News

UMass Chan and UC Davis School of Medicine have partnered, earning a two-year American Medical Association ChangeMedEd Equity, Diversity and Belonging grant to enact socially conscious admissions reform at UMass Chan and create a toolkit for other medical schools to emulate.  

The Diversity and Inclusion Office releases its annual report.

Two signature events coordinated by the Diversity and Inclusion Office, the Latino Medical Student Association, the UMass Chan student chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science and UMass Chan interest group Happy Feet concluded the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Organizers hope the events will lead to more programming that centers Latinx students and bring the community together.    

Engineers from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation were guided around campus blindfolded by medical students to help highlight the challenges faced by visually impaired people.  

Artists share what “Advancing Belonging Together” means to them through original artwork at a new exhibit coordinated by the Advocacy Subcommittee of UMass Chan’s Committee on Equal Opportunity and Diversity in partnership with the Lamar Soutter Library.  

UMass Chan’s annual Diversity Summit on Oct. 30 will feature a poster session and a speaker program focused on faculty recruitment and retention as well as collective responsibly in ensuring diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging standards are met and maintained at all times at UMass Chan.  

Guests speakers Judy Hanlon, pastor at Hadwen Park Congregational Church, co-founder of the LGBT Asylum Task Force, and member of the Southern New England Conference Immigration, Refugee and Asylum Task Team; and Al Green, ministry director of the LGBT Asylum Task Force, talked about the work of the task force and sought to inspire change through personal stories.  

Festivities kick off on Friday, Sept. 6, with the T.H. Chan School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony, welcoming the new class of medical students into the medical community.

The Department of Dermatology embraces diversity, equity and inclusion work through a systematic evaluation of self, practices and policies.  

Postdoctoral fellow Samara Vilca, PhD, has been awarded the second phase of the National Institutes of Health Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience Award.  

The T.H. Chan School of Medicine welcomed 235 medical students on Monday, Aug. 19. The largest class in school history includes the first cohort of students in the new LEAD@Lahey track.

Twenty-five Worcester high school students and recent high school graduates are participating in this year’s Dynamic Futures program.

The Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Collaborative in Health Equity partnered to put on the event, “Day in the Life of an OB-GYN" on July 22.

Nineteen rising high school juniors and seniors spent their summer participating in the immersive 2024 High School Health Careers Program at UMass Chan Medical School.  

Summer Programs aimed at addressing issues of STEM representation prove to be beneficial for UMass Chan Medical School and the interns involved.  

College students enrolled in the Summer Enrichment Program highlight their educational goals and what they have learned from guest speakers, making connections with peers and research projects.  

The UMass Chan community gathered to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month through a food and storytelling event.

The annual awards are sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and the Women’s Faculty Committee of the Diversity and Inclusion Office.  

During a Centering the Margins event organized by the Diversity and Inclusion Office, Renée M. Landers, JD, professor of law and faculty director, Suffolk University Law School, explained the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC cases.  

The UMass Chan Postdoctoral Fellows Association creates community for its majority international student population.  

UMass Chan Medical School, in partnership with UMass Memorial Health, hosted the inaugural Affirming Health Care for Our Trans and Gender-Diverse Communities Summit, addressing the well-being of trans and gender-diverse community members. Medical student Mina Zhang was the emcee for the event and Kai da Costa, DO, assistant professor of psychiatry, led a patient and community voices panel discussion and Q&A session.  

The Worcester Business Journal has named Chancellor Michael F. Collins, Vice Chancellor Marlina Duncan and Executive Vice Chancellor Parth Chakrabarti to its 2024 Power 100 list.

UMass Chan partnered with local organization Glo Mom to support expectant and new mothers with access to information and services as they navigate pregnancy and motherhood.

UMass LIGHT, a mentorship program pairing students with faculty members, has formed meaningful bonds between industry leaders and aspiring doctors. UMass LIGHT will host a conference with keynote speakers Rochelle Walensky, MD, former CDC director, and Robert “Hoot” Gibson, former chief astronaut for NASA, on May 3. 

Second Look Day introduced accepted medical students to the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and included programming from the Diversity and Inclusion office.

In the latest episode of Voices of UMass Chan, Cherise Hamblin, MD, delves into the critical topic of Black maternal health and the significance of Black Maternal Health Week at UMass Chan Medical School.

Transcript

The second community convening of the Equity in Caregiving Project, which will be 10 a.m. – noon March 28 in the UMass Chan Faculty Conference Room S1-342, will host a panel of family and clinical caregivers to discuss caregivers’ experiences and what might reduce inequities.

Black Maternal Health Week raises awareness about the challenges faced by Black pregnant people and the importance of addressing disparities in maternal health care. Events are planned from April 11 to 17.  

The two graduates of the UMass Chan Baccalaureate MD Pathway Program in the Class of 2024 matched to their top choices on Match Day.

Uché Blackstock, MD, joined the UMass Chan community for a talk about her book Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine, the 2024 Diversity Campus Read.

Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences students Atinuke G. Oyinbo and Favour Akabogu discussed their research for the Black Excellence series.

T.H. Chan School of Medicine Class of 2026 students were the first to participate in a mandatory course about anti-racism in medicine, led by Sarah Forrester, PhD, assistant professor of population & quantitative health sciences.

Membership in the new African Student Association at UMass Chan Medical School requires acknowledging cultural differences in order to provide better care for diverse patients, and a desire to connect and celebrate each member’s African identity. 

The Department of Orthopedics & Physical Rehabilitation is working on creating space for belonging through focus groups, data collection and goal setting.  

Sharina Person, PhD, was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion at the annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote speaker Joan Reede, MD, MS, MPH MBA called on the medical community to move forward in values that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. 

The Diversity and Inclusion Office introduces Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock as its 2024 Diversity Campus Read book.

Students plan to use Martin Luther King Jr. Semester of Service Awards to transform the health of refugee, immigrant and low-income families in Worcester. 

Joan Reede, MD, MS, MPH, MBA, dean for diversity and community partnership and champion of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Harvard Medical School, will serve as keynote speaker for UMass Chan’s 36th annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.

More than half a million Americans are Deaf and experience problem drinking and trauma at significantly higher rates than the general population. A nationwide virtual clinical trial to test evidence-based therapy for Deaf people with trauma symptoms and alcohol use disorder is underway at UMass Chan Medical School. 

Jeanna Lee, PhD, brings education, experience and new ideas to the role of assistant director for equity, inclusion and campus climate.

UMass Chan Medical School has been named one of The Boston Globe’s 2023 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts and recognized for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Athena Callender will speak at UMass Chan for Native American Heritage Month. Her talk will focus on building trust and relationships that allow for a free flow of information on best practices in addressing health issues in the native community. 

Some of the achievements at UMass Chan led by Marlina Duncan, EdD, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion, are listed in celebration of her being named as one of Color Magazine’s Power 50 chief diversity officers. 

Students, faculty and friends of UMass Chan gathered to celebrate African Diaspora Night on campus to share the beauty, breadth and depth of African culture through fun, food and art.

The Diversity and Inclusion office welcomed author, trainer and life coach Kevin Neal as speaker for the Centering the Margins discussion series on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Representatives from UMass Chan presented on several topics and career paths, including RNA Therapeutics Institute, ScienceLive, community and government relations, diversity and inclusion and media and arts in sciences.

Marlina Duncan, EdD, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion, has been named an Outstanding Woman in Business 2023 by the Worcester Business Journal.

The Diversity and Inclusion Office at UMass Chan Medical School hosted a two-day Diversity Summit on Oct. 11 and 12, detailing progress toward meeting the institution’s strategic goal to foster diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging across campus. The event included a poster fair, plenary session, and a series of online breakout discussions.

UMass Chan Medical School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a presentation from Aldo Garcia-Guevara, PhD, professor of history and chair of interdisciplinary studies at Worcester State University.

A new RNA therapeutic for preeclampsia is based on work by UMass Chan researchers and collaborating scientists. Researchers explain the importance of a multipronged approach to addressing factors underlying health disparities in this Science for Living article.

The Dynamic Futures program at UMass Chan Medical School is aimed at attracting students underrepresented in medicine to careers in the behavioral health and mental health fields.

The Centering the Margins series speakers discussed the history of racism in health care and its impact on Indigenous health.

Data from the 2023 Diversity Engagement Survey, administered last spring by the Diversity and Inclusion Office, shows an increase in participation and in an overall favorable response to UMass Chan Medical School’s diversity and inclusion efforts.

Joshua Croke, the guest speaker for the 11th annual LGBT Convocation Welcome Celebration, says labels can be hateful or empowering.

The festivities begin on Friday, Sept. 8 with the annual White Coat Ceremony, welcoming the new T.H. Chan School of Medicine students into the medical community.

Returning UMass Chan students from the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, Morningside School of Biomedical Sciences and the T.H. Chan School of Medicine welcomed incoming students on Aug. 17 during the Diversity and Inclusion Office’s Inclusive Excellence Orientation.

The annual 10-week program hosted by the Diversity and Inclusion Office supports students from groups historically marginalized in STEM, health sciences and medicine through mentorship and hands-on experiences. Ten students participated in the 2023 program.

Forty future health and science professionals spent the summer immersed in UMass Chan’s cutting-edge laboratories.

Nineteen rising high school juniors and seniors spent July in Worcester participating in the immersive 2023 High School Health Careers Program at UMass Chan Medical School.

According to research by Katarina A. Ferrucci, PhD’23, transgender and gender-diverse people face more challenges than cisgender people in accessing treatment for eating disorders, and care providers aren’t always aware of the barriers.

More than 200 women of all backgrounds and ages came together at UMass Chan Medical School to get information about their health and have a day of self-care.

The Department of Family Medicine & Community Health is hosting the first annual event on World Refugee Day on June 20. Crista Johnson-Agbawku, MD, is the inaugural recipient of the Thomas Zand Refugee Health Lectureship award and will present Grand Rounds.

Students from Morehouse School of Medicine and the CUNY School of Medicine will perform clinical rotations in dermatology, orthopedic surgery, OB-GYN, internal medicine, pediatrics and radiology this summer.

During a ceremony named after a former vice provost, graduating UMass Chan Medical School students received stoles made of Kente fabric from Ghana, West Africa, to wear at Commencement.

The annual stole ceremony is part of UMass Chan’s ongoing efforts to illuminate the stories and experiences of underrepresented students.

Nine UMass Chan Medical School departments participated in the Diversity and Equity Action Plan (DEAP) pilot, organized by the Diversity and Inclusion Office.

UMass Chan Medical School and Central Mass Links are inviting the local community to participate in the Multicultural Women’s Health Summit, a free family wellness event, on Saturday, June 17, on the UMass Chan campus in Worcester.

Seven women were honored for career achievements in science and health care during the 23rd annual Women’s Faculty Awards at UMass Chan Medical School.

UMass Chan’s Diversity and Inclusion Office invited Maura Minsky, director of The Empathy Project at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, to discuss the importance of storytelling and empathy in the hospital and in diversity, equity and inclusion work.

Carolyn Brownawell, MBA, deputy executive vice chancellor for human resources at UMass Chan Medical School, believes that diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to institutional growth.

Author Geoffrey L. Cohen, PhD, described how “situation-crafting” can combat racism, enhance health and improve work performance.

The Lamar Soutter Library is hosting a National Library of Medicine traveling exhibit highlighting immigrants’ and migrants’ experiences with health care in the United States over 130 years. Now through April 21, the exhibit, Outside/Inside: Immigration, Migration and Health Care in the United States, is on display in the library.

The T.H. Chan School of Medicine admissions team partnered with the Diversity and Inclusion Office to host the inaugural Second Look Inclusive Connections and Belonging event on March 27.

UMass Chan Medical School celebrates Women’s History Month with a lecture by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, PhD, the Paul Murray Kendall Chair in Biography and professor of English at UMass Amherst, called “Forgotten Lives: Who They Were and Why They’re Important.”

UMass Chan Medical School students describe how their diverse backgrounds have prepared them to become doctors.

Research coordinators and their mentors share their takeaways from the Pipeline for Underrepresented Students in Medicine program. The deadline to apply for the next cycle is March 31.

UMass Chan Medical School celebrated Black History Month with a focus on the research of four of its Black scientists: Brain Lewis, PhD; Ayorkor Gaba, PsyD; MD/PhD student Zach Dyer; and Natalie Anumba, PhD.

The UMass Chan Medical School Diversity Engagement Survey will be emailed to all faculty, staff and students on March 6 and remain open through the end of March.

The Worcester Youth Behavioral Health Pathway Program seeks to create, maintain and sustain a pipeline of students of color to consider being clinicians, therapists, board-certified behavioral analysts and behavior technicians.

Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, MD, an accomplished physician who has focused her career on reducing the disparities between social determinants of health and health care, has been appointed the inaugural executive director of the new UMass Chan Medical School Collaborative in Health Equity.

The Diversity and Inclusion Office will present the series Black History Month: A Celebration of Black Excellence at UMass Chan Medical School.

Thirty faculty, staff and residents at UMass Chan Medical School were training in restorative justice, which is a method of conflict resolution and community building.

Robert E. Layne, MEd, received the 2023 Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion at the annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. in recognition of his long term commitment to bringing students underrepresented in health care careers into the STEM pipeline.

Marlina Duncan, EdD, received the Diamond Award for Excellence in Education, Leadership, Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, Humanitarian, Philanthropic and Community Engagement at a gala in Atlanta on Jan. 21.

The Diversity and Inclusion Office is preparing for the March 6 launch of the Diversity Engagement Survey, and held the last in a three-part informational series, the “Diversity Engagement Survey and You,” on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Marlina Duncan, EdD, and Sharina Person, PhD, also discuss the DES in a Voices of UMass Chan podcast.

In recognition of its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, UMass Chan Medical School was named one of “America's Greatest Workplaces 2023 For Diversity," by Newsweek and market data research firm Plant-A Insights. 

The Diversity and Inclusion Office is presenting a virtual event, the “Diversity Engagement Survey and You,” on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at noon. The 2023 survey will be sent via email to all faculty, staff and students on March 6.

The UMass Chan Medical School community will gather virtually for its 35th annual tribute in honor of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at noon.

The Diversity and Inclusion Office at UMass Chan Medical School is hosting its 2023 Diversity Campus Read featuring Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Geoffrey L. Cohen.

With a grant from the Dermatology Foundation, Morehouse School of Medicine student Sachi Desse is researching cutaneous T cell lymphoma, with Jillian Richmond, PhD, as her mentor.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion and the MLK Semester of Service Awards. Recipients will be announced at the UMass Chan Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 25.

Linda M. Long-Bellil, PhD, JD, of UMass Chan Medical School; Monika Mitra, PhD, of Brandeis University; and Charity Hueckstedt, of the National Center of Disability and Pregnancy Advisory Board led a forum on the intersectionality of disability, race and pregnancy.

More than 60 college students from across Massachusetts attended “A Day in the Life of a Surgeon” event last month, organized by two UMass Chan Medical School surgery residents to give students underrepresented in medicine the opportunity to learn about the surgical field.

With support from the Diversity and Inclusion Office, 15 departments and offices volunteered to participate in a pilot program in which they are developing plans to align their work with the five priority areas outlined in the diversity pillar of IMPACT 2025, the UMass Chan strategic plan.

UMass Chan Medical School hosted an inaugural observation of Native American Heritage Month with a virtual presentation by David Shane Lowry, PhD, anthropologist and citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Cailin Duram, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, led the monthly Diversity and Inclusion series, Centering the Margins, on reproductive rights and justice for queer and gender nonconforming people of color on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The Diversity and Inclusion Office featured the second of a three-part speaker series on Tuesday, Oct. 25, on the Diversity Engagement Survey developed by UMass Chan Medical School in collaboration with the Association of American Medical College.

MD/PhD student Bethany Berry plans to champion diversity and advocacy as UMass Chan Medical School’s student representative on the UMass Board of Trustees. Her research focuses on epigenetic mechanisms of meningioma, a type of intracranial tumor.

In her new role, Mary Munson, PhD, will serve as a leader in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in science at UMass Chan Medical School.

Ashley Gomez, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Pittsburgh, served as UMass Chan Medical School’s keynote speaker to conclude the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.