UMass Worcester’s 40th Commencement ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 2, at noon under a giant tent on the campus green. Honorary degrees will be awarded to cardiologist James Eugene Dalen, MD, MPH (left), for his pivotal role in the early history of UMass Worcester, and to former MIT President Susan Hockfield, PhD, for her distinguished scientific career and her exceptional leadership skills.

Marc R. Freeman, PhD, associate professor of neurobiology and a leader in the study of glial cells, has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He joins five other HHMI Investigators at UMass Medical School.

Professor Mary Maloney, MD, is quoted in media outlets across the country this week, advocating for stricter federal regulations on tanning beds. In this Expert’s Corner video, she explains the dangers of indoor tanning.

Obstetrician Tara Kumaraswami calls for lifting all age restrictions on emergency contraception on the heels of the FDA’s decision to lower to 15 the age at which young women can purchase it without a prescription.

Professor Beth McCormick, PhD, spends long hours in the lab, seeking to understand the bacterial pathogenesis of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing drums with the band GI Distress at scientific conferences.

Inside the medical tent at the 2013 Boston Marathon, James Broadhurst, MD, called on his experience as a family doctor and fulfilled his role on the medical team by providing steady reassurance and care to his patients.

The newly established Program in Systems Biology is now at home in the new, state-of-the-art Albert Sherman Center, where it exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach to answering deep, complex questions about science for which the Sherman Center was designed.

Watch our video, which shows some of the innovations at UMass Medical Schol that point toward a good future for the school and for its mission.