“What does this new announcement mean? The word ‘supercharged’ comes to mind. We’ve supercharged this engineering program with medicine to have these new inventions, these new ideas come across to solve vexing problems,” said University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, in opening remarks at a Jan. 10 ceremony. The event marked the announcement of a $10 million joint gift from Edward and Jennifer St. John and the Edward St. John Foundation, which will establish the Edward & Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine (CTEM).
The new center brings together researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) at UMB and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). Occupying the fourth floor of 4MLK at the University of Maryland BioPark, CTEM will foster face-to-face collaboration among clinicians and engineers. Their proximity will ensure that real-world clinical needs inform the creation of new devices, diagnostics, and treatments, accelerating the pathway from research to patient care – resulting in next-generation medical solutions that will benefit patients across Maryland and beyond.
UMCP President Darryll J. Pines, PhD, MS, followed Jarrell’s comments by underscoring the center’s potential to “radically change the future” for healthcare innovation.
Jennifer and Edward St. John during the ceremony announcing the $10 gift to launch the Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine.
“This is a collaboration that is only a collaboration that's been done five times before in the United States, between engineering and medicine,” Pines said. Citing concerns such as increasing cancer diagnoses in younger patients and the possibility of future pandemics, he noted that UMB and UMCP have “exceptional people and exceptional resources that can be brought to bear on these incredible, grand challenge problems.”
Both presidents expressed gratitude to Jennifer and Edward St. John and to Sharon Akers, president of the Edward St. John Foundation, for the significance of the gift. Edward St. John, a UMCP engineering graduate turned Baltimore-based business leader and philanthropist, previously donated $10 million to build the Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center at UMCP. Having long supported UMB’s mission, St. John also committed $1 million to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, supported UMB’s CURE Scholars Program, and pledged another $1 million in 2021 for a Clinical Stem Cell Laboratory at the University of Maryland Medical Center. This new contribution will establish endowed and current-use professorships in bioengineering, student awards in translational engineering and medicine, and operating funds for the center.
“It truly is a privilege to be here on this important day. It’s an important day because it represents the joining together of these major institutions in a way that we know will have a major impact on the fields of engineering and medicine,” said Jennifer St. John, emphasizing that the combined efforts of UMB and UMCP could save lives well beyond Maryland. “We are incredibly proud to support this endeavor, this visionary approach to the new frontier of engineering and medicine.”
Edward St. John added, “The discoveries that will be made, the technologies that will be created, and the protocols that will be designed here and established, will shape the future of medicine.”
CTEM is led by co-directors Giuliano Scarcelli, PhD, of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at UMCP, and Osamah J. Saeedi, MD, of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMSOM. Their collaborative work using cutting-edge ophthalmologic imaging to address ocular diseases such as glaucoma illustrates how the center will cultivate new possibilities across bioengineering and medicine. Building on these breakthroughs, the center will expand into diverse areas of translational science, encouraging broader collaborations that accelerate discovery and improve patient outcomes well beyond eye care.
Occupying the entire fourth floor of 4MLK, the center’s space was custom designed by UMSOM to facilitate collaboration between UMB and UMCP researchers. State-of-the-art equipment and easy access to UMB’s core labs and facilities will allow researchers to iterate their ideas as they develop potential new products.
Its location in 4MLK, the most recent addition to UMB’s 14-acre BioPark, places the center at the heart of a thriving biomedical innovation hub that is transforming Baltimore’s biotechnology landscape. By fostering groundbreaking research and cross-disciplinary collaboration, the center will not only advance medical science but also reinforce the critical role of the biotechnology sector in driving economic growth and scientific progress throughout Baltimore and the greater region.
“We are thrilled to have the Edward & Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine locate in 4MLK,” commented Jim Hughes, MBA, chief enterprise and economic development officer and senior vice president at UMB and president of the BioPark. “In addition to providing cutting-edge facilities for life and health science innovation, one of the BioPark’s core missions is to create connection that further strengthens Baltimore’s thriving life science industry. CTEM researchers will join a vibrant, collaborative community in the BioPark and be well-supported as they advance their innovative health care technologies.”