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Marschall Runge named director of NC TraCS Institute

New director of NC TraCS Institute

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Marschall Runge, MD, Ph.D., has been named director of the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute and principal investigator of UNC's CTSA (Clinical and Translational Science Awards) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Runge replaces Dr. Etta Pisano, who served as director and principle investigator for NC TraCS from its award in May 2008, until her recent departure to become dean of the Medical University of South Carolina's College of Medicine.

As principle investigator, Runge has the financial, human resource and strategic oversight responsibilities for one of the largest CTSAs in the country. TraCS is one of 55 medical research institutions working together as a national consortium to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country.

The consortium, funded through Clinical and Translational Science Awards, shares a common vision to reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients, and to engage communities in clinical research efforts. It also is fulfilling the critical need to train a new generation of clinical researchers. The CTSA program is led by the National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health.

As well, he was recently named executive dean for the UNC School of Medicine, a role in which he will lead development of a new strategic plan for the medical school. Meanwhile, he remains chair of the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine, a post he has held since coming to UNC in 2000.

For the last six years, he has supervised the faculty practice plan, UNC Physicians & Associates. He handed this role over to Allen Daugird, MD, MBA, on June 30.

This caps a career during which Runge has edited six major medical textbooks, including Netter's Cardiology, published over 180 peer-reviewed articles, and given 250 invited presentations nationally and internationally as a leader in cardiovascular disease.

"We need to optimize our impact on translational research at UNC, how to provide this information to citizens throughout the state and, importantly, to figure out how to successfully compete for renewal of this critically important award," said Runge.

NC TraCS is the academic home of the UNC CTSA. UNC's five-year CTSA grant, which began in May 2008, is now in its third year.

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