Cottage Health Research Institute and Community Researchers Gather for 2022 Collaborative Research Symposium 

Physicians, nurses, UCSB scientists and other researchers gathered on April 22 for the 2022 Collaborative Research Symposium, hosted by the Cottage Health Research Institute (CHRI) in collaboration with Santa Barbara City College, California State University, Channel Islands University of California, Santa Barbara, and Westmont College. 

The event at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara provided an opportunity to bring together clinicians, healthcare providers, fellows, residents, faculty and staff to share ideas, make new connections and attract grant funding. Nearly 200 attended in person and virtually, and a total of 14 different presentations were shared during the free, all-day event. Session topics included healthcare delivery, technology in health care and developmental biology. 

Now in its eighth year, the annual CHRI symposium is made possible through the generous support of Janet Dunbar and Alex Pananides who envisioned a way to inspire collaboration and joint projects among local clinicians and researchers that have the potential to improve health and medicine. 

The keynote speaker was Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also the Co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics. 

In December 2021, Dr. Hotez led efforts at the Texas Children’s CVD to develop a low-cost recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine for global health, resulting in emergency use authorization in India. 

“Since 2016, the expanded growth of clinical and translational research throughout Santa Barbara demonstrates an ongoing and strong partnership between Cottage, UCSB and beyond,” said Richard Beswick, Ph.D. and Vice President of Research and Chief Research Officer at Cottage Health. “In addition to sponsored research, CHRI oversees more than 200 non-sponsored research projects, many of which include researchers from UCSB, Santa Barbara City College, Westmont, and other community partners. The Symposium continues to garner increased interest from the community at large and we are pleased to offer this superb event to highlight the clinical research advancements in Santa Barbara.” 

For more than 25 years, research has been an integral part of Cottage Health. CHRI offers consultation, liaison and administrative resources to researchers to support the translation of clinical and academic research and graduate and post-graduate training for future physicians and other healthcare professionals. 

About Cottage Health – cottagehealth.org

The not-for-profit Cottage Health is the leader in providing advanced medical care to the Central Coast region.  Specialties include the Cottage Children’s Medical Center, Level 1 Trauma Center, Neuroscience Institute, Heart & Vascular Center, Center for Orthopedics, and Rehabilitation Hospital. The Cottage Health medical staff is comprised of more than 700 physicians, many with subspecialties typically found only at university medical centers. Last year, the Cottage Health hospitals in Goleta, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley provided inpatient care for 21,000 people, treated 80,000 patients through their 24-hour emergency departments and helped deliver 2,100 newborns. Cottage Health also offers Cottage Urgent Care Centers throughout the tri-counties, as well as 24-hour access to providers via Cottage Virtual Care, an online service for common conditions.