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October 28, 2020
UMass Medical School to establish Center on Knowledge Translation on Employment Research
UMass Medical School youth mental health career services expert Marsha Ellison, PhD, is co-project director for a new national center that will bolster efforts to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities, including those with serious mental illnesses.
Full story »October 27, 2020Chancellor emeritus Leonard Laster dies at 92
Leonard Laster, MD, chancellor emeritus at UMass Medical School, died on Oct. 25, at 92.
Full story »October 23, 2020PhD candidate receives predoctoral grant for study of eating disorders and social groups
Ariel Beccia, a PhD candidate in the Clinical & Population Health Research program, recently received a $98,000, three-year Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health to study the social epidemiology of eating disorders by gender, sexual orientation and weight status.
Full story »October 23, 2020UMMS community members share ideas for eliminating health disparities
Members of the UMass Medical School community discussed over Zoom ideas for eliminating health disparities at the individual, institutional and community levels during the second in a series of campus conversations on diversity and inclusion.
Full story »October 22, 2020The Equity Collaborative builds culture, tools to promote gender parity
What makes an organization committed to fully inclusive gender equity? Gayle Capozzalo, executive director of The Equity Collaborative, discussed the purpose and goals of the collaborative and UMass Medical School’s involvement in a virtual campus conversation.
Full story »October 21, 2020Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences hosts improv workshops for PREP, IMSD students
Students in the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program and Initiative for Maximizing Student Development of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences gathered on Zoom recently to practice their quick-thinking skills through workshops in improvisation.
Full story »October 20, 2020H-ABC Foundation partners with UMass Medical School and Yale to study gene therapy for H-ABC
The Foundation to Fight H-ABC has announced sponsored research agreements with UMass Medical School and Yale University to advance a targeted gene therapy for this rare degenerative children's disease. Guangping Gao, PhD, is leading the work at UMMS.
Full story »October 20, 2020Nine-story biomedical research and education facility to be built at UMass Medical School
UMass Medical School has received approval from the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees to build a nine-story biomedical research and education facility on the Worcester campus to support laboratory research growth and the educational enterprise.
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October 19, 2020
Sarah Nicole Forrester, Ann Moormann awarded $2 million NCI SeroNet grant
Sarah Nicole Forrester, PhD, and Ann Moormann, PhD, MPH, are co-principal investigators on a new grant aimed at enhancing representation of Black and Hispanic people in SARS-CoV-2 immunology research through the use of storytelling.
Full story »October 19, 2020Project Civility launches series of student workshops on diversity, leadership
A new diversity and inclusion program at UMass Medical School called Project Civility aims to provide in-depth opportunities for students to explore diversity and inclusion, build personal skills, enhance learning outcomes and foster community and connections among the three schools.
Full story »October 16, 2020Guangping Gao makes list of Nature Biotechnology Top 20 translational researchers
An influential scientific journal’s list of top translational biotech researchers for 2019 includes Guangping Gao, PhD. Rankings are based on total patents for the year, among other factors.
Full story »October 16, 2020Axovant Gene Therapies receives rare pediatric disease designation for AXO-AAV-GM1 for GM1 gangliosidosis
Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd. has announced it received rare pediatric disease designation from the FDA for AXO-AAV-GM1, an adeno-associated virus-based gene therapy that is in Phase I/II development for GM1 gangliosidosis. Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, is a principal scientist of the research programs.
Full story »October 15, 2020Heidi Tissenbaum receives NIA grant to study how aging increases susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease
Heidi Tissenbaum, PhD, was recently awarded a $460,000, two-year grant from the National Institute on Aging to explore at the molecular level the connections between aging, health, and the onset and severity of Alzheimer’s disease.
Full story »October 15, 2020Brian Lewis recognized at Biomedical Science Careers Program Evening of Hope 2020
Brian Lewis, PhD, was recognized in the Evening of Hope 2020 Honor Roll during the Biomedical Science Careers Program’s annual fundraising ceremony. He was honored for his commitment to the organization’s mission of closing the equity gap and increasing diversity in science professions.
Full story »October 14, 2020UMass Medical School community mourns loss of Jake Kennedy
On behalf of the UMass Medical School community, we extend our sincere condolences to Jake Kennedy’s family and to all who knew and loved him. Jake Kennedy died Tuesday, Oct. 13, at age 65, in his Salem, N.H., home of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Full story »October 14, 2020UMMS study to examine how different body fat plays a role in type 2 diabetes
A new four-year, $2 million grant will allow Silvia Corvera, MD, to learn more about whether the development and function of two types of fat cells differ in people with type 2 diabetes, and may help explain what causes diabetes and obesity.
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October 13, 2020
Student Spotlight: Mina Botros connects patients to care through Worcester Free Clinics
Second-year School of Medicine student Mina Botros is the co-president of the Worcester Free Care Collaborative, a group of free medical programs in the greater Worcester area that offers free patient care.
Full story »October 09, 2020Kevin Gao receives Kirschstein Award for research into role of B cells in pulmonary fibrosis caused by SAVI
MD/PhD candidate Kevin Gao has received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to study a rare autoinflammatory disease in infants called STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy.
Full story »October 08, 2020Final beam of new VA clinic placed during UMass Medical School ceremony
The final steel beam has been placed atop the VA clinic under construction at UMass Medical School. The building, a collaboration with the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, is set to open in fall 2021.
Full story »October 06, 2020PhD candidate Yiyang Yuan to study depression, frailty, cognitive impairment in nursing home residents
Yiyang Yuan, PhD candidate in the Clinical & Population Health Research Program, received a fellowship award from the National Institutes of Health to support research examining the association between physical frailty, cognitive impairment and depression in older adults.
Full story »October 05, 2020PhD candidate receives NIH fellowship award for study on diagnosis of multiple myeloma precursor condition
Maira Castañeda Avila, PhD candidate in the Clinical & Population Health Research Program, received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Full story »October 02, 2020UMMS diversity and inclusion programming to feature campus read, community conversations, diversity summit
UMass Medical School will hold a series of events this fall to help align and anchor diversity and inclusion programming.
Full story »October 01, 2020Mary Callery O’Brien honored with Massachusetts Medical Society Grant V. Rodkey Award
Mary Callery O’Brien, MD, has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society with the 2020 Grant V. Rodkey Award for outstanding contributions to medical education and medical students.
Full story »September 30, 2020‘I would do it all over again’: Immigrant stories shared at virtual UMMS event
The Diversity & Inclusion Office and the International Committee relaunched the storytelling series “UMass Immigrant Stories” on Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Raúl Padrón and Francis Wanjau sharing their stories over Zoom.
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September 30, 2020
Sheldon Benjamin co-author of new practice guidelines for treating patients with schizophrenia
Sheldon Benjamin, MD, is an invited co-author of the new American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients with Schizophrenia.
Full story »September 30, 2020Shao-Hsien Liu studies racial disparities in total joint arthroplasty recovery
Racial disparities in utilization and outcomes of total joint arthroplasty, one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United States, have persisted for 30 years, according to Shao-Hsien Liu, PhD.
Full story »September 29, 2020From gut to brain: UMMS probes link between microbiome and cognitive functioning in Alzheimer’s patients
UMass Medical School researchers have been awarded a $3.3 million, four-year National Institute on Aging grant to explore new understanding of how the gut microbiome influences cognitive functioning among elders living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Full story »September 28, 2020More than half of COVID-19 clinical trials exclude older adults, according to research co-authored by MD/PhD student Benjamin Helfand
A research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine, co-authored by UMass Medical School MD/PhD student Benjamin Helfand, reports that older adults were likely to be excluded from more than 50 percent of COVID-19 clinical trials and 100 percent of vaccine trials initiated early in the pandemic.
Full story »September 28, 2020Recent GSBS grad’s study published in Molecular Cell analyzes mapping of enhancer-promoter interactions for gene expression and role in pathogen detection
Pranitha Vangala, PhD, GSBS ’20, is lead author of a study published in the journal Molecular Cell, in which she and colleagues present a predictive model of gene expression.
Full story »September 28, 2020Student Spotlight: GSN student Irina Rojas inspired to pursue nursing career after surviving Hurricane Katrina
Graduate School of Nursing student Irina Rojas knew health care was her calling when she witnessed doctors and nurses caring for New Orleans in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Full story »September 25, 2020Teaching inclusively: DRIVE initiative aims to develop bias-free learning
An initiative to encourage bias-free learning environments across UMass Medical School is moving forward with faculty workshops, online tools and department grand rounds presentations.
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Hispanic Heritage Month event recognizes contributions, addresses challenges of Hispanic and Latino Americans
UMMS joined the nation in recognizing the many contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the country and the medical school community with a live, online panel discussion in which students and faculty panel took on questions of diversity and inclusion.
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