UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - September 22, 2026/RESEARCH

Table of Contents

Message From the Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week - Research

Announcements

Presentations and Publications

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Resources

Message From the Chair

M. Diane McKee, MD, MS, Professor and Chair, UMass Memorial Ledwith Chair in Family and Community Medicine



Congratulations to Stacy E. Potts who received the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching last week at the school’s Convocation and Investiture ceremony. She was invited to present the 2027 Last Lecture, a celebration of teaching, and received the Manning Prize, a $10,000 award established by former UMass Board Chair Robert Manning and his wife, Donna Manning. “You have shaped the lives and careers of hundreds of aspiring primary care physicians through your generosity, wisdom and unwavering commitment to teaching,” Chancellor McManus said during his presentation of the medal.

Upcoming Events

The Steven L. Putterman Memorial Lecture on September 29th at noon honors the memory and legacy of Steven Putterman, MD, former associate program director of the Worcester Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Putterman was committed to caring for underserved populations and teaching students community-focused medicine before his death in 1999. This year's lecture will feature keynote speaker Michael A. Curry, Esq., president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. Hybrid: Zoom and Medical School Amphitheater III, S6-102.

SAVE the DATE - for our Annual Awards Celebration: October 27th, 5:30pm.

More details to come!

Focus of the Week - Research

Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH, Vice Chair, Research

Suzanne Mitchell, MD, MS, Director, Research

Thank you to Hugh Silk and Regina Taylor for presenting Community Resource Referrals: Workflows, Tools, & Best Practices at the September Grand Rounds. The presentation highlighted practical ways to connect patients with community resources, including working with community health workers, social workers, behavioral health, pharmacy, and complex care management. Speakers shared tools designed to make referrals easier at the point of care, emphasizing warm handoffs, clear documentation, and a “no wrong door” approach to connecting patients with support. Missed Grand Rounds? Watch the recording here. 

Thank you to Clevanne “Cle” Julce for presenting Care Partners: Leveraging a Community-Clinical Task-Sharing Approach to Address Preconception Mental Health at the first Monthly Research Forum of the 2026-7 year! Cle shared her KL2-supported research developing a digital intervention that brings together preconception mental health screening and education, community health worker support, and primary care collaboration—with the goal of addressing mental health needs earlier, before pregnancy. Missed the Research Forum? Watch the recording here. 

Thanks to our presenters and everyone who participated in our September research-in-progress quarterly meeting. Shout-outs to Dan Mullin and Nancy Hu for sharing their Connect2Cope proposal.  We also welcomed guest speaker Rachele Pojednic, Chief Science Officer at Restore Hyperwellness, who shared her perspective on healthcare-industry partnerships.  

The next Research-in-Progress Meeting will be held in person on December 11th from 9am-1pm. If you have a speaker recommendation or would like time on the agenda to discuss your work, please reach out to Jennifer Carroll and Suzanne Mitchell. 

Newly Funded 

• Congratulations to M. Diane McKee and collaborators on the newly funded Acupuncture in the Emergency Department for Pain Management: A BraveNet Multi-Center Phase 3 Study (ACUITY2), supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The study will take place in five emergency departments nationwide, including UMass Memorial. Following a pilot year, the team will conduct a randomized trial comparing usual care with usual care plus a single acupuncture treatment for patients presenting with musculoskeletal or abdominal/flank pain. Congrats, ACUITY2 team!  

Faculty Spotlight 

• Paula Gardiner co-led the 6th Annual Integrated Center for Group Medical Visits Conference, and led a round table session: "A Discussion on Competencies for Trainees" and workshop: "Using Qualitative Methods in Quality Improvement and Research Projects to Assess Your Groups." Matthew Reichert presented an oral abstract: "Diabetes Medical Group Visits and Type 2 Diabetes Outcomes: A Mediation Analysis of Diabetes Distress," based on research by Suzanne Mitchell, Paula Gardiner, and Barbara De La Cruz. Learn more about the conference here.  Research link: https://diabetes.jmir.org/2025/1/e57526 

31st Annual UMass Chan Research Retreat 

• Registration is now open for the 2026 UMass Chan Research Retreat on Thursday, October 15th, bringing together colleagues from across UMass Chan for a day of research presentations, posters, networking, and conversation. 
• Poster abstracts are due October 1st. [Submit a Poster Abstract] | [Visit the Event Website] 

The I-Corps Program at UMass's Center for Clinical and Translational Science helps UMass Chan faculty, staff, and students explore the potential real-world impact of biomedical research discoveries, technologies, protocols, and interventions. Participants use a hands-on customer discovery process to better understand the needs their innovation could address and its potential for translation or commercialization.  Interested in a future I-Corps bootcamp? Learn more about the I-Corps Program at UMCCTS.

EnergyPoints is an NIH SBIR Phase II decentralized clinical trial testing self-administered acupressure for cancer-related fatigue and sleep disturbance.

Participants learn acupressure through a free app and practice at home over six weeks. There are no clinic visits and no study procedures at your site. Enrollment is open to adults in the United States who have or have had cancer and are experiencing fatigue. Referrals of men and of people of color are especially helpful. The burden on a referring site is close to zero. The University of Utah holds the IRB; there is no consenting, screening nor regulatory work on your end. You point someone at the link and the study team does the rest. Refer or enroll here. A printable flyer, useful for a waiting room, a packet, or a clinic noticeboard, is available here. Try the app yourself, free for three months. Request a code at energypointsapp.com/contact. Please note that previous use of the app disqualifies a person from the study. The code is for your own use and should not be passed to a patient you may refer. Direct questions to Shannon Ward, Research Engagement Associate, shannon.ward@5pointapp.com.

Announcements

HAVE A FAVORITE MENTOR - NOMINATE THEM NOW!

STFM 60th Anniversary–Mentor Recognition Award

ALL mentors nominated will receive recognition throughout 2027 as part of the STFM 60th Anniversary celebrations. A select group of nominees will be chosen for the STFM 60th Anniversary Mentor Recognition Award based on the nomination letter(s) describing how the nominee has impacted mentees and modeled the ideals of family medicine and STFM. Nomination Deadline: October 1st, 2026 Nomination link HERE

The 2026-27 Call for Proposals is open for the Daniel H. Lasser Education Innovation Fund, in honor of our prior department chair to continue to advance our department's education mission. We are accepting proposals for up to $2000 on a rolling basis for projects that support resident, fellow, and/or faculty career development and promotion. Please see here for the funding focus and requirements and submission details.

The UMMHC Clinician Experience Office is offering Peer Wellness Coaching sessions. Enrollment is first-come, first-served through September 24th for sessions from October to December. There is no cost. More details and the link to register are here.

REMINDER: UMMH Dependent Verification- LAST WEEK

If you are enrolled in a UMass Memorial Health benefit plan and cover dependents, you should have received communications from UMMH’s verification process partner, Willis Towers Watson (WTW), requesting documentation to confirm dependent eligibility. If you can’t find the information sent to you, go to ummhealthdrs.ehr.com and sign in with your umass memorial email.

Caregiver Photography Show - Call for Art The art committee has announced that they will be showcasing another Caregiver Photography Show. The call for photography is open to any caregiver who would like to participate. Submissions open October 1st and close December 15th. Please see flyer for more information.

The Massachusetts Medical Society is having an evening of Art and Music on October 14th, 6-7pm with performance and art by MMS members. A virtual Art Slide show starts at 6pm and pre-recorded performances at 6:15pm. UMass Chan medical student, Benedicta Agyemang-Brantuo is singing. Register here.  Any questions call 781-434-7478 or email: csalas@mms.org

Funding Opportunity:

The Reliant Foundation is accepting proposals for its Community Grants. Programs focusing on substance use disorder (primarily the opioid epidemic), mental health/behavioral health services for children and youth, and programs and initiatives that reduce stigma around these issues will be given top priority. Proposals are due by Friday, October 9th, 2026 at noon.

Core Workshops in Education

Co-sponsored by the Office of Faculty Development and the Health Education Academy for Leadership & Learning (HEALL), these virtual workshops are an opportunity to get up to date information on various aspects of teaching and learning! 5:30-6:30pm REGISTER

• 10/21 Curriculum Development and Assessment: Meeting learners’ needs
• 11/18 Developing a Career as a Clinician/Scientist Educator
• 12/16 GenAI Foundations and Power Prompting

Presentations and Publications

Erin Cathcart, and Rebecca Gwaltney were co-authors on an article recently published in Family Medicine "New England Point-of-Care Ultrasound Residency Education: Comparing and Contrasting Approaches". [published September 10, 2026]. Fam Med. https://journals.stfm.org/familymedicine/online-first/gwaltney-0041/.

Erin Cathcart was co-author on another article in the issue "The State of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Family Medicine". [published September 10, 2026]. Fam Med.

https://journals.stfm.org/familymedicine/online-first/paulus-0199/.

Department Member Recognition

Congratulations to Remillard Family Community Service Fund awardees:

• Laurel Banach, Jillian Joseph, and Maxwell Messinger (resident, FHCW) with support from Erin Cathcart, Rebecca Gwaltney and Henry DelRosario for Improving Diagnostic Access for Unhoused Patients with Substance Use Disorder
• Hugh Silk, Jillian Joseph, David Runyan and team members including many AHEC Scholars for Caring for the Feet of Our Most Vulnerable in Worcester
• AHEC Scholars Madeleine Schwede and KeeSok Lee for Cultivating Connections: Strengthening Food Security and Intergenerational Engagement in Rural Barre, MA
• Kamlyn Haynes/Hugh Silk and students for UMass Human Rights and Asylum Program Longitudinal Case Navigation Program– combatting asylum seeker trauma and implications of untreated mental health disorders
• Jennifer Moffitt, Stephany Eierle and team members including medical students and AHEC Scholars Discussing birth preferences with underserved pregnant patients with the goal of improving perinatal mental health outcomes

Frankly Speaking Podcast

In this episode, we discuss how prescribing "food as medicine" can complement hypertension management in primary care. We review the evidence supporting legumes, soy, and DASH-based nutrition for lowering blood pressure, while providing practical counseling strategies to help patients adopt dietary patterns that enhance cardiovascular health alongside standard medical therapy. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP, presents, "The Nutrition Prescription: Can Legumes and Soy Lower Hypertension Risk?" Frankly Speaking Episode #503. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367

Resources

Past editions of the Tuesday Talk: https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/ under Resources.

The UMass Memorial Caring for Caregivers Program 508-334-HELP, EAP at 866-263-3525, and UMass Chan EAP at 800-322-5327 www.LiveandWorkWell.com 

Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban. New members always welcome. Wednesday(s), 6:30-7:30am

https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91343267992?pwd=ZHF3NHVrVlR1MVdMV09HSE5lTzdsQT09

FMCH Department Calendar a centralized resource designed to highlight departmental dates, deadlines, and events. If you experience any issues, please reach out to natalia.tobon@umassmed.edu or sandra.girouardtodd@umassmed.edu.