November 4, 2024
Dear School of Medicine Community,
Last week I announced a series of major leadership transitions involving James Kaper, PhD stepping down as Vice Dean for Academic Affairs; Mary-Claire Roghmann, MD, stepping up as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Advancement; Chris O’Donnell, PhD, stepping up as Executive Vice Dean of the School of Medicine; and Donna Parker, MD, re-designated as the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education. I encourage you to go back and read the full announcement if you missed it.
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I want to officially welcome Kelly Dunn, PhD, MBA on campus as our inaugural Director of the Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine. Her first day was last Friday! As a reminder, Dr. Dunn is one of the nation’s leading experts on opioid use disorder. She is coming from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where she served as a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences with a joint appointment in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. She has been the Principal Investigator on projects totaling more than $22 million in awards from the NIH and has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications in the area of substance use and opioid use disorder. Welcome to the SOM community, Dr. Dunn!
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We have several large leadership searches occurring right now: the new Chair of the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; the new Chair of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, the new Director for the Center for Vaccine Development & Global Health; and the new Chair of the Department of Medicine. All search committees have been formed and executive search firms are engaged. I ask for everyone’s cooperation, support, and patience as we identify the right leaders to fill these roles.
We have many exciting funding opportunities to celebrate this season! You may have heard that we received $2M in matching funds from the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce. The funds, totaling $4M with the UMB qualified funding, will enable the establishment of three endowed research professorships: the Bartley P. Griffith, MD Professorship in Surgery, Transplantation, and Innovation with $750K from Commerce matched by $750K from UMB; the Brown Capital Management, LLC Professorship in Sickle Cell Disease with $500K from Commerce matched by $500K from UMB; and the Mordecai P. Blaustein Faculty Scholar Professorship with $750K from Commerce matched by $750K from UMB. These matching grants will support some of the most significant areas for biomedical innovation, discovery, and commercialization—where Maryland is leading the way. This funding will enable us to build on our success in advancing xenotransplantation, discover innovative cancer therapies, and establish a new center to develop novel treatments for our warriors living with Sickle Cell Disease in Maryland, Nigeria, and globally.
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| | Additionally, the City of Baltimore has earmarked $10M from their recent opioid restitution settlement with Walgreens to support our Baltimore Comprehensive Overdose Response to End the Epidemic (BCORE). BCORE, a UMSOM-led citywide collaborative, was formed in responses to a grant opportunity with the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) through its HEalth care Rewards to Achieve Improved OutcomES (HEROES) program, aimed at addressing generational health challenges in a market-driven fashion. BCORE will create a tactical public health infrastructure by integrating multiple medical systems, treatment providers, and non-traditional care settings to enhance connections between crisis response and long-term care and services and expand access to medications for opioid use disorder. The City’s contribution will form part of a 2:1 funding match expected of applicants by ARPA-H. BCORE was initiated by investigators at our Institute for Health Computing (IHC), including principal investigator Martha Jurczak, Director of Strategy & Business Development for the IHC and newly appointed Assistant Dean for Business and Economic Development at the UMSOM. She is collaborating with fellow PI Eric Weintraub, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of UMSOM’s new Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine. BCORE’s work will be executed by UMSOM, UMMS, UMBC, Johns Hopkins, the Baltimore City Fire Department, and the community-based organization People Encouraging People.
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As I mentioned last month, our Diversity Dinner and Celebration is coming up on February 22, 2025. A significant element of this event is the Dean’s Awards for Diversity and Inclusion, one award for a deserving faculty member and one for a deserving alumnus. Please refer here for the full description of the faculty award, criteria, and information on nominations, and here for the alumni award. Nominations are due by Friday, December 20, 2024. Please give this serious consideration, as there are many people in our community doing great work who deserve to be recognized! | |
Keeping our diversity, equity and inclusion priorities in mind and remembering where the School of Medicine is situated within the city of Baltimore, we will host our second annual School of Medicine Day at Lexington Market this Wednesday, November 6 from 12-1 p.m. We began this event last year in collaboration with President Jarrell, to support the local vendors in our West Baltimore community and enjoy the space as an extension of our campus. Every day, all UMB employees who show their One Card receive a 10 percent discount with select vendors, but this particular day provides an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company over lunch in the Baltimore Room on the upper level and hear from SOM leadership on the significance of the market. | |
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
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