Chair's Spotlight: Sandeep Jubbal, MD

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Sandeep Jubbal, M.D., Clinician, Medical Director of the COVID Treatment Center, and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) and UMass Chan Medical School.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Jubbal has been a leader in UMMH’s novel treatment efforts for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), including the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). He and his team have worked tirelessly for months getting treatments to patients who are in need and eligible to receive them.

While mAbs were authorized for emergency use by the FDA in late 2020, they are still only available at a handful of sites in Massachusetts, and patients travel from all over the state and broader region to receive infusions at UMMH. mAb treatment can be helpful to those who are at higher risk of serious symptoms and test positive for COVID-19 with symptoms for up to ten days or have been in close contact with someone who recently tested positive. During an interview with Boston 25 about mAb treatment in October, Dr. Jubbal said, “The efficacy has been tremendous, with almost 70% risk reduction from hospitalization and adverse outcomes from this infection.”

Dr. Jubbal’s commitment to his patients and colleagues are evident and highly appreciated. Dr. Lalita Matta, an internist at Marlborough Hospital recently commented, “I have had such wonderful access [to resources regarding mAb treatment and appointments]…Even though [Dr. Jubbal] is extremely busy, he always takes the time to answer my questions and concerns and will call me back if I request it.” Dr. Jubbal’s efforts have also had an impact on his colleagues’ ability to provide patient care that goes above and beyond. One of Dr. Matta’s patients shared that her husband, who was a patient in Boston, had been waiting to hear about infusion treatment for days and, after reaching out to Dr. Matta for help, was able to the get the treatment the next day!

Dr. Jubbal’s work with mAbs has been featured on several local and international news outlets including the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Boston Globe, WBUR (Boston’s National Public Radio news station), Boston 25 News, Bloomberg news, and the Japan Times.

The Department of Medicine will honor Dr. Jubbal with a Citizenship Award during the next DOM Town Hall Meeting on Monday, March 7^th.

Learn more about monoclonal antibody treatments. Watch interview with Dr. Jubbal about UMass Memorial’s mAb initiative on Health Watch: Monoclonal Antibody Treatments.