The next big idea to help people with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and many other conditions could be bubbling up right now in a University of Michigan research lab. And a $58 million grant will help to move those ideas forward.

The grant, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides for up to five years of funding for the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR). The institute helps U-M health and life science professionals advance their research with training, funding and central research services. It also gives community members, including patients, the ability to engage in this work. “Without community participation,” said MICHR Director George Mashour, “many ideas simply can’t go very far.”

More than 160,000 people a year participate in MICHR studies, ranging from simple surveys to long-term tests of new drugs, devices and diet or exercise changes. Still, U-M researchers have many open spots in a wide range of projects. “This grant, plus a sizable commitment of U-M funds, puts us on the cusp of an exciting new era of clinical and translational research at U-M,” said Mashour.

A key feature of the new grant looks beyond U-M helping MICHR form closer bonds with other similar institutes around the country, and creating an unprecedented research network of sites supported by NIH. That could make large-scale national studies of new ideas much easier to conduct.

Michigan Medicine is the new name of the University of Michigan’s academic medical center, a change that better reflects its mission and takes into account recent organizational changes, including the appointment of a single leader. Marschall S. Runge now serves as dean of the Medical School, executive vice president for medical affairs and CEO of Michigan Medicine.

“Though our name has changed, we remain committed to extraordinary patient care, world-class medical education and moving groundbreaking research from bench to bedside in order to save and improve lives,” Runge explained. “We are also focused on being an employer of choice for faculty and staff.”

When the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved the combined role for Runge in 2016, U-M leaders stressed that putting Runge in charge of both the medical school and hospital operations would increase collaboration between professionals in the academic medical center. The name change is a natural followup to these efforts, Runge said, adding that recruiting the best faculty and successfully attracting research dollars is key to delivering cutting-edge health care. Making sure the institution allows for seamless, integrative collaboration is key to the future.

“As we minimize operational redundancies and increase greater cohesiveness between units, patients should only see better patient care — which remains our top priority,” Runge said.

In December 2016, U-M entered into an agreement with a successful community-based health system to provide high-value, compassionate care to the west side of the state. “Our affiliation with the university will help ensure that our patients and the people of this region continue to have access to great quality care and choice when they consider their healthcare needs,” said Michael Faas, president and chief executive officer of Metro Health. “U-M and Metro Health doctors will work alongside each other to provide the latest, most advanced and most innovative care to patients.”

U-M and Metro Health have worked together since 2009, when the university began providing radiation oncology services at the Cancer Center at Metro Health Village. Since then, clinical relationships have developed in pediatric cardiology and pediatric endocrinology. Broadly speaking, the new affiliation will enable Metro Health to further expand its research capabilities, primary care and specialty services, as well as its use of complex medical technology.

Physicians, executives and community members from west Michigan will continue serving on Metro Health boards and committees, working closely with U-M leaders.