Overview

The Center for Translational Medicine (CTM) aims to bridge basic scientific discoveries with physicians' needs for their patients. At the forefront of academic health care, the Center focuses on cutting-edge basic molecular biomedical research and its translation into the most efficient and tailored forms of diagnosis and treatment as well as modes of prevention.

Our faculty is a multinational team of scientists applying cutting-edge and interdisciplinary techniques to bring the latest scientific discoveries from bench to bedside. We aggressively collaborate with our colleagues through Thomas Jefferson University, particularly with those divisions and centers where our faculty hold appointments:

• Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research
• Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
• Division of Cardiology
• Jane and Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute — Jefferson Health and National Jewish Health
• MitoCare (the Center for Mitochondria Biology)
• Sidney Kimmel  Comprehensive Cancer Center

Our facility, housed within Jefferson’s Department of Medicine since 2003, is unique in its commitment to all-encompassing research. Our work is “translational” in that we develop outreach opportunities to bring scientific observations in the Center to clinical investigations in patients. To this end we use a range of strategies, from developing genetic indicators to help physicians tailor drugs and other therapies to individual patients. While much of our research focuses on cardiovascular, blood and pulmonary diseases our faculty and facilities are geared toward helping physicians from all specialties to best serve their patients and educate our students.

The Center for Translational Medicine is home to several excellent graduate students and postdoctoral Fellows. In the current year we are mentoring seven students, six visiting scholars, and nine postdocs. Our faculty host graduate students from the Jefferson College of Life Sciences (JCLS), which includes the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology Programs. In addition, Dr. Ankit Gupta, MD of the Pulmonary Division performed his Fellowship Research Rotation under Dr. Penn. Dr. Chan continues to host summer research training for Thomas Jefferson University medical student each summer.

Prospective graduate students are encouraged to work with their Program Directors to arrange rotations in the labs of CTM faculty. Prospective postdoctoral fellow are requested to contact CTM directly. 

• Thomas Jefferson University Secures Major P01 Grant to Advance Asthma Research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a Research Program Project (P01) grant to Raymond B. Penn, PhD, Center for Translational Medicine, Robley Dunglison Professor of Pulmonary Research, Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Medicine, Director of Pulmonary Research, Jane & Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute at Thomas Jefferson University. The $12 million grant supports a multidisciplinary research project focused on “Exploiting emerging ideas in G protein-coupled receptor biology and pharmacology to treat asthma.” The project will run from September 2025 to July 2030, with a total funding award of $11,947,585.
• Robert and Julie Dreidink make a $1 million bequest to support the Center for Translational Medicine
• Jin O-Uchi, MD, PhD, received American Heart Association (AHA) Beginning
  Grant-in-Aid award
• Dr. Sun wins the award for Best Manuscript in Circulation Research 2014  
• Raymond Penn, PhD receives endowed professorship - Robley Dunglison Professor of Pulmonary Research
• Shey-Shing Sheu, PhD receives W. W. Smith Professor
• Tung Chan, PhD receives 2014 AHA Grant in Aid
• Tung Chan, PhD receives 2014 ALA Biomedical Research Grant
• Deepak Deshpande, PhD, is recruited to the Center for Translational Medicine and the Jane and Leonard Korman Lung Center. Raymond Penn, PhD, CTM Director and Director of Pulmonary Research for the Jane and Leonard Korman Lung Center had this to say about Dr. Desphande: “Dr. Desphande is critical to our mission for developing new and exciting therapies for lung disease. His work on bitter tastant receptors in the lung represents a unique approach to the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition, his novel work exploring the basis of diminished lung function that occurs with age addresses critical issues we currently and will continue to face as the health care demands of the aging population increase.”
• Khadija Rafiq, PhD, is recruited to the Center for Translational Medicine. Raymond Penn, PhD, CTM Director and Director of Pulmonary Research for the Jane and Leonard Korman Lung Center had this to say about Dr. Rafiq: “Dr. Rafiq brings an exciting model for understanding mechanisms by which diabetes promotes heart disease. Her work will greatly complement our ongoing collaborations with the Cardeza Foundation, and provide the opportunity to test several new generation drugs developed by Dr. Chan that target Akt enzymes and protect against heart damage and disease.”