Frank L. Douglas, MD, PhD, Rock-Star Physician Scientist Leads ABIA
Monday, January 30, 2012
As a renowned leader in healthcare, pharmaceutical research, biotechnology and entrepreneurship, Frank L. Douglas, MD, PhD, is accustomed to receiving awards — among them the Louis B. Russell Memorial American Heart Association Award, the National Organization of Chemists and Chemical Engineers Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Medal of Honor from the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.
Photo: Frank L. Douglas, MD, PhD. Photo © Joe Smithberger, Smithberger Photography, North Canton
But of the many prizes and accolades the innovative president and CEO of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) has received, the 2010 “Rock Star of Science” award, one of 17 given nationally by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation and GQ Magazine, was the only one for which he himself needed some additional explanation.
“At first I didn’t even know what GQ was,” muses the 68-year-old Dr. Douglas. “I had to call my daughter and ask her.”
The annual award pairs scientific heroes with celebrity musicians in a campaign to raise awareness of the role of science in society and to highlight global champions of medical research. It is a fitting tribute to a man who has devoted his entire life to the pursuit and practical application of life-saving pharmacological and technological breakthroughs.
“This is a fantastic effort to bring awareness to the vital role of science and medical research in an engaging way,” says Ohio’s only ‘rock star’ recipient. “I am delighted to be involved.”
A Rising Star
Like any true star, Dr. Douglas’ path was unique. Originally from the small South American country of Guyana, the future scientist had to overcome some major disadvantages early in life, including poverty and the lack of a father at home. But he excelled in school and eventually earned a Fulbright scholarship to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania where he obtained his undergraduate degree in less than three years and went on to earn a PhD in physical chemistry and an MD from Cornell.
After completing a residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins and a fellowship in neuroendocrinology at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Douglas served as director of the hypertension clinic at the University of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine. It was there that he conducted a number of pivotal drug studies and began to draw national attention.
“I started getting frequent calls from headhunters and eventually got a year’s sabbatical at Ciba Geigy,” recalls Dr. Douglas.
Eventually, his groundbreaking pharmaceutical research led him to Aventis AG where he was executive vice president, chief scientific officer and a member of the board of management. Along the way, he was involved in the discovery, development and/or approval of more than 20 medications including Taxotere for cancer, Allegra for allergies, Actonel for osteoporosis and Lantus for diabetes. Twice he was honored as the Global Pharmaceutical R & D Director of the Year for his leadership and success in improving innovation and productivity in pharmaceutical companies.
Long before GQ recognized the need to inspire young scientists, Dr. Douglas was already doing so as professor of the practice in the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also held appointments in the departments of Biology, Biological Engineering and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology and was founder and first executive director of the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation.
In 2007, Dr. Douglas won the Black History Makers Award. That same year he left MIT to work as a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation. Two years later, he was approached about leading the brand new Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron. The opportunity proved to be very intriguing to him.
Leading the ABIA
The ABIA is a collaboration of Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron General Health System, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), Summa Health System, The University of Akron, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. A unique alignment of institutional, state, federal and philanthropic organizations, the ABIA was conceived as a way to leverage Akron’s rich legacy in industrial and materials science in the development of life-enhancing and life-saving products, particularly in the areas of orthopedics and wound healing.
Dr. Douglas says there were two major aspects about the prospect of leading the ABIA that attracted him: the unprecedented cooperation of a diverse group of entities willing to work together in what he calls “the precompetitive space,” and the opportunity to leave a legacy.
“First, I was very impressed by their common vision, which is very unusual in a group that would normally be competitors. Second, the opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of patients around the world with new products, while also having a major impact on the economic wellbeing of a region was very compelling,” says Dr. Douglas, who agreed to take the ABIA helm in 2009.
The ABIA consists of five interrelated centers designed to accelerate translational research to biomedical commercialization as well as improve access and provide education, prevention, treatment and disease management. The centers include the Center for Biomaterials and Medicine, the Medical Device Development Center, the Center for Simulation and Integrated Healthcare Education, the Center for Community Health Improvement, and the Clinical Trials and Product Development Center. Within Dr. Douglas’ first two years of leadership, the ABIA’s unique structure and mission has already resulted in successes not only for the institute, but also for its founding members.
Together with The University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF), the ABIA was recently recognized as one of only six winners of the National i6 Innovation Challenge, an effort by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to identify and support the best ideas for technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. The initiative awarded $1 million to ABIA and UARF for their “Innovative Solutions for Invention Xceleration” project.
By 2018, the ABIA aims to draw in $150 million in academic and clinical research funding yearly and $50 million in new company investment. The hope is that such investment will create more than 2,000 new jobs and 40 new companies.
Inventing the Future
The efforts at “invention acceleration” appear to be working. The ABIA has aided Summa Health System in producing a medical simulator called “PacerMan” that is being considered for acquisition by two companies. A second product, an alarm system designed to warn if children are left or forgotten in dangerous situations such as a parked car, also is close to fruition.
From the state of Ohio, the ABIA has received an $8.6 million Third Frontier grant to create and manufacture biosensors. The ABIA has also recently received a $500,000 planning grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide comprehensive holistic health to the community. In addition, the ABIA is responsible for the establishment of the Akron Functional Materials Center in collaboration with The University of Akron, which attracted the attention of such major players as Lubrizol and Exxon Mobil.
“Akron is reinventing itself from a rubber city to a biomaterials city and we have been able to create this environment locally in which companies are becoming interested in the things we are doing,” says Dr. Douglas. “I think we have demonstrated what we can do for the community when we operate in this collaborative manner. And the community helps ensure its own survival by supporting the work of the institute.”
As part of its goal to be nationally recognized for the use of simulation technologies in improving healthcare, the ABIA will open this spring a large simulation training center for medical students, physicians and first responders, in ABIA’s new headquarters at 47 N. Main Street in downtown Akron. Here, healthcare professionals will be offered training opportunities as well as a chance to observe surgeries at area hospitals via remote access.
Also in April, the ABIA will host a national conference on Value Driven Engineering. Now in its second year, the conference brings in experts from major biotech innovators such as MIT, Medtronics, The University of Akron and Johns Hopkins. The first conference led the ABIA to create a nationally recognized white paper on the concept (“Value Driven Engineering and U.S. Global Competitiveness”) which Dr. Douglas presented in a congressional briefing in November.
This year will also mark the second year for the ABIA’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Program. Targeted to graduate and medical students, this program aims to increase the number of female entrepreneurs in burgeoning technology fields and to aid facility commercialization of novel biomedical and alternative energy technologies in Akron.
Although Dr. Douglas is enjoying the challenge of building the ABIA and is committed to the effort through 2013, he recognizes that he is laying the groundwork for a successor to lead the institute and continue its philosophy of innovation into the coming decades.
“Any time you have an opportunity to contribute to the wellbeing of patients and to be part of a serious and forward-thinking effort like this, it is rewarding,” says Dr. Douglas. “But on another level, this effort is also very personal. I frequently wrap up a presentation by reminding the audience that ‘the patients are waiting’. One day, almost all of us will be patients, and we may benefit from the kinds of innovations that we are developing today.”
For more information about Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, visit
www.abiakron.org.
MD News January/February 2012, Cleveland/Akron/Canton