“One of the most valuable things about this clinic is we know families and patients over the long-term and we remember the unsolvable cases,” explained co-founder Holmes Morton, MD, to a visiting delegation of approximately 25 representatives from ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř and Heartland Clinic on Feb. 9.

The ł§łŮ°ů˛ą˛ő˛úłÜ°ů˛µĚýclinic largely serves the Amish and Old Order Mennonites who have rallied around the clinic and, in a way, accepted it into their fold. This population has a relatively small genetic pool, which makes it at high-risk for certain genetic disorders. The clinic makes a special effort to catch the children with genetic conditions early in their lives, offering comprehensive care that it tries to keep affordable.

The EMU/Heartland group came to the Strasburg clinic to explore whether the Old Order and Conservative Mennonite communities in the Shenandoah Valley might benefit from a similar research-based clinic in the vicinity of Harrisonburg.

In both Pennsylvania and Virginia, the rather insular, intentionally non-modernized Anabaptist-rooted communities have descended from small founder populations and gain few outside members, resulting in a limited genetic pool. As a result, these populations are at high-risk for certain inherited genetic disorders, such as Maple Syrup Urine Disease and Glutaric Acidemia (GA-1).

Since its founding in 1989, the Strasburg clinic has become a leader in the field of rare genetic disorders. People from all over the world come to the tiny, barnlike clinic in the middle of a cornfield to be treated.

To do this, Holmes Morton and co-founder Caroline Morton (his wife and board member) believed that they needed a space where clinical care would be supported by on-site laboratory services.

To install and run the expensive laboratory equipment, the Mortons were prepared to take out a second mortgage on their own home – a plan they got to shelve when a 1989 Wall Street Journal article thrust them in the public eye. The result was a flood of donations by readers, including a donation of equipment valued at $250,000 from Hewlett-Packard.

The clinic is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, with just over a third of the clinic’s operating budget coming from yearly auctions put on by the community. Another third comes from donations and the rest is from collaborations, an endowment and a small percentage from patient fees. The clinic’s operating budget is currently $2.6 million dollars a year.

In the Shenandoah Valley, the Heartland Clinic already serves Old Order and Conservative Mennonite populations in the Harrisonburg/Dayton area for services such as physical therapy, dental care, childbirth, and general medical checkups. Though Plain populations in Virginia are also likely suffering from inherited genetic disorders, Heartland doesn’t have the resources or facilities to do the kind of genetic testing and treatment the Clinic for Special Children is offering.

The visiting EMU/Heartland group learned of ways that the clinic is collaborating with undergraduates from nearby Franklin & Marshall College (F&M). As they study the genetic disorders presenting at the clinic, these students are getting opportunities to see how new proteins function – an opportunity that is not even available in many medical schools, said Robert Jinks, an F&M professor of biology.

With the completion of the renovations on the Suter Science Center, EMU will have the facilities to do genetic research, but it would need to add equipment costing as much as $100,000. However, the academic opportunities for students to study genetic diseases – some of which haven’t even been discovered yet – could be invaluable, said Roman Miller, director of the MA in biomedicine program at EMU.

“We do have a vested interest in this in this,” he said, in that this kind of research is “academic education being expressed in practical ways.” Miller added that the project fits EMU because it connects with the university’s mission to offer “ healing and hope in our diverse world.”

EMU, Heartland and the Clinic for Special Children are at the beginning of considering whether cooperating on this project would be desirable and possible. But as the group listened to presentations from Jinks about the current work at F&M, were given a tour of the building, and heard more about what kind of services the clinic offers, it became clear that the parties plan to continue having serious conversations.

As Morton observed, “Part of what I see in this collaboration is an opportunity for you to do for your community to do what we have done here.”

The group that explored the work of the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 9, included the following (all associated with EMU, except for the Heartland and Strasburg clinic staffers): back row, from left, philosophy/theology professor Christian Early, president Loren Swartzentruber; biology professor Jeffrey Copeland; second row, Heartland board member Jonathan Martin; MA in biomedicine consultant Joseph Longacher; nursing instructor Kate Clark; nursing professor Don Tyson; Strasburg administrator Adam Heaps; graduate dean Jim Smucker. Front row, Heartland board member Neil Beery; Heartland physician assistant Jonathan Shomo; biology professor Roman Miller; marketing director Andrea Wenger; advancement vice president Kirk Shisler. (Photo by Kara Lofton)

“[But] I didn’t realize how small it was until I got here,” she said, laughing. “I actually feel like I know all my profs, which is a first.”

Nguyen was a part of the first class to enter EMU’s new . She graduated in the summer of 2014, after finishing up an independent study requirement. While she had always planned to become a doctor, Nguyen consciously chose a non-traditional route by majoring in anthropology at UCLA.

The MA in biomedicine program at EMU, which Nguyen discovered through an online search, offered her the opportunity to retake some undergraduate-level science classes and lay a good academic foundation for med school, she said. in anatomy class – an opportunity very few aspiring doctors have before their first year in med school – was one of her highlights from the two-year program.

Nguyen, who wants to be a pediatrician, began applying to medical school after finishing her coursework at EMU.

She said the prospect of moving across the country from California was both intimidating and exciting. It was also important to her to study at a Christian university, although she’d never heard of Mennonites and did wonder whether Mennonite beliefs – whatever they turned out to be – would be imposed on her.

At the end of her two-year experience at EMU, she said the worry was unfounded: “It’s welcoming and it’s very open.”

Spending a few years in a small Virginia city provided a little extra enrichment. During her time at EMU, Nguyen notched her first visit to a pumpkin patch, stretched herself by living far away from friends and family – allowing her to focus on studying – and expanded her horizons simply by experiencing life in another part of the country.

Before she chose EMU, Nguyen had been accepted to four MA programs. She chose the newest one (EMU’s), which meant she benefited from the attention given to the first set of students, but also experienced those organizational bumps typical of a newly opened program. But looking back, she says she would definitely pick EMU again.

Mohsin, a 2012 graduate of the , is a current ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř (EMU) student. His experience as an undergraduate double major in pharmacology/toxicology and biological sciences didn’t begin to compare to the opportunities he’s finding at EMU.

“The research opportunities here – working one on one with my professor – are top notch,” said Mohsin. “A small university like EMU provides so much more than a larger university setting.”

Over the past 10 years, more than 90 percent of EMU students who completed were accepted into medical school, compared to the national average of 49 percent. EMU’s MA in biomedicine – now completing its first year – anticipates similar success rates for students who complete the two-year residential program.

About the MA in Biomedicine program

The post-baccalaureate MA biomedicine offers three tracks:

1. MA in biomedical science prepares graduates for entrance into medical, dental, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, and other graduate level health care schools with doctoral programs.
2. MA in biomedical teaching prepares graduates to teach in a community college or trade school, or enhance teaching skills in a secondary setting.
3. MA in biomedical leadership prepares graduates for administrative work within a health care, clinic, or other biomedical setting.

Applications for enrollment in the MA in biomedicine for fall 2013 are still being accepted. Find out more at: