With its Northern Virginia location and an opportunity to become part of its unique research collaboration with Inova Health System as key attracters to George Mason, Drs. Liotta and Petricoin say they are optimistic about their vision for molecular medicine and the opportunity to add to the scientific and educational composition of the university.

"George Mason's vision to accelerate the impact that proteomics and nanotechnology can have on patient care is so exciting to us," Petricoin says. "The expanding investment into applied research and its unique and powerful relationship with Inova are the catalysts for realizing this promise."

Liotta agrees that proteomics will be a major driver for advancing molecular medicine. "Patient-tailored medicine is the future of clinical practice, and we feel that George Mason is in a unique position to be a leader in this new era," he says. "We are thrilled to be joining George Mason and to benefit from the broad expertise of the faculty as we pursue research to create new diagnostic and treatment approaches for human diseases."

The Center has formed a unique partnership between George Mason and Inova Health System. George Mason University-Inova Health System Translational Research Centers is a joint initiative to coordinate multiple programs to implement proteomics, nanotechnology, and genomics research in cancer, metabolic syndrome, cardiopulmonary diseases, and neurodegenerative and liver diseases. This initiative comprises the research efforts of three shared centers: the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine; the Center for Biomedical Genomics; and the Center for the Study of Genomics of Liver Diseases. Inova and George Mason have combined efforts to recruit internationally renowned scientists, such as Lance Liotta and Emanuel Petricoin III, to work closely with clinical investigators from Inova.