UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - April 22, 2025/RESEARCH | | Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu. | | |
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Research
Announcements
Presentations and Publications
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Resources
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Upcoming Events
FMCH Grand Rounds
Tuesday, April 22nd, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "Journal Club", presented by Frank J. Domino, MD, and Alan Ehrlich, MD, FAAFP.
Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09
The UMass Schwartz Rounds
Friday, April 25th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Medical Students reading their Narrative Stories, presented by student speakers, Kayal Parthiban, Abigail DeNike, Aly Wayne, Maya Jotwani, Elizabeth Irvin, Ellie Parker, Gil Avramovich and Vanessa O. Urhiafe.
The Schwartz Rounds sessions are multidisciplinary forums where all healthcare workers (clinical and non-clinical) are invited to explore the social and emotional aspects of patient care.
https://umassmemorial.webex.com/umassmemorial/j.phpMTID=md8d39b01e1234f7f23af7c26a0b3a2bc
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Tuesday, June 17th, 8:00 - 5:00pm, "Early Childhood Mental Health: a Primer for Pediatric Primary Care Clinicians"
Registration Ticket Price by June 3rd $100, late registration or on site $115. Link to register Early Childhood Mental Health. https://umassmed.ungerboeck.com/prod/emc00/PublicSignIn.aspx?&aat=6d7637774c6f7967462f4a4e6d693431483859376a43514e32384a573455357633426855627055475071453d
For more information see flyer.
Save the Date: May 15th for the department’s annual retreat. More info to come!
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Focus of the Week - Research
Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH, Vice Chair, Research
Suzanne Mitchell, MD, MS, Director, Research
Friendly reminder to join us for our May research meetings.
- Our next Research-In-Progress meeting will be on May 9th, 2025 at 10:00am on Zoom.
- Our next Research Forum will be on May 16th, 2025 at 12:00pm noon on Zoom.
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Please check out our Sharepoint site, FMCH Research Resources. If you are prompted to request access, please do so, and you will be approved!
Institutional Review Board (IRB) office hours are held every day. Full schedule linked here: UMass Chan eIRB - IRB Office Hours Page
Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) office hours are held every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00am. Refer to their Sharepoint page here: Grants & Contracts Administration - Home
Recent Publications
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Dudley EK, Andraka-Christou B, Boland A, Atkins DN, Pivovarova E. The role of social relationships in recovery court programs. Health Justice. 2025;13(1):18. Published 2025 Mar 26. doi:10.1186/s40352-025-00325-9
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Li X, Singh S, Rasouli B, et al. Generating real-world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti-amyloid therapies. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2025;11(2):e70080. Published 2025 Apr 15. doi:10.1002/trc2.70080
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Fisher KA, Goldthwait L, Desrochers O, Zemel M, Saphirak C, Malin J, Stone RT, Singh S, Crawford S, Mazor KM. Reasons for COVID-19 vaccination late in the pandemic: A qualitative study. Vaccine. 2025 Apr 4;53:127084. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127084. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40186993.
Thank you to all of you who have been a part of the discussions about the threats to research funding, change in federal research priorities, and the impact of funding cuts on research. If you have any questions, concerns, or updates you would like share, please reach out to Jennifer.Carroll2@umassmed.edu or
Suzanne.Mitchell2@umassmed.edu.
In these challenging and uncertain times, it is more important than ever to continue to find ways to keep our research activities vibrant and growing. Many of you have reached out with suggestions for funding, ideas, and support. We appreciate all of this, please keep it coming! If you have any suggestions for possible research funding or would like to discuss an idea, please reach out to Jennifer.Carroll2@umassmed.edu or
Suzanne.Mitchell2@umassmed.edu.
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Announcements
A thank you from Amber Cahill (Intersession A Director, Societal Forces of Health & Disease):
Colleagues, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone in our department who answered the call to be faculty for Intersession A that took place the week of April 7th and the week of April 14th. Intersession A (Societal Forces of Health & Disease) is a one week intensive, horizons phase course conducted in person at the university campus where 4th year medical students participate in engaged learning experiences with a focus on skill acquisition and competency assessment in the realm of healthcare and Societal Forces of Health and Disease. Here is an overview of all the sessions faculty in our department were involved in! Shout out to Dr. Trish Seymour who also played a key role in making this first launch a success.
Real-time Communication Skills: Integrating Social Context Factors in Healthcare Delivery
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Amber Cahill, PsyD
- Hugh Silk, MD, MPH
Specialty Specific SDoH Screening, Challenges & Facilitators
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Trish Seymour, MD, MS (Inpatient / Hospitalist Small Group)
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Laurel Banach, MD & Max Sharkey LICSW (Health Care for the Homeless Small Group)
Identifying Unmet SDOH Needs at Hospital Care Transition
- Suzanne Mitchell, MD, MSc
Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workshop: This session involved a student-led didactic, small groups focused on practical application and real world scenarios, followed by a lived experience panel. Our faculty led several of the small group sessions!
- Trauma-Informed Conversations: Social Context & Social History
- Jennifer Bradford, MD, MPH
- Navigating the Physical Exam & Signs of Violence
- Erik Garcia, MD
- Hugh Silk, MD, MPH
- Working Through Real-World Cases
- Laurel Banach, MD
- Susan Hogan, MD, MPH
- Ekaterina (Kate) Pivovarova, Ph.D.
The ForHealth Consulting Research & Evaluation team is conducting an evaluation of the Massachusetts 2022-2027 1115 Medicaid waiver and inviting medical and nursing students and residents, and behavioral health fellows to participate in a pilot session to finalize a survey tool used as part of the evaluation of MassHealth's Workforce Initiative. They are seeking to better understand future provider preferences of current and future programs MassHealth might implement to support their decisions to work in community-based healthcare settings. You are invited to participate in a 30-45 minute Zoom session scheduled to accommodate your schedule, where you'll be asked to share your thoughts and reactions in real-time by thinking aloud as you complete the survey tool. Your feedback will help them improve the survey and ensure it captures what matters most before a full survey is rolled out. Your input can help shape future policies that MassHealth might consider to support providers who serve Medicaid members and uninsured patients. As a thank you, participants will receive a $50 prepaid credit card after completing the session. If interested, please contact: Yara.HalasaRappel@umassmed.edu or Eric.Hanson@umassmed.edu to schedule a session.
The 2025 Faculty for Tomorrow Workshop for Residents will be held on May 3, 2025 as part of the STFM Annual Spring Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. See link for additional information.
https://www.stfm.org/awardsscholarships/scholarships/facultyfortomorrowresidentscholarship/overview/
New Faculty Orientation
If you are a UMass Chan faculty member hired in the last 12 months,
consider registering for the New Faculty Orientation on May 19th, on zoom from
9-11:30am.This event gives new faculty the opportunity to hear from and connect with institutional leadership and with other new faculty.
UMass Chan Cares Days
May 20-21. This is a brand new event for UMass Chan to show the community how much it cares through community service. School employees can use paid volunteer time off to participate. Katie Stickney in the Office for Community and Government Relations has multiple site activities arranged. Learn more and register.
Film Premiere of VITAL SIGNS and Panel - Advocating for Deaf Health Access
Tuesday, June 17th, 4-6pm
Hosted by UMass Chan Medical School, Center for Living and Working, and DEAF YE - Center for Deaf Empowerment and Recovery. 18 Chestnut St, Worcester MA
RSVP melissa.anderson@umassmed.edu.
The 2025-2026 BRC Fellowship Call for Applications Is Open
The Building Research Capacity (BRC) Fellowship has 3 aims:
- Coaching: Provide coaching support to build research and scholarship capacity within a program or institution
- Support: Develop a peer support network among other individuals or teams trying to build research capacity
- Strategic Planning: Create a strategic plan for research and scholarship within their home program/institution
Applications are due July 30, 2025. Learn more and apply here!
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Presentations and Publications
At the regional conference, Together for Hope 2025 - Shaping the Future of Addiction Care in Worcester MA the following people presented posters on April 16th:
- Laurel Banach and Molly Zhao. Evaluation of a mobile health clinic model to increase treatment completion and cure rate for hepatitis C infection
- Parul Chhatpur (and non-UMass colleagues). Evaluating Barriers To Treatment For Substance Use Disorder In Correctional Facilities In The United States
- Parul Chhatpur (and non-UMass colleagues). Unequal Burdens: Disparities in Adolescent Mental Health with Substance Use Disorder
- Diane Rinker, Dani Torres (UMass medical student), Michelle Ojeda, Scott Hebert, Hugh Silk. A Program to Improve the Oral Health of Those Receiving Treatment for Substance Use Disorder
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Or send a check payable to UMass Chan Medical School with “Lasser Fund” in the memo to:
UMass Chan Medical School Office of Advancement,
333 South Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545.
If you want to make a multi-year pledge, gift of securities or a wire transfer, contact giving@umassmed.edu for
information. Donations from your IRA:
https://plannedgiving.umassmed.edu/give-from-your-ira.
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Frankly Speaking Podcast
Please join us for a weekly Podcast series for an overview: Colorectal cancer screening saves lives, yet many patients remain unscreened. This episode explores current screening methods, the evidence behind the new DNA blood test, and how it compares to existing options. Gain practical insights to guide patient discussions and improve screening rates in your practice. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MPAS, PA-C, presents,
"Colorectal Cancer Screening-Does the New Blood Test Measure Up?" - Frankly Speaking Ep 429. Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367
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