News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren Rotman" <>]

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Joins Internet2

Los Angeles, CA - November 21, 2005 - Charles R. Drew University of Medicine
and Science today announced that it has become a member of Internet2, the
foremost U.S. advanced networking consortium led by the research and higher
education community, and will connect to its high-performance Abilene
network. The University joins over 300 prestigious institutions in the U.S.
and internationally as an affiliate Internet2 member.

"Drew plans to collaborate with Internet2 members to bring the benefits of
high-performance networking to education and research in health
disparities," said Richard Lindstrom, Drew's director of Academic Computing.
"Drew is on the forefront of the application of innovative technologies by
multidisciplinary teams of investigators and educators to address those
significant and complex health problems that have been resistant to
traditional approaches." 

Drew has already worked to extend broadband access to South Central Los
Angeles, providing connectivity to public safety-net health facilities,
public schools, the university, and other local businesses. Their membership
in Internet2 will serve to expand their capabilities in developing
next-generation technologies that will further aid in the health sciences
arena.

Drew programmers are already creating a collaboration platform and data
sharing tools for a multi-site clinical research study that will allow
researchers at disparate sites to collaborate on research, share techniques
and subject pools, and combine and share medical research data to build
larger data sets for analysis. By coordinating with Internet2's Middleware
Initiative, Drew can explore the implementation of technologies like
Shibboleth, data translation tools, and metadata harvesting tools, to
support efficient, secure, and HIPAA-compliant data sharing. 

Additionally, Drew is working with Internet2's K20 initiative and other
member schools to support sharing of curricular resources and expertise, and
the broad dissemination of valuable learning resources. Increasing outreach
and interaction among underserved communities will greatly enhance the
effectiveness of existing programs. 

"Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and the Internet2
community share a common vision of creating leading-edge technology to
support and advance the important field of health sciences," said Laurie
Burns, Internet2 executive director of member and partner relations. "Drew
will be a strong contributor to the community's interests in extending the
benefits of advanced networking into underserved communities, and we're
looking forward to their involvement in our collaborative activities."   

About Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Drew scientists lead the nation in cutting edge research focused on reducing
and eliminating health disparities in minority, urban populations, and
improving the health of all Americans. Drew is the only 'historically black
college/university' (HBCU) and Hispanic-serving minority school of medicine
west of the Mississippi. This unique environment supports state of the art
informatics technology with community-focused approaches and rigorous
methodologies to create a one of a kind health focused research enterprise
The University boasts a significant research portfolio; in 2004, Drew ranked
in the top 5% in the nation in competitive research funding received from
the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

About Internet2(R)
Led by over 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and government,
Internet2 is developing and deploying advanced network applications and
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of
tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia,
industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy.
For more information about Internet2, see: http://www.internet2.edu/

For further information about Internet2 projects at Drew, contact:
Richard Lindstrom
Director, Office of Academic Computing

323.563.5832