June 4, 2024

Dear School of Medicine Community,


I hope this message finds you enjoying the warm weather and preparing for some well-earned vacation time—you deserve it.


I know many of you saw The New York Times article published two weeks ago, “Almost 6,000 Dead in 6 Years: How Baltimore Became the US Overdose Capital”. The article laid out the tremendous tragedy that has enveloped our city. We, as an academic medical community, can find some solace in the fact that we have been laser-focused on the issue of addiction for the past two years. In particular, our three newly created institutes are fully engaged in this national crisis.


The University of Maryland-Medicine Institute for Neuroscience Discovery is accelerating translational research of the brain by facilitating interactions between basic and clinical scientists and enhancing collaborative research across the University, to include furthering the science of addiction. The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing is similarly engaged in addiction research and data collection, and this team is actively working on a major H-ARPA application to address addiction issues. And, of course, The Kahlert Institute of Addiction Medicine unites leading addiction experts in a shared research space to collaborate and create the synergy necessary for systemic change. They include neuroscientists studying the brain mechanisms underlying substance use and its lifelong consequences, and clinical researchers investigating potential interventions in patient trials. Kahlert Institute members also include substance use disorder specialists who understand the daily realities of caring for patients with complex disorders often involving psychiatric illness, trauma, and socioeconomic stressors—all issues discussed in The Times article.


This month we are hosting several finalist candidates for on-campus visits for the Director position of the Kahlert Institute of Addiction Medicine, as well as for the Director of the Institute of Genome Sciences. I commend the internal search committees for both institutes whose work has produced an amazing list of talented candidates.


Speaking of amazing candidates, I hope many of you found the time in May to participate in the many graduation exercises taking place on our campus. I had the pleasure of attending five of these and found them all to be fun and uplifting events. The week of celebration was capped off by the MD program graduation at the gorgeous Hippodrome Theatre, and featured a commencement address from Martine Rothblatt, PhD, JD, MBA, who is the Chairperson and CEO of the biotech company, United Therapeutics, and the inventor of SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Dr. Rothblatt gave an inspiring talk, and reminded the graduates that their degrees were like a toolkit, “Your brand-new, literally infinite, toolkit to save lives and reduce anguish is truly a gift from the heavens. Yes, you worked so very hard for it. But to even be able to work so very hard for it is another gift from the heavens. Be grateful. Be humble. Be useful.” Great words for framing young futures.


Please take a moment to watch Dr. Martin Rothblatt’s speech, posted on this link:

Watch the Video >


As the Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, it is a great honor for me to speak to our graduating students and their families. This is a time in life where our students cross a privileged threshold, where they are empowered with a sacred right to share in our patients and their families’ lives, secrets, joys and suffering on their journey from birth to death. As we all reflected on this moment, I spoke to the future of medicine that they will experience, and what things will change and what things will never change. 


If you have the time, please take a moment to view this speech, and I appreciate your feedback and comments: Watch the video >


Finally, thanks to all the faculty, staff, and students who showed up last Thursday afternoon for our two Town Hall meetings to discuss new developments in both our Research and Clinical enterprises. More than 400 SOM employees attended in person and 250 others joined online, for a robust and engaging discussion on how best to continue moving forward with our critical mission to solve generational health challenges.


If you missed the town halls, you can watch them here: Research town hall and Clinical Care town hall. As I have said many times, we are in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. Thank you.

I am always impressed by the dizzying pace of activity here at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, there is never a dull moment or a lull in the action. So, I want to reiterate what I said at the beginning of this message: It’s important that all of us do find some time to relax and rejuvenate, and to always support and nurture each other as we face generational challenges in Medicine… together.

God Speed,

Mark T. Gladwin, MD (He/him/his)

Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore

John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean