|
Dear School of Medicine Community,
We have had a fast-paced, exhilarating past few weeks. Last week, we received the official legislation, signed by Governor Wes Moore, granting us annual funding from the State for the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC). This appropriation includes $1.5 million in fiscal year 2026; $3 million in fiscal year 2027; $4.5 million in fiscal year 2028; and $6 million each fiscal year beyond that. This is a big win for our IHC, our big data/precision medicine mission, and our academic medical community overall. Congratulations! We are proud and fortunate to live in the State of Maryland, which is committed to advancing economic development and population health through innovative partnerships with the University of Maryland and our School of Medicine faculty.
In more funding news, our University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center has entered a partnership with AstraZeneca to enhance community-based lung cancer screening and detection for Marylanders at high risk. This initiative will focus on underserved communities in Maryland, and includes up to $8 million in funding from AstraZeneca over the next five years. The goals include earlier diagnosis and more treatment options for patients.
|
 |  | On the education front, as many of you know, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for medical education programs leading to an MD degree, was on campus in April for their review of the SOM’s educational mission and programs. The SOM collectively was extremely well prepared. We presented a comprehensive self-study document, new bylaws, and a new strategic plan. We are proud that our medical school and student rotations are performing at the highest levels. We already received a preliminary exit report from the survey team, which contained very few critical findings with no surprises. We expect the final report from the LCME in October. However, we are confident that we will be able to easily address the findings and expect to receive a full accreditation. I want to extend a special thanks to our Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs, James Kaper, PhD, and to our Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, Donna Parker, MD, for leading us all through this process.
| |
As I announced a few weeks ago, Kathy Neuzil, MD, MPH has been selected by the National Institutes of Health to serve as the 13th Director of the Fogarty International Center (FIC), and NIH Associate Director for International Research beginning this month. We wish her all the best in her new roles and thank her for all of her service to the SOM. I am happy to announce that Miriam Laufer, MD, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Associate Director for Malaria Research, will assume the position of Interim Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health. We look forward to Dr. Laufer’s leadership! You can read the full press release on this appointment here.
| |
Jeffrey Hasday, MD also recently announced that he will step down from his leadership role, as Division Head of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine beginning in July. Jason Rose, MD, MBA, Associate Dean for Innovation and Physician Science Development and Director of Faculty Entrepreneurship, will serve as the Division Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and Nirav Shah, MD, Assistant Dean for Curriculum and Associate Chief for Education and Faculty Development, will serve as the Clinical Chief of this division and Director of our Pulmonary Medicine service line. A huge thank you and congratulations to all three of these leaders for their past and future service!
| I want to congratulate Irina Burd, MD, PhD for her selection as President-Elect of the Society for Reproductive Investigation, an international OB-GYN association with nearly 1,000 members in more than 30 countries. |  | |
I also want to congratulate our recently named Distinguished University Professors:
-
Steven Kittner, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Neurology
-
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, CARTI Endowed Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, and Director, Center for Advanced Research Training and Innovation
-
William Regine, MD, Professor and Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
-
David J. Weber, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Director, Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics; and Co-Director, Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research
These individuals will be honored at UMB’s annual Convocation on September 12, so save the date now to show your support!
|  | I hope everyone is looking forward to our highly anticipated graduation ceremony for the MD Class of 2024 just a couple of weeks away, on Thursday, May 16 at 1 p.m. at the Hippodrome! If you have not yet registered as faculty or staff, please do so here by tomorrow, May 2. You will not want to miss our keynote presentation from Martine Rothblatt, PhD, JD, MBA, founder and CEO of United Therapeutics and creator of SiriusXM! | With enthusiasm and commitment, | |
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
|
| | | |
