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February 24, 2020
Katherine Fitzgerald and Sanjay Ram elected to American Academy of Microbiology
Katherine Fitzgerald, PhD, and Sanjay Ram, MD, were elected to the American Academy of Microbiology. Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.
Full story »February 24, 2020LISTEN: Exploring new research into Parkinson’s disease
In a new Voices of UMassMed podcast, Kara Smith, MD, talks about early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease and new developments in research.
Full story »February 21, 2020Angel Fund contributes $1 million for ALS research at UMass Medical School
The Angel Fund for ALS Research donated $1 million last year to support the research of Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD. The sole mission of the nonprofit organization is to find a treatment and cure for ALS.
Full story »February 18, 2020Namesake of Albert Sherman Center dies at the age of 81
Albert “Albie” Sherman, the longtime vice chancellor for university relations at UMass Medical School whose service to the commonwealth inspired the Massachusetts legislature to name a building on campus in his honor, died on Monday, Feb. 17, at the age of 81.
Full story »February 10, 2020LISTEN: UMass Medical School tackles the vaping crisis
In a new Voices of UMassMed podcast, smoking cessation expert Tina Grosowky discusses the vaping crisis and the new UMass Medical School program that teaches school nurses how to help teens quit vaping.
Full story »February 07, 2020UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center funding renewed
The UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center at UMass Medical School has been awarded a $3.75 million, five-year grant renewal from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. It is co-led by Stephenie Lemon, PhD, and Milagros Rosal, PhD.
Full story »February 06, 2020Startup incubator aims to spur life-saving innovations
A business incubator working to improve the lives of patients with heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders, the Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies is expanding its reach to the next generation of biotech and medical-device entrepreneurs.
Full story »February 06, 2020Solidarity Week for Compassionate Care taking place at UMass Medical School
The UMass Medical School chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society is participating in the national observance of Solidarity Week for Compassionate Care with a full slate of activities and events.
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February 06, 2020
UMass Medical School hosts 14th annual Central Massachusetts Brain Bee
High School junior Tej Patel was the winner of the 14th Annual Central Massachusetts Brain Bee hosted by the Department of Psychiatry and the NeuroNexus Institute. The competition is designed to encourage students to pursue careers in the neurosciences.
Full story »February 04, 2020Cancer deaths decline in United States, with advances in prevention, detection and treatment
In an essay originally published by The Conversation, Cancer Center Director Jonathan Gerber, MD, discusses the specifics of recently reported declines in cancer deaths and provides perspective for future continued progress.
Full story »February 04, 2020Filia Van Dessel named Ambrose Scholar by Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research has named Filia Van Dessel, SOM ’22, a Paul Ambrose Scholar. Van Dessel will address recreational and physical activity opportunities for youth with disabilities on Martha’s Vineyard with the award.
Full story »January 30, 2020Nancy Byatt receives John C. MacQueen Lecture Award
The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs has named Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, the recipient of the 2020 John C. MacQueen Lecture Award, which recognizes innovation by individuals who have made exemplary contributions to maternal and child health.
Full story »January 30, 2020Shriver’s Autism Insurance Resource Center receives grant from Flutie Foundation
The Autism Insurance Resource Center at UMass Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center has received a $15,000 grant from the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism Inc. Amy Weinstock, founding director of the resource center, talks about how the funding will be used.
Full story »January 30, 2020UMass Medical School training school nurses to help teens quit vaping
The UMass Medical School Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training is rolling out a new statewide training program for school nurses to learn how to help teens quit vaping.
Full story »January 28, 2020Monitoring the coronavirus outbreak
Please be aware that UMass Medical School and clinical partner, UMass Memorial, are monitoring developments related to the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, which originated recently in Wuhan, China.
Full story »January 28, 2020Student life suite opens at UMass Medical School
The new student life suite opened at UMass Medical School with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Monday, Jan. 27 showcasing the central location for the offices of Student Life, Student Affairs, the Registrar and Financial Aid.
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January 27, 2020
LISTEN: Edwin Boudreaux on screening for suicidal risk in ER patients
In a new episode of the podcast Voices of UMassMedNow, Edwin Boudreaux, PhD, discusses the rise in suicide rates in the United States and efforts to implement routine suicide screenings in the emergency room.
Full story »January 23, 2020Boston Globe columnist lauds Jake Kennedy for lifetime of service as he launches ALS fund at UMass Medical School
The Jake Kennedy ALS Fund, launched last month by Jake and Sparky Kennedy, supports research at UMass Medical School to find a cure for ALS. A Jan. 20 Boston Globe column by Kevin Cullen details the man behind the fund, recently diagnosed with ALS, and the kindness he and his wife have shown since launching Christmas in the City 30 years ago.
Full story »January 22, 2020UMass Medical School to participate in World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day on Jan. 30
UMass Medical School will participate in World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day on Jan. 30, which is an initiative dedicated to the eradication of neglected tropical diseases that threaten more 2 billion people worldwide. Raffi Aroian, PhD, and Gary Ostroff, PhD, will host guest speaker Patrick Skelly, PhD.
Full story »January 22, 2020Gang Han optogenetic research named a top paper of 2019 by Cell
Research by Gang Han, PhD, was highlighted among the top articles published by Cell in 2019. The article explores how Dr. Han developed technology to give night vision to mammals through a simple injection.
Full story »January 22, 2020Student-led study finds implicit bias an important issue for medical trainees
In a study published in PLOS ONE, UMass Medical School students found that trainees value becoming aware of their own implicit biases as they prepare to practice medicine.
Full story »January 20, 2020MLK Semester of Service awardees will address local health and education needs
Four teams of UMass Medical School students that have been awarded Martin Luther King Jr. Semester of Service Awards will help improve access to cervical cancer screening, train youth in a lifesaving emergency intervention, integrate medical health records into free medical care and expand tutoring opportunities for high school students.
Full story »January 15, 2020NPR: Program developed at UMMS a ‘lifeline’ for mothers with postpartum depression
A program developed at UMass Medical School to ensure women with depression during or after pregnancy get the help they need is being replicated across the country, according to an NPR Morning Edition report on the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Moms.
Full story »January 15, 2020Sheldon Benjamin selected as director by American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology has selected Sheldon Benjamin, MD, as one of its eight psychiatry directors. He began his four-year term on Jan. 1.
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January 14, 2020
Dorothy Schafer lab shows gene therapy protection of eyesight in models of multiple sclerosis
New research by Dorothy Schafer, PhD, reveals the molecular process in which synaptic connections in the brain are damaged in multiple sclerosis and how it contributes to neurodegenerative symptoms. The paper also shows how gene therapy may be used to preserve neural circuits.
Full story »January 13, 2020LISTEN: From music to medicine, Anne Larkin shares journey to UMMS
Meet Anne Larkin, MD, senior associate dean for educational affairs, and hear how her journey led her to UMass Medical School in a new Voices of UMassMed podcast.
Full story »January 10, 2020BaccMD Pathway Program illuminates path to medical school
Third-year School of Medicine student Monica Tawadros came to UMass Medical School by way of the Baccalaureate MD Pathway Program. She is one of 10 students currently enrolled through the program. Learn more about the pathway in this video.
Full story »January 10, 2020Why we are hard-wired to worry, and what we can do to calm down
In an essay originally published by The Conversation, mindfulness expert James Carmody, PhD, writes about the human tendency to worry and what we can do to help quiet our minds.
Full story »January 09, 2020UMMS Police Chief Jack Luippold retiring; Clanford Pierce appointed successor
UMass Medical School Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Jack Luippold is retiring from his post this week, while his successor, Deputy Chief Clanford “Leon” Pierce, prepares to take the reins.
Full story »January 08, 2020UMass Medical School mourns loss of James Barry Hanshaw
The UMass Medical School community is mourning the loss of James Barry Hanshaw, MD, professor, dean emeritus and founding chair of the UMass Medical School Department of Pediatrics, who died Dec. 19, at age 90, in his home in Boylston.
Full story »December 26, 2019Jake Kennedy ALS Fund to support research at UMass Medical School
Jake and Sparky Kennedy, long known for their generosity as founders of the annual Boston Christmas in the City celebration for thousands of homeless children, are launching a new drive to raise $1 million to support research at UMass Medical School to cure ALS.
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Top story: ALS Phase II clinical trial led by Robert Brown shows treatment is safe, well tolerated
A study by Robert H. Brown Jr., MD, DPhil, published in the journal Neurology, shows that a single transplantation of a bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) called NurOwn was safe and well tolerated by patients.
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