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December 14, 2018
Worcester District Medical Society honors two longtime UMMS faculty
Daniel Lasser, MD, chair and professor of family medicine & community health, received the 2018 Distinguished Career Award and Erik Garcia, MD, assistant professor of family medicine & community health, was recognized with this year’s A. Jane Fitzpatrick Community Service Award from the Worcester District Medical Society.
Full story »December 13, 2018UMMS researchers receive funding from Gilbert Family Foundation to develop NF1 therapeutic
The Gilbert Family Foundation has announced that UMass Medical School will receive funding from a $12 million gene therapy initiative to address the underlying cause of neurofibromatosis type 1.
Full story »December 12, 2018Winter Ball reaches $2 million goal on 10th anniversary
The Winter Ball, the premier fundraising gala supporting the mission of the academic health sciences center formed by UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School, reached its $2 million goal this year.
Full story »December 05, 2018John Erwin appointed vice chancellor for government relations
John Erwin, a widely known and highly regarded government affairs leader, will join UMass Medical School in early January as vice chancellor for government relations.
Full story »December 05, 2018Shoppers give generously to UMMS Public Safety toy drive
The UMass Medical School Department of Public Safety’s annual Christmas toy drive netted enough toys and gift certificates to fill 10 police cruisers at a collection held Saturday, Dec. 1 at Walmart in Northborough.
Full story »December 03, 2018Listen: A conversation with UMass President Marty Meehan
A new Voices of UMassMed podcast in which Marty Meehan highlights his focus as president of the University of Massachusetts system is available.
Full story »November 29, 2018UMMS community gathering Coats for Kids for Worcester Public Schools
UMass Medical School is again participating in the annual Worcester Public Schools Coats for Kids drive to provide new, warm outerwear to Worcester children in need.
Full story »November 29, 2018Max Baker Resource Center for students facing food insecurity dedicated at UMMS
A new student-led food pantry and resource center for UMass Medical School students was dedicated at a ceremony recognizing the contributions of those who made it possible.
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November 28, 2018
The Conversation: Michael Hirsh makes case for physician role in stemming gun fatalities
Michael Hirsh, MD, said doctors must take an active role in addressing the rising number of gun fatalities across the United States in a new opinion piece published Nov. 28 in The Conversation.
Full story »November 27, 2018Victor Ambros named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Victor Ambros, PhD, has been elected by his peers as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Full story »November 26, 2018UMMS helps Liberian partners strengthen health care services
Significant progress has been made in the effort to establish certified public health laboratories and safe blood collection and infection prevention and control practices in Liberia, according to David Chiriboga, MD, MPH, and colleagues, who recently provided an update work to strengthen health care services in the country.
Full story »November 21, 2018UMass Medical School team volunteers at Veterans Inc Holiday Harvest
Chancellor Michael F. Collins and UMass Medical School staffers were on hand distributing Thanksgiving turkeys with all the trimmings to veterans and their families at the Veterans Inc. annual Holiday Harvest event on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
Full story »November 20, 2018UMMS Professional Women’s Committee recognized with Beyond the Suit Award
The Professional Women’s Committee has received the Dress for Success Worcester Beyond the Suit Award in recognition of its commitment to empowering women in the greater Worcester community to achieve economic success.
Full story »November 19, 2018RNAi therapy mitigates preeclampsia symptoms in UMass Medical School study
A new study by Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, and Melissa Moore, PhD, at UMass Medical School and colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Western Sydney University, suggests that RNA interference therapy could be a potential strategy for the treatment of preeclampsia.
Full story »November 15, 2018In their own words: Matilde Castiel, Naheed Usmani share personal immigration stories
Matilde Castiel, MD, and Naheed Usmani, MD, shared their personal journeys of coming to the United States at the debut of the UMass Immigrant Stories series on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Full story »November 15, 2018UMMS developing training program on medication-assisted opioid addiction treatment
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded a grant to UMass Medical School to create a training program that will qualify medical, nurse practitioner and physician assistant students to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid-addicted patients. Daniel Mullin, PsyD, is principal investigator on the grant.
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November 14, 2018
Still time to give to 2018 COMECC
With just a few more days to go in the 2018 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Charitable Campaign, members of the UMass Medical School community who have not yet donated are encouraged to do so. Everyone who pledges by the close of the campaign on Wednesday, Nov. 21, will be entered in raffle drawings.
Full story »November 13, 2018Listen: Aaron Remenschneider hopes to raise awareness of hearing loss and new treatments
Aaron Remenschneider, MD, MPH, runs an active research program at UMass Medical School focused on improving outcomes for patients who receive cochlear implants and other treatments. He explains his work in a new Voices of UMassMed podcast.
Full story »November 09, 2018M2D2 receives $7.9M NIH grant for new center to assist medical-device entrepreneurs
The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center, a joint partnership between UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School, will establish a new center to assist inventors pioneering promising new point-of-care devices and technologies for patients, thanks to a new $7.9 million grant for the National Institutes of Health.
Full story »November 07, 2018Vineyard Gazette: UMMS rural scholars study end-of-life planning as public health issue
Medical and graduate nursing Students in the Rural Health Scholars Pathway at UMass Medical School conducted a study to identify end-of-life planning concerns and needs of Martha’s Vineyard’s aging population, as reported in the Nov. 5 issue of the Vineyard Gazette.
Full story »November 06, 2018Blu Genes Foundation gives UMMS $1.4M to bring Tay-Sachs gene therapy to clinical trial
The Toronto-based Blu Genes Foundation, which is dedicated to developing gene therapies for rare disease, has given $1.4 million to UMass Medical School to advance a Phase I/II clinical trial for Tay-Sachs. Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, Terence Flotte, MD, Heather Gray-Edwards, PhD, DVM, and colleagues at Auburn University are leading the research.
Full story »November 05, 2018Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employee Charitable Campaign kicks off
The annual Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employee Charitable Campaign kicks off at UMass Medical School on Monday, Nov. 5. The statewide campaign allows UMMS employees to contribute to any of more than 1,000 screened nonprofit organizations that support a wide range of needs.
Full story »November 02, 2018David Ayers, Patricia Franklin highlight value of patient-reported outcomes registries in NEJM Catalyst
A new analysis by Patricia Franklin, MD, MBA, MPH, and David Ayers, MD, published by NEJM Catalyst, explains why patient outcome registries such as the Function and Outcomes Research for Comparative Effectiveness in Total Joint Replacement are essential to informing health policy and treatment decisions.
Full story »November 01, 2018Robert Brown Jr. and Jonathan Watts honored by Angel Fund for ALS
Jonathan K. Watts, PhD, and Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, were recognized at the annual Angel Fund for ALS Gala on Oct. 27. The organization is a nonprofit charity dedicated to supporting Dr. Brown’s research.
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October 31, 2018
UMass Medical School scientists safely deliver RNAi-based gene therapy for ALS in animal model
A gene therapy delivered to motor neurons was able to silence SOD1 protein, mutations of which are linked to ALS, without causing any adverse effects, according to a new study published in Science Translational Medicine, by Christian Mueller, PhD, and Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD.
Full story »October 31, 2018Robert Finberg on what to expect and how to prepare for this flu season
Robert Finberg, MD, researches how to better prevent and treat influenza. He answers some of the most frequently asked questions in this Expert’s Corner Q&A.
Full story »October 29, 2018Better strategies to ID people at risk for opioid-related overdose deaths needed, study suggests
A new study by Gerardo Gonzalez, MD, examines how health care systems may be able to help prevent opioid-related overdose deaths. The findings are published in Psychiatric Services.
Full story »October 29, 2018LISTEN: UMass Medical School partnership with Worcester schools benefits students
In a new Voices of UMassMed podcast interview, Kola Akindele, JD, and Maura Mahoney, LISCW, discuss the impact UMass Medical School continues to have on the lives of students in the Worcester Public Schools.
Full story »October 29, 2018Silvia Corvera, Michael Czech receive $2.5M grant to advance potential therapy for type 2 diabetes
Silvia Corvera, MD, and Michael Czech, PhD, are investigating whether technologies developed in their labs will harness beige fat’s ability to burn energy and accelerate metabolism in order to improve the body’s response to sugar and lower blood glucose levels.
Full story »October 24, 2018Postdoc Tessa Simone explores role of immune cells in cancer
Tessa Simone, PhD, a postdoc in the lab of Michael R. Green, MD, PhD, is focused on identifying ways to teach the immune system to attack cancerous tumors without harming healthy tissue.
Full story »October 22, 2018UMMS scientists featured in special edition of Small Methods journal
Multidisciplinary research in chemical biology, life sciences and medicine at UMass Medical School is featured in a special issue of the journal Small Methods. The collection of papers spans a wide disciplinary range that includes biomedical engineering/materials science, frontiers in optical microscopy and organic synthesis, as well as nanoparticle technology and emerging CRISPR‐based genomic sciences.
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UMMS alum Raghu Kiran Appasani addresses UN General Assembly on global mental health
UMass Medical School alumnus Raghu Kiran Appasani, MD, SOM ’18, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City recently to help launch the United for Global Mental Health campaign.
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