The Institute for the Science of Origins bridges disciplines, reaching within and beyond the bounds of Case Western Reserve University to facilitate the search for answers about our origins through the emerging discipline of Evolutionary Medicine.
One segment of this undertaking includes collaborations with other universities and institutions of learning as well as faculty members at CWRU’s outstanding School of Medicine, with which we share ideas, faculty, researchers, facilities, audiences and funding.
Evolutionary medicine is an emerging discipline that seeks to connect the scientific understanding of evolutionary processes, past and present, human and non, to medical science and clinical treatment. We are consolidating a community of scientists and clinicians, drawn from multiple institutions, university faculties, departments and centers, who have been engaging around this emerging field, and positioning them collectively as leaders in research, education and ultimately clinical application.
An outgrowth of this focus has established a graduate program in evolutionary medicine that offers a masters of science through the Department of Physiology. At a deeper level, we aim to harness existing interest and activity at the university and partner institutions around the application of evolutionary thinking in medical science. It thereby builds on core strengths to enhance activities in research and discovery by building a powerful scientific network.
People and Alliances:
This extraordinary collaboration includes
From CWRU’s School of Medicine:
Ronald Blanton (CGHD)
Robert Bonomo (Medicine and VA)
Mark Chance (PhysBio, Director, Case Center for Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry)
Darin Croft (Anatomy)
Pieter de Haseth (CRMB)
Mitch Drumm (Genetics)
Robert Elston (EpiBio)
Stan Gerson (CCCC and UH)
Neil Greenspan (Pathology)
Eckhard Jankowsky (Biochemistry)
David Kaplan (Pathology)
Joseph LaManna (PhysBio)
Tim Nilsen (CRMB)
Robert Salata (Medicine)
Menachem Shoham (Biochemistry)
Scott Simpson (Anatomy)
Jonathan Stamler (Director, Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine)
Kingman Strohl (Medicine, CSDR)
Saba Valadkhan (CRMB)
Focco van den Akker (BioChem)
Martina Veigl (Genetics)
John Wang (Genetics)
Michael Weiss (Biochemistry)
Vivian Yee (Biochemistry)
Peter Zimmerman (CGHD)
From CWRU’s College of Arts and Sciences:
Cynthia Beall (Anthropology)
Michael Benard (Biology)
Daniella Calvetti (Mathematics)
Chris Cullis (Biology)
Joseph Koonce (Biology)
Bruce Latimer (Anthropology)
Erki Somersalo (Mathematics)
Glenn Starkman (Physics)
Gregory Tochtrop (Chemistry)
From CSE:
Horst von Recum (BME)
From the Cleveland Museum of Natural History:
Yohannes Haile-Selassie (Physical Anthropology)
These many outstanding scientists and educators are united by an evolutionary perspective that enriches all their work.
A Unique Resource:
The Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection of modern primate and human skeletons, the largest collection of its kind, is a unique resource at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Research to uncover where we come from is vital to understanding and developing the future of medicine. The Institute for the Science of Origins welcomes new partners for this program and invites you to become involved.