2025 UMass Chan Media Fellowship schedule
Day 1: Wednesday, March 19
Unless otherwise noted, sessions will take place in the Albert Sherman Center Cube on the third floor.
6:30 p.m.: Welcome reception
Meet in the lobby of the Albert Sherman Center on UMass Chan Medical School’s Worcester campus. For fellows staying at the Beechwood Hotel, meet outside the hotel lobby at 6 p.m. for transportation to the Albert Sherman Center. Get acquainted with members of the Office of Communications and begin making connections with media fellows during a welcome reception. There will be hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.
Day 2: Thursday, March 20
8:30 a.m.: Check-in and networking breakfast
Arrive at UMass Chan’s Albert Sherman Center lobby to check-in. Join us for a light breakfast as you settle in and prepare for the day ahead.
9 – 10:15 a.m.: Welcome from Chancellor Michael F. Collins
Michael F. Collins, MD, is chancellor of UMass Chan Medical School and senior vice president for the health sciences for the University of Massachusetts system. Chancellor Collins will provide an overview of Massachusetts’ first and only public medical school, a leading academic destination and economic engine across the commonwealth. UMass Chan comprises three graduate schools: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing; and unique business units, including ForHealth Consulting at UMass Chan. We are advancing together to improve the health and wellness of our diverse communities throughout Massachusetts and across the world by leading and innovating in education, research, health care delivery and public service.
10:15 a.m.: Quick break
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.: UMass Chan’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
In a panel format, five faculty members from the UMass Chan Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences answer your questions and engage in a lively and timely discussion about the pressing mental health challenges of our time. Their areas of expertise span treatment-resistant depression, addiction psychiatry, autism, women’s health and maternal mental health.
- Anthony Rothschild, MD, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences and vice chair of research for the Department of Psychiatry and behavioral sciences; editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
- Kimberly A. Yonkers, MD, the Katz Family Chair in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and chair and professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences; editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
- Nancy Byatt, DO, MS’15, MBA, professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences, obstetrics & gynecology, and population & quantitative health sciences
- Caridad Ponce Martinez, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences
- David Cochran, MD, PhD, the Barrett Family Term Chair in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and associate professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences and pediatrics
Noon – 12:45 p.m.: Lunch
1 – 3:30 p.m.: Explore, engage and excel: Inside’s UMass Chan’s immersive learning space
Location: iCELS
Embark on a hands-on journey within UMass Chan’s state-of-the-art clinical education space where students in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and others develop and practice clinical skills. The interprofessional Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation, or iCELS, is an experiential learning resource meeting health care needs across the spectrum of providers and levels of training. iCELS offers a full spectrum of clinical simulation, including high fidelity manikins, standardized patient actors, skills labs and procedural training. Observe a new virtual reality training program developed to help learners improve communications skills and practice difficult conversations with an AI generated patient. Learn how to deliver naloxone and reverse opioid overdose. Tour the facility where cutting-edge technology and hands-on humanistic learning replicate medically accurate and emotionally authentic real-world experiences and shape current and future clinicians.
3:15 p.m.: Coffee and snack break
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.: Inside the lab: Promising pancreatic cancer therapy
Dive into the world of pancreatic cancer research. Researchers will present on the development of a new, dual immunotherapy approach that may potentially change the way clinicians treat pancreatic cancer. They will address why the findings are exciting and the challenges inherent in treating this form of deadly cancer. By highlighting the groundbreaking results seen in animal models treated with the dual therapy approach, you will experience just a sample of the cutting-edge, breakthrough research happening at UMass Chan.
- Marcus Ruscetti, PhD, assistant professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology
- Prabhani Atukorale, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology and assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UMass Amherst
4:45 p.m.: Wrap up for the day, return to the hotel and relax before dinner
6:30 p.m.: Dinner with the fellows
Meet at The Mercantile in Worcester for dinner with the media fellows and the Office of Communications team. The address is 2 Mercantile Street. Parking is available.
The Office of Communications will organize carpooling for anyone without a car.
Day 3: Friday, March 21
8 a.m.: Morning check-in and light breakfast
Arrive at UMass Chan’s Albert Sherman Center lobby to check-in. Prepare for day two over a light breakfast.
8:30 – 10 a.m.: Lupus CAR T cell therapy
Hear from Roberto Caricchio, MD, principal investigator of a CAR T cell therapy clinical trial at UMass Chan. Learn about early results from research into a breakthrough treatment for severe or nonresponsive lupus nephritis that paves the way for a promising future, the history of the disease, and a patient’s inspiring journey to remission. The session will further highlight the Medical School’s commitment to advancing treatments for human disease and exemplify the collaboration that contributes to the overall mission of advancing together.
- Roberto Caricchio, MD, the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology, professor of medicine, and chief of the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine
- Talaya Reid, received CAR-T cell treatment for lupus at UMass Chan
10:15 – 11:15 a.m.: Why vaccines matter
Grace Ryan, PhD, assistant professor of population & quantitation health sciences, will address the critical role vaccines play in safeguarding public health, particularly during a time of shifting public opinion. Dr. Ryan researches why some people are hesitant to receive vaccines, such as those used for HPV and COVID-19, and how to improve public understanding of their benefits. This session will also explore how the press can shape public perception by providing balanced vaccine coverage.
11:15 a.m.: Quick break, then head over to Match Day
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Experience the emotions of Match Day!
Location: Medical School lobby
Step inside a packed lobby buzzing with anticipation as fourth-year medical students from the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan open their Match Day envelopes to find out where they will begin their careers as doctors. For this life-changing moment, the soon-to-be resident physicians will be joined by family, friends, mentors, faculty and leadership. Across the U.S., all graduating medical students will open their “match” envelopes at the stroke of noon (EST).
12:30 – 1 p.m.: Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 p.m.: Advances in Gene Therapy
UMass Chan is a global leader in gene therapy research, inspired by families worldwide. Terence R. Flotte, MD, will outline the rapid advancements in gene therapy research at UMass Chan, which targets diseases ranging from rare genetic disorders like Tay-Sachs disease, Canavan disease and UBA5 to more widely known conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. You will hear from pioneering researchers investigating new ALS therapies and an ALS advocate who was diagnosed with the disease that he has helped raise millions of dollars to fight.
- Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost, dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and professor of pediatrics
- Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Neurosciences and professor of neurology
- Daryl Bosco, PhD, the Paul J. DiMare Chair in Neurodegenerative Disease and professor of neurology
- Richard Kennedy, president, The Angel Fund for ALS Research
2:45 p.m.: Wrap-up
Complete a fellowship evaluation, wrap up and head out.