleagues and staff members incredibly use-
ful. “I felt like part of the Ohio State family long before I arrived
on campus,” he remarks. “I kept getting e-mails from people
who genuinely wanted to communicate” and to facilitate his
from left:
Wiley “Chip” Souba, MD, ScD
Michael Caligiuri, MD
winter 10 discovery
adjustment. And two potential critics – his teenagers, aged 18
and 14 – “like Columbus a lot. In fact, the oldest is planning to
enter Ohio State as a biomedical science major.”
When recruits leave places like football archrival University
of Michigan (Ted Teknos, MD, director of the Division of Head
and Neck Oncology – Head and Neck Surgery in the
Department of Otolaryngology, September 2008) and sun-and-
sea meccas like the University of South Florida (Marc J. Tassé,
PhD, director of the Nisonger Center, August 2009), it’s obvi-
ously to join a winning team. “When a colleague asked me why
I was moving from Tampa to the snowy Midwest, and I
explained it was to work at the Nisonger; he immediately under-
conducting research and providing clinical service in intellectual
and developmental disabilities. Having completed his postdoc-
toral fellowship at Ohio State in 1995, “I was thrilled to return
to the Nisonger, which has an enviable reputation,” he says.
Teknos, who holds the David E. Schuller, MD, and Carol
Schuller Chair in Otolaryngology, jokingly admits to being
harassed by colleagues and friends from both states. His
research interests include angiogenesis, refinements in micro-
vascular reconstructive surgery, development of novel therapeu-
tics for disease treatment and more. But the move has been well
worth any ribbing. “There’s a unique focus on cancer patients
not found elsewhere, along with some of the best doctors and
research in the country.” So, rather than simply meeting his high
expectations, Teknos says “Ohio State has exceeded them.”
S tory Summary
• Ten high-profile doctors and administrators were
wooed by many other cities and medical centers but they
chose Ohio State for their next career move.
• Features that attract top talent to Ohio State include
modern facilities, a culture of collaboration and collegiality,
and a focus on excellence.
• Ohio State has the most comprehensive health sci-
ences campus in the nation, encompassing seven colleges,
two schools, six hospitals and more than a dozen research
centers and institutes.
m e d i c a l c e n t e r. o s u . e d u