July 27, 2004
DFCI creates new post to foster collaboration among researchers
Barrett Rollins, MD, PhD
Barrett Rollins, MD, PhD, a longtime and widely respected Dana-Farber researcher, has been named the Institute's first Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), charged with fostering collaboration among investigators and helping them obtain the resources they need to keep DFCI at the forefront of cancer research.
The new position is a part of the nearly year-old strategic plan that organizes Dana-Farber's scientific efforts into 10 "Integrative Research Centers," which run the gamut from molecular oncology to vaccine development to nursing and patient-care services research.
Rollins, of Medical Oncology, will serve as a liaison between the centers and the Executive Committee for Research (ECR), which helps guide the direction of Dana-Farber science. He will report directly to Institute President Edward J. Benz. Jr., MD, and collaborate actively with Senior Vice President for Research Faye Austin, PhD, and other members of the DFCI leadership.
"Overseeing and advancing our research programs is more complicated than it was even five years ago," says Benz. "A significant part of the CSO's role will be to help me keep all the pieces functioning well, maximize the opportunities for teamwork, and move research projects recommended by the ECR into the labs."
Rollins' lab focuses on the movement around the body of white blood cells in the immune system and the chemical factors that spur them into action. Taking the job will mean cutting back his own research time by 50 percent, he predicts, but he's eager to take on the administrative challenge.
His new post is part of an organizational change designed to enable Benz to more closely focus on selected goals. It is in line with similar positions being established at other Harvard-affiliated hospitals, according to Rollins.
"Until now, we've had creative people with a lot of spectacular ideas, but no central place they could go to have their ideas implemented in an effective way," Rollins says. The Chief Scientific Officer will provide, for the first time, a high-level advocate who can appeal to the administration for scientists to receive key resources, such as additional lab space for worthy projects.
"It's essential," he adds, "that I make sure that everybody in those research centers has what they need to be world leaders."
Strong record
Rollins, who said he has come to "know nearly everybody" in 20 years at the Institute, will be in a position to oversee work done by the centers and "get different groups into the same room at the same time" to promote collaboration, he explains. "I want to take advantage of possibilities for synergy."
The selection of Rollins was a natural choice, according to Benz. "Barrett was the name that jumped right off the page for everybody," says Benz, "because he has a very strong scientific track record and commands the intellectual and scientific respect of the faculty."
Says Rollins, "We have an extraordinarily talented faculty, and to be able to help them realize their vision is a great privilege."
