Endowed chairs surpass 60, bolstering UMass Chan’s position as a research and fundraising powerhouse

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, UMass Chan Medical School is establishing endowed chairs at a steady pace, bringing the total number to 63. This milestone is a testament to the Medical School’s growing strength in attracting substantial philanthropic investment. Endowed chairs are incredibly powerful in recruiting and retaining the most talented and sought-after researchers, physicians and educators, which in turn helps to attract talented, motivated students.

Endowed chairs at UMass Chan are held by some of the most accomplished names in medicine. To recognize just a handful:

• Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Neurosciences, who discovered the first gene associated with hereditary ALS and led the first clinical trial for ALS using gene therapy.
• Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, the Remondi Family Chair in Biomedical Research and a leading expert in the medicinal chemistry of RNA therapeutics, who pioneered the approach of delivering siRNAs to the brain for therapeutic impact.
• Jeanne Lawrence, PhD, the Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research and the first to show that the genetic defect responsible for Down syndrome can be suppressed in vitro using a naturally occurring off-switch called XIST.
• Craig C. Mello, PHD, the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for his co-discovery of RNAi.
• Erik J. Sontheimer, PhD, the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research and pioneer in the optimization of CRISPR-Cas9 systems for genome editing.

Notably, 21 endowed chairs at UMass Chan are currently held by women, in a field where women remain underrepresented in leadership roles.

In FY22, a $5 million gift from UMass Lowell alumni Donna and Robert Manning established five new endowed chairs in neurosciences, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing and biomedical sciences. Robert Manning, who chairs the UMass Board of Trustees, said that he and his wife made their gift because of their firsthand experience with UMass Chan’s academic medical system.

The inaugural chair holders are:

• Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, professor of neurology and director of the Neurotherapeutics Institute, and the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Neurosciences (also mentioned above).
• Mary Ellen Lane, PhD, professor of neurobiology and dean of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Biomedical Sciences.
• Tiffany A. Moore Simas, MD'00 R'04, MPH, FACOG, MEd, chair and professor of obstetrics & gynecology and professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and population & quantitative health sciences, and the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Michael P. Stauff, MD, associate professor of orthopedics & physical rehabilitation and vice chair for clinical practice in the Department of Orthopedics & Physical Rehabilitation, and the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Orthopedics.
• Joan M. Vitello-Cicciu, PhD, professor of nursing and dean of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, and the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Nursing.

In addition, cancer research is getting a significant boost at the Medical School thanks to the newly created Our Danny Cancer Fund Chairs in Biomedical Research I and II.

The Our Danny Cancer Fund Chairs were established with an anonymous donation in recognition of the Our Danny Cancer Fund at UMass Chan. The Our Danny Cancer Fund Chair in Biomedical Research I was awarded to Michelle Kelliher, MD, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology and co-leader of the Cancer Genetics Program, while Dr. Eric Baehrecke, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology, holds the Our Danny Cancer Fund Chair in Biomedical Research II.

Both endowed chairs were established to advance the understanding of cancer biology and to facilitate the development of novel cancer therapeutics.

View the full list of endowed chairs and their holders.