Brown is known for its open curriculum, which encourages students to explore and combine a wide range of interests. But cross-disciplinary exploration is not limited to the student body.
Many professors at Brown conduct research across disciplines, often leading to dual appointments across schools. The Herald interviewed three of these professors, who highlighted how their research has benefited from their multiple positions.
Many of the current dual-appointed professors are across the College, Warren Alpert Medical School and the School of Public Health, allowing professors to utilize multiple schools’ resources for their research.
“A lot of the major discoveries are going to be made at the fringe of a field, especially in those areas where two fringes are intersecting, and that’s always been a guiding principle in my work,” said Gregory Jay, professor of emergency medicine and engineering.
Jay researches interfaces and surfaces, particularly their applications for the human body. He has studied friction, with implications for a wide range of medical problems, including joint disease and brain injuries. On top of these research interests, he is also an attending physician at Rhode Island Hospital.
Leigh Hochberg ’90 said he appreciates the opportunity for cross-disciplinary research as a faculty member in the School of Engineering and the Carney Institute for Brain Science.
“Brown is educating the next generation of leaders in neuroengineering and neurotechnology, and the combined intellectual resources in Engineering and Brain Science create an incredible environment for research and education,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
For some, these dual appointments benefit both professors and the University because collaboration increases department visibility.
“There is value to Brown for branding across platforms,” said Stefan Gravenstein, professor of geriatric medicine and health services, policy and practice. “Having that sort of co-branding facilitates interactions and, ultimately, students wanting to do research in our lab.”
But Jay and Gravenstein both noted the administrative difficulties that come with holding dual appointments, especially in medicine.
“If I’m cutting across institutions, if I have to get research approval, I need to go through multiple (Institutional Review Boards) to get it done, so it’s bureaucratically challenging,” Gravenstein said. “With a given institution, there are complexities and then if you have to navigate across all of them, it makes for a more challenging environment.”
Jay pointed to the Brown Innovation and Research Collaborative for Health as a recent initiative that may help faculty members who conduct research in multiple institutions. BIRCH is an “aligned research collaboration involving Lifespan, Care New England and Brown University” which was signed November 2022, according to the Warren Alpert website.
In October 2023, Brown agreed to enhance its affiliation with Lifespan — Rhode Island’s largest hospital network — through a “nonbinding term sheet,” The Herald previously reported.
According to Jay, BIRCH has alleviated some administrative difficulties by combining research administrations and institutional review boards.
“I think as time marches on here, and we begin to actually see some of the fruits of that synergism and barriers breaking down, then you’ll see more involvement by faculty who are cross-trained,” he said.
Cate Latimer is a university news editor covering faculty, University Hall and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
