Group on Research Advancement and Development (GRAND)

Mission

The mission of the AAMC Group on Research Advancement and Development (GRAND) is to provide a national forum for the promotion, support, development, and conduct of biomedical research in medical schools and teaching hospitals, through the exchange of information and the examination of issues critical to the research enterprise.

Background

At the request of a group of research deans, the AAMC organized a meeting of research deans in 1999. The meeting was very well attended and the research deans were very enthusiastic about forming a permanent professional development group with AAMC. A Steering Committee was formed shortly after the meeting. It elected its own leadership and named itself the Group on Research Advancement and Development (GRAND). In September 2002, recognizing that the GRAND Group is unique, in that no other national organization is designed to meet the professional development needs of the research deans, the AAMC Executive Council approved the formal creation of the AAMC Group on Research Advancement and Development.

The GRAND Group has held four national meetings, with each meeting drawing the overwhelming majority of medical school research deans. The meetings have been informative, and each has focused on issues critical to the advancement of research at medical schools and teaching hospitals. The meetings have been organized by an active and engaged Steering Committee. In addition, the Group maintains an active listserv that provides a useful source of information, as well as advice, on best practices in research administration and policy.

In 2006, recognizing that many medical schools were establishing offices for oversight of clinical research, GRAND voted to expand membership to include deans of clinical research or similarly high-ranking officers with responsibility for their institution's clinical research portfolio.

Contact:
Stephen Heinig
Biomedical and Health Sciences Research
(202) 828-0488
sheinig@aamc.org