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The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees voted to approve the establishment of four new endowed chairs and the appointment of highly accomplished faculty to six chairs on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
These endowments were made possible by the generosity of Betty Brudnick of Needham; the estate of Herman G. Berkman, PhD; the Meyers Primary Care Institute; John P. Mordes, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, and Regina M. Yando, PhD; the estates of Eileen L. Berman, EdD, and Stanley I. Berman; and UMass Memorial President and CEO Eric Dickson, MD’95, and Catherine E. Dickson, MD’93.
The Medical School now has 86 endowed chairs and professorships, thanks to its generous benefactors. The six new appointments will be celebrated at Convocation and Investiture: A Celebration of Faculty on Thursday, Sept. 17 in the Albert Sherman Center Auditorium on the campus of UMass Chan Medical School.
Andrew R. Tapper, PhD, professor of neurobiology, was appointed to the Brudnick Family Chair in Neuropsychiatry, established to support the research efforts of the director of the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute.
As the institute’s director since 2012, Dr. Tapper is a leading investigator on the neurological basis of addiction, reward and anxiety. Using modern basic neuroscience approaches, his research has helped uncover novel molecular mechanisms underlying the rewarding properties of nicotine and alcohol; elucidated brain areas, circuits and molecular components critical for nicotine withdrawal symptoms; and identified sub-populations of neurons in the brain that drive stress coping behaviors that reduce anxiety.
Tapper joined UMass Chan and the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute in 2006 as assistant professor of psychiatry. In 2012, he became an associate professor and interim director of the institute. Promoted to full professor in 2016, he joined the Department of Neurobiology and was named permanent director of the Brudnick Institute in 2017.
Jennifer Wang, MD, professor of medicine, has been appointed to the Herman G. Berkman Chair in Diabetes Care Innovation, which was established to support and sustain an academically distinguished member of the faculty whose ongoing contributions to diabetes research and scholarship reflect the academic excellence of UMass Chan and enhance its reputation across the world of academia.
Dr. Wang joined UMass Chan in 2003. She specializes in innate immunology and its role in human disease. Her laboratory investigates how viral infections shape immune responses and contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes and other inflammatory conditions. Her current research studies how innate immune responses contribute to autoimmune disease processes, in particular how activation of inflammatory pathways can lead to type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Similarly, enteroviruses such as Coxsackie B virus have been implicated in type 1 diabetes, suggesting links between innate and adaptive immunity in the development of diabetes.
At UMass Memorial Health, Wang leads a clinical research team focused on prevention and treatment of respiratory viruses and other infections.
Samir Malkani, MD, professor of medicine, has been appointed the inaugural holder of the John P. Mordes, MD, and Regina M. Yando, PhD, Chair in Medicine, which was established to support and sustain an academically distinguished member of the faculty whose ongoing contributions to innovation in patient care and medical education reflect the academic excellence of UMass Chan and enhance its reputation across the world of academic medicine.
Dr. Malkani joined the UMass Chan faculty in 2001 and was appointed as clinical chief of the diabetes and endocrinology division in 2020. Early in his career, Malkani was mentored by Dr. Mordes in experimental analysis and scientific publication in the lab of Aldo Rossini, MD, professor of medicine.
His clinical and academic work focuses on evaluating and implementing tools such as continuous glucose monitoring and insulin delivery systems; and investigating the impact of social determinants of health on diabetes-related outcomes and addressing psychosocial barriers to effective care.
Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, FARVO, FASRS, professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences, director of the Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence and director of the Retina Service at UMass Memorial Eye Center, has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Dr. Eileen L. Berman and Stanley I. Berman Foundation Chair in Biomedical Research II, which supports an academically distinguished member of the faculty whose ongoing contributions to research and scholarship drive pioneering therapeutic advances.
Dr. Seddon’s research has advanced the evaluation and treatment of patients with retinal dystrophies and degenerations, including macular degeneration and other macular disorders. She pioneered studies of the causes and prevention of macular degeneration and is widely recognized for groundbreaking research on how lifestyle and nutrition can modify the risk and progression of retinal disease.
Seddon and her research team have discovered many genetic variants related to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as the first rare variants that confer the strongest genetic risk factors for AMD. These variants can lead to high risk of disease in families and are now targets for new treatments.
Edwin D. Boudreaux, PhD, professor of emergency medicine, psychiatry & behavioral sciences, and population & quantitative health sciences; has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Dickson Family Chair in Emergency Medicine, which provides support for initiatives that advance the field of emergency medicine.
Dr. Boudreaux is director of the Center for Accelerating Practices to End Suicide through Technology Translation, or CAPES, at UMass Chan, resulting in significant contributions to transforming suicide-related care in healthcare settings and a profound impact on the science of suicide prevention. The center is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, one of only seven practice-based suicide prevention research centers nationwide.
A clinical psychologist, Boudreaux has led more than 20 federally funded studies on suicide screening, risk stratification, clinical decision-making and brief interventions across diverse settings—from emergency departments and inpatient units to primary care and specialty clinics.
Boudreaux joined the faculty at UMass Chan in 2009. He has secured more than $35 million in research funding and has led the Department of Emergency Medicine to top 10 NIH-rankings in funding for 14 of the last 15 years.
David Michael Dosa, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, was appointed the inaugural holder of the Meyers Chair in Geriatric Medicine, which supports a nationally recognized and board-certified physician-scholar in geriatrics who will work collaboratively to expand research and educational efforts that translate into improvements in age-friendly care locally, regionally and nationally.
The Meyers Primary Care Institute, of which UMass Chan was a co-founder, made many contributions to chronic disease epidemiology, medication safety and geriatric care over 25 years, honoring the memory of respected physician-leader John Meyers, MD.
Dr. Dosa joined UMass Chan in 2024. He is a board-certified geriatrician and internist and health services researcher with more than two decades of experience in the field of geriatrics. His research has investigated the role of climate change-related disasters on older adults, particularly vulnerable populations in nursing homes and assisted living. His current research includes studies in pharmacoepidemiology, inappropriate prescribing, antibiotic stewardship and food insecurity in older populations.
The Tapper and Dosa appointments were voted on and approved by the Board of Trustees on Dec. 16, 2025.
