I am pleased to announce William (Bill) Schiemann, PhD, has been appointed vice dean for research for Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine.
In his role as vice dean, Dr. Schiemann will lead initiatives to advance our interdisciplinary research priorities across our five campuses—Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, MetroHealth System and University Hospitals. He will also connect the school to the CWRU vice president for research, Technology Transfer Office and Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship Center. He is eager to hear from you to assist with developing research teams, providing support through shared resources and connecting to grant opportunities across our campuses.
As an experienced leader and accomplished researcher, Dr. Schiemann’s innovative spirit will help to create new opportunities to advance our mission to develop breakthrough discoveries and treatments for disease. By promoting research excellence across the school of medicine, he will also work to heighten our reputation as one of the top-25 medical schools in the country, and both the No. 1 medical school and largest biomedical research institution in Ohio.
“I am truly honored to serve as the vice dean for research for the School of Medicine,” says Schiemann. “Since moving into this role, I am amazed on a daily basis at the incredible breadth of talent and innovative research that is housed within the school of medicine. I am excited to work with my colleagues across the school to strengthen our research enterprise and enhance its impact and reach on the regional, national and international stages.”
Dr. Schiemann is a professor of general medical sciences-oncology at CWRU School of Medicine and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, serving as the Goodman-Blum Professor in Cancer Research. His leadership as a member of the executive committee and as a special advisor to the director—has been instrumental in helping advance the mission of the center.
Originally recruited to join our faculty in 2010 from the University of Colorado Denver to build and lead a small metastasis research group, Dr. Schiemann saw a greater opportunity to expand this area of research. Within five months of his arrival, he and Ruth Keri unveiled the center’s new initiative to develop a full-fledged disease-based program in breast cancer. At the peak of the program, 41 active members coalesced to understand the pathogenesis of breast cancer that results in metastasis and disease recurrence to translate that knowledge into novel diagnostic platforms and therapeutic strategies. Additionally, during his tenure, research funding nearly doubled, as well as cancer research focused publications.
As the director of pilot funding and scientific investment program for the cancer center, Dr. Schiemann is responsible for allocating philanthropic and research dollars to fund new collaborative basic and translational research projects. He also leads the center’s Athymic Animal & Preclinical Therapeutics core as well as the Cancer Curriculum Committee, which was charged with revamping and developing an integrated cancer biology training program in the school of medicine.
Dr. Schiemann also brings to the role a track record and deep commitment to teaching and mentoring junior scientists, having trained more than 50 trainees at all levels ranging from high school, undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs. Those who have trained in his lab have all gone onto biomedical research careers and have been highly successful in competing for funding.
His research program seeks to identify the cellular and molecular defects that enable breast cancers to establish and eventually emerge from metastatic dormancy. And his research findings have resulted in six patents published in more than 130 manuscripts, and chapters cited nearly 16,000 times (61h-index). Additionally, since 2003, his research program has been funded continuously by the National Cancer Institute.
Please join me in congratulating Bill!