The following is an excerpt from a book by Richard A. Shaefer about Loma Linda University, The Glory of the Vision (expected publication date: 2011).

Part I. How Can We Do Research?

The First Steps Forward

First year nurses with baby in 1907

For the first two decades of its existence, Loma Linda University did not prioritize research. Instead, corporate energy had to be directed toward establishing the institution, defining its purpose and direction, and developing curricula in nursing, medicine, and dietetics. Despite worrisome financial uncertainties hovering in the background, men and women of vision, dedication, and faith managed—over time—to create the College of Medical Evangelists.

The second decade brought grave concerns about the very survival of the School of Medicine. When the American Medical Association (AMA) evaluated medical schools throughout the United States, they determined that only those rated “A” would be allowed to continue. This recognition finally came in 1922. Relief from the pressures of uncertainty enabled Administration and Faculty to concentrate on the growth and quality of education. Lack of adequate finances, however, always shadowed the small institution.

Involvement in research and excellence in teaching at LLU is rooted in the third decade of Loma Linda’s development. The youthful perspectives brought by new professors (recent graduates) in the School of Medicine largely accounted for this turn of events.

Part II. How We Are Doing Research

Originally published in the Winter 2006 issue of Scope magazine as: The Emergence of Research at Loma Linda by Barry Taylor, PhD, Former Vice-Chancellor, Research Affairs

Loma Linda sanitarium

After the Santa Fe railroad reached Los Angeles in 1887, many new settlers from the East and Midwest came in search of a better lifestyle, health, and riches. A group of businessmen and physicians established a health resort on the hill at Loma Linda. They intended that it would be one of the finest among the many resorts developing in Southern California at the time.

Ellen G. White

After a struggle the place failed and was offered for sale at a discounted price of $110,000. A founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ellen G. White, had seen in a dream a very attractive property on a hill. She envisioned it as a health resort for the Adventist Church. She had asked a minister, John A. Burden, to look out for such a property, and he was the one to locate the Loma Linda land. She later declared that it was the exact place she had first seen in her dream.

John Burden

When the price of the seventy-six acre Loma Linda property dropped to 40,000, Pastor Burden received conflicting advice. Without consulting church leaders, Ellen White wrote: “Secure the property by all means, so that it can be held and then obtain all the money you can and make sufficient payments to hold the place. This is the very property we ought to have. Do not delay, for it is just what is needed…. We will do our utmost to held you raise the money.” Church leaders meeting in Washington, however, sent Burden a telegram: “Developments here warrant advising do not make deposit on sanitarium.”34

Burden accepted Ellen White’s advice and personally borrowed $1,000 for the deposit that secured the property. He knew that $4,000 would be due in one month. In two more months another $5,000 had to be paid. No one had any idea where that money would come from. Yet, when the payments came due, the Church received unexpected donations sufficient to cover the payments. Clearly, God was leading.

High Quality Graduate Programs at LLU Secure Excellence in Research

Anthony Zuccarelli, PhD

The emergence of high-quality graduate programs was an essential factor in research expansion at Loma Linda University. These included postgraduate programs in dentistry and the graduate program in epidemiology.

Barry Taylor rejuvenated the MD/PhD combined degree program in 1978. Then, in 1983, Robert Boucek, MD, and W. Barton Rippon, PhD, took graduate education to a new level of excellence with the medical scientist graduate program. For this project, leading researchers from the California Institute of Technology, City of Hope Medical Center, and other Southern California universities were recruited. They lectured on emerging areas of biomedical science and mentored graduate student research in their laboratories. Anthony J. Zuccarelli, PhD, subsequently gave leadership in this area. Later, the doctoral programs in psychology were strengthened by collaboration with the faculty of California State University at San Bernardino.

The pending retirement of the post-World War II generation of faculty posed a serious challenge to American universities in the 1990’s. The basic science departments at LLU experienced the same problem. This challenge provided an opportunity to hire faculty with excellent research training and productive post-doctoral fellowships—as well as a commitment to the University’s mission.

Many faculty and center directors were aided by tips from faculty at Adventist colleges, helped search for the most qualified individuals, irrespective of gender or ethnic heritage. Providentially, some well-trained persons of color, whose existence was generally unknown at Loma Linda University, were interested in the mission of the University, and eventually enquired about positions at Loma Linda University.

Staff from the Center for Health Disparities

Marino De Leon, PhD

They also provided information about other scientists of color whom they knew and who had excellent research qualifications and an interest in the mission of the University. It was realized that many of the most qualified Adventist candidates for research faculty positions were people of color who had pursued education and employment outside of the Adventist system. Eventually hiring and retention of some of those individuals brought increased strength and diversity to the research efforts in several centers and departments and led to funding by the NIH for a “Center for Health Disparities Research,” directed by Marino De Leon, PhD, at LLU in 2005.

Research at Loma Linda University has continued to expand, and today the University receives almost $40 million per year for funded research programs. This expansion led to the appointment of Lawrence C. Sowers, PhD, as Associate Dean for Basic Sciences in the School of Medicine. There has also been an expansion of research services provided by the office of the Vice-president for Research Affairs. This includes aTechnology Transfer section that processes 200 research contracts per year and manages the intellectual property portfolio for the institution.

Some patents are now producing substantial royalties. The Research Integrity section was established to oversee compliance with the complex governmental policies that now regulate research. A human-studies educator now trains coordinators for clinical trials. The sections for Research Administration, Research Protection Programs, and Financial Management have been expanded to improve the workflow, and better coordination between the offices is now evident. Two Associate Vice Presidents now assist the Vice President in the management of the research program.

A cadre of well-trained and very talented younger faculty in setting high standards; there are now more than 100 principal investigators at Loma Linda University who receive funding from outside the University and Medical Center to support their research. This represents a healthy mix of center and departmental research that will continue to prosper, going far beyond the vision of our most farsighted pioneers.44