Inova, George Mason University form partnership to advanced personalized medicine

Two major players in Northern Virginia announced Tuesday a collaboration that aims to advance personalized medicine. Inova, the largest health system in the region, and George Mason University, the state’s largest public research university, say they will work together to conduct translational research and share resources.

The collaboration is expected  to lead to new patient cures and treatments for a variety of diseases, and to new diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers and devices.

“Biomedical research is also a pillar of the new Virginia economy. The work these two great institutions perform will spur opportunities for entrepreneurship, create new companies and generate jobs that will grow our economy and help us prosper,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement.

To give people from both institutions a chance to work together, Mason and Inova plan to establish a Scientific Connector Facility and the Inova-Mason Proteomics Center at the Inova Center for Personalized Health, a planned medical and research campus centered around personalized medicine.  Inova will have a physical presence on Mason’s Science and Technology Campus so its physicians and researchers can utilize Mason’s research capabilities and labs.

The idea is to establish Northern Virginia as “an epicenter for personalized medicine, attracting the best researchers and experts from around the country,”  said  J. Knox Singleton, CEO of Inova.

The organizations also will create a Personalized Medicine Public Policy and Ethics Institute, along with an endowed chair to support this initiative. The partnership will  include a fellowship program to recruit internationally recognized researchers and clinical investigators to both institutions.