Dear Colleagues,
August has arrived and we are beginning to look forward to a busy fall with the academic year just around the corner! We have several events coming up with a new year of Grand Rounds and Research Seminars being planned, the DoM Town Hall Meeting on September 26th, and a DoM Research Faculty Meeting on September 27th. Be sure to watch for more information about those events in the DOMCOMM and other DoM communications, and mark your calendars!
Before we transition to the fall, I would like to highlight many of the wonderful accomplishments of our faculty from over the summer months. The UMass Center for Clinical & Translational Science (UMCCTS) announced the Summer 2022 Pilot Projects Program awardees, of which we had multiple winners from the DoM. Additionally, scientists in the Program in Digital Medicine published research that has contributed to the FDA's guidance on the use of rapid COVID-19 tests. Dr. Kate Fitzgerald was awarded BRIDGE Funding by the UMass Chan BRIDGE Innovation and Business Development office for two projects with commercialization potential, and Dr. Stuart Levitz was awarded NIH funding to for his project, “A subunit Cryptococcus vaccine.” In other news, Dr. Richard Ellison was interviewed on CBS Boston, where he discussed COVID-19 and tips on how to stay safe this summer.
In leadership updates, we offer our congratulations to Dr. Mark Madison, who began his tenure as the new DPAC Chair on July 1st. We offer our sincere gratitude to the outgoing chair, Dr. Peter Rice, who served in this role since 2008. We are also excited to welcome Dr. Alan Mullen to the DoM as the Mary C. DeFeudis Chair in Biomedical Research, Academic Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, and Professor of Medicine.
Finally, please be sure to check out this month’s Chair’s Spotlight which highlights the work of Dr. Alvaro Alonso. Dr. Alonso specializes in vascular and endovascular medicine, and interventional cardiology, and this month, we recognize him for his dedication to his patients and many contributions in Cardiovascular Medicine.
All of these stories, faculty honors, awards, grants, links to recent Grand Rounds recordings, and more are highlighted below.
Sincerely,
Dave
Don’t miss next month’s Chair’s Newsletter, which will feature a preview of our fantastic 2022-23 Medicine Grand Rounds line-up and other DoM events, along with our monthly Chair’s Spotlight and faculty accomplishments!