The Jacobs Institute was created in memory of my brother, Lawrence D. Jacobs, MD. Larry was a born innovator with a passion for taking care of people and a knack for forging new paths through roadblocks previously thought insurmountable.
As chair of Neurology at the University at Buffalo, Larry was collaborating with researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute to explore the cancer treatment potential of interferons. He followed a hunch that the proteins could also slow down the ravages of multiple sclerosis, which affects a disproportionate number of Western New York residents. That hunch led to a new treatment that has improved and extended the lives of mil-lions of MS sufferers around the world.
Larry’s discovery would not have been possible without the proximity—both geographically and intellectually—of the institutions on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, which will soon include the university’s state-of-the-art Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The “collisions” that take place among Western New York’s medical community allow researchers, like my late brother, to set out with one intention and end up with a wholly unexpected, but life-saving, outcome.
The Jacobs Institute, at the heart of the campus, is the organizational embodiment of Larry’s approach to medicine. It provides a lasting home for innovation and collaboration across medical disciplines as well as between industry and academia. The JI does more than encourage collisions; it facilitates them. With interactions between the world’s leading vascular clinicians across several sub-specialties, the JI generates a steady flow of new, out-of-the-box methodologies and medical device innovation.
This report is inspired by the JI’s futuristic approach to medicine. While it may contain some unsettling projections, readers should ultimately feel great optimism: treatments of all kinds are becoming vastly more affordable and available around the globe; artificial intelligence is helping our medical practitioners be more precise in diagnosing and treating maladies; and powered by bioinformatics, digital interventions are poised to replace invasive and drug-based measures in many areas.
The Western New York medical community is elevating medical discovery and delivery at every level. With this expertise, we are leading the local, national and global conversation with the hope that it sparks debate and inspires innovation among practitioners, administrators, academicians and policymakers. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Jeremy M. Jacobs
Chairman, Jacobs Institute Board of Directors
Chairman, Delaware North