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 Chairman's Corner
Hello,
I am Nissar A. Darmani, chair of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences (BMS)
in the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) at Western University
of Health Sciences (WUHS). I joined COMP in February, 2004 to help further develop
and organize the well established teaching mission of the department and to
expand basic research in biomedical sciences. The department of BMS is one of
two basic science departments currently operating at COMP, the other is the
Department of Anatomy. With fourteen faculty members in the Department of BMS
and seven in the Department of Anatomy, the two departments cover the COMP curricular
and research needs in medical biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology,
physiology and anatomical sciences. Teaching, as well as basic and clinical
research, are conducted in close collaboration between the two departments.
COMP, established in 1977 with its two basic science departments, was the first
and founding college of the university. In the 1980s and 1990s, four additional,
independent colleges (Allied Health Professions, Pharmacy, Graduate Nursing
and Veterinary Medicine) were established, making the five present colleges
of WUHS. WUHS is deeply invested in the future and is rapidly expanding its
campus in downtown Pomona, CA.
With the pioneering vision of the founding president of COMP, currently the
president of WUHS, Dr. Philip Pumerantz, expansion of WUHS is in a steadfast
advance. By 2009, we anticipate the opening of four new colleges: Dentistry,
Optometry, Podiatry and Graduate Studies. The departments of BMS and Anatomy
are uniquely positioned to serve the basic science needs of these colleges.
Indeed, in addition to the current COMP professors, up to 40 new basic-science
faculty will be hired to establish and conduct the educational and research
programs in these colleges in a new medical building to be completed by 2009.
Education is one of our department's primary academic missions. Our approach
to medical education is grounded in the philosophy that physicians must be well
prepared, life-long learners who keep pace with the new advancements in the
life sciences. We believe that this philosophy is the platform upon which future
health care excellence is built.
Anatomy and BMS faculty members have adopted a systems-based medical curriculum
to integrate the basic and clinical sciences. This curriculum provides a firm
scientific foundation for the medical education of our students and introduces
our osteopathic medical students to the clinical world in their first two years
of education through interactions with in-house and guest clinicians. BMS faculty
continue their engagement with the students electronically during their clinical
rotations in the 3rd and 4th years. COMP is uniquely positioned to prepare well-educated
and compassionate physicians and medical scientists who will develop into highly
skilled future practitioners and innovators that will not only deliver effective
health care but also become leaders of medicine.
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