Colleagues, it is hard to believe that a month has passed since I sent the first Departmental communication as your Chair. Last month, I highlighted the work of our house staff, fellows, administrators, research faculty, and clinical faculty working to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although work continues, it is wonderful to see that infection rates and hospitalizations are improving. As important, infection rates among our team are falling as we see the benefits of immunizing our frontline healthcare providers.
Our mission is tripartite, however, and I wanted to focus this communication on the Research Space. Over the last month, Kate Fitzgerald, Vice Chair for Research, and I met with many of our clinical and research faculty. We also distributed a research needs survey - thank you to the over 95 of you who have provided key feedback. Enhancing support for your scholarly work (including research, quality, and education) was identified as a clear opportunity, particularly among junior and mid-career faculty. With that in mind, I wanted to announce the official launch of our new Department of Medicine, Clinical Research Core.
Particular thanks to Kate Fitzgerald, who helped develop and will co-direct the Core with me, and Karen Griffin, our lead Departmental Administrator, without whom this effort would not be possible. The DoM Clinical Research Core will be a unique resource for our Department in the UMMS. We will make a centralized, professional, and coordinated team of analysts, grants administrators, lab technicians, research nurses, statisticians, and coordinators available to you using a standardized, equitable, and transparent process. Guided by an oversight committee comprised of experienced Departmental Faculty, the core is now operational to help you better develop and implement your research program. We will work collaboratively with the Office of Clinical Research, Department of PQHS, and other key stakeholders but, to be clear, we work for you. Please use this emailDoMResearch (domresearch@umassmed.edu) to engage with the Core directly. We look forward to developing this with you - anyone with questions should reach out to Dr. Fitzgerald or myself.
Again, thank you for all you do. The DoM leadership team is on a mission to match your energy, professionalism, and excellence. Hopefully, you see this manifest in a direct return on investment for being part of the coolest Department around.