Faculty and Staff Recognitions Archive

The Lupus Medical and Educational Symposium was held at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester on Thursday, May 9, in alignment with Annual Lupus Day. Roberto Caricchio, MD, the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology, professor of medicine, and chief of the Division of Rheumatology spoke on Cell Therapies: A Breakthrough for Lupus Patients while clinical research coordinators Malik Aguilar, Chelsea Boateng, and Mohan Pahari presented posters highlighting ongoing research studies at UMass Chan.

Jennifer Reidy, MD, chief and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Care, will receive the Outstanding Mentoring Award at this year’s Women’s Faculty Committee Awards, hosted by the Office of Faculty Affairs at UMass Chan.

We congratulate Dr. Reidy on this honor and invite members of the department to the WFC awards luncheon on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., in the Albert Sherman Center Cube, AS3-2119.  

Ben Toles, a graduate student in the lab of Alan Mullen, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and academic chief in the Division of Gastroenterology, recently provided support and direction to a local high school student from Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science for a project she was working on. The student developed a hypothesis related to collagen expression and liver cancer, as part of her class, and came into the lab to test her hypothesis. She went on to present her work at a local science fair and her project then advanced to the state science fair.  

This was a great experience for Ben and the high school student. Fantastic work, Ben! 

The UMass Chan REACT study team, led by principal investigator Michael Hyder, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, enrolled their first subject in March 2024.

REACT-AF is a multicenter prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE design), controlled trial. The trial compares the current Standard of Care (SOC) of continuous Direct Oral Anticoagulation (DOAC) use, versus time-delimited (1 month) DOAC guided by an AF-sensing Smart Watch (AFSW) in participants with a history of paroxysmal or persistent Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and low-to-moderate stroke risk. Participants randomized to the experimental arm (on-demand DOAC) will take their previously prescribed DOAC for 30 consecutive days following a qualifying AF episode (i.e., greater than 1 hour) detected by the AFSW. Participants randomized to the standard of care (control) arm will remain on their previously prescribed continuous DOAC throughout the study. 

UMass Chan Medical School and MITRE announced the establishment of the Health AI Assurance Laboratory, supported by a $555,000 grant from the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. An additional $137,000 in private funding will also support the laboratory.

The Health AI Assurance Laboratory team will be led by Program in Digital Medicine founder David McManus, MD, ScM, the Richard M. Haidack Professor of Medicine, and chair in the Department of Medicine, Adrian Zai, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of quantitative & population health sciences, and Miles Thompson, AI assurance solutions lead at MITRE. The initiative aims to advance health artificial intelligence and ensure more equitable, accountable, and efficient patient care, and will build on both UMass Chan’s Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies as well as UMass Chan’s experience with the National Institutes of Health Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program. 

Read the full story.

Peter Rice, MD, has been awarded the title of professor emeritus of medicine. Dr. Rice is a physician-scientist in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology whose work has focused on translational and clinical studies involving vaccines and therapeutics for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and the study of gonococcal immune mechanisms involved in pathogenesis and protection in animal models. In addition to his research, clinical efforts, and service, he served as chair of the Department Personnel Action Committee (DPAC) for the Department of Medicine from 2008 to June 2022.

Dr. Rice joined UMMH and UMass Chan as a faculty member in 2005. Prior to arriving at UMass, he was the chief of the Section of Infectious Diseases at Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) from 1996 -2005, interim director of Infectious Diseases at Boston City and BUMC from 1995-96, and chief of Infectious Diseases at Boston City Hospital from 1990-95.

Congratulations on this prestigious award, Dr. Rice!

Hyein Sarah Lee, an MD/PhD student in the lab of Dr. Apurv Soni at UMass Chan, was awarded second place in the 20th Annual Gerald F. Berlin Prize for Creative Writing for her poem titled, “To Be a Body.” Sarah explains that their poem reflects what it means to be foreign in a body, society, and nation. “The poem came to me when dealing with my mother’s sudden cancer diagnosis as I entered medical school in 2021 when the COVID pandemic was still relatively new, and I began to make connections between the betrayal we experience in different bodies,” said Sarah. “This poem weaves together the anxieties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the violence of anti-Asian racism, and the devastating impact of illness.”

Sarah’s poem will be published in The Interstitium (a blog started in 2019 by a UMass Chan medical student) and was recited at the Gerald F. Berlin award ceremony on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. 

Watch the award ceremony.

The Internal Medicine Residency is excited to share the results of this year’s match that took place on Friday, March 15, 2024. The Categorical, Primary Care, Med-Peds, and Preliminary Tracks all had exceptional matches. Not only did we match 15 UMass Chan Medical School students, but we also matched some outstanding students from some of the top medical schools in the country. We are very much looking forward to our new class of interns that will be arriving in mid-June! 

View the matches for the 2024-2025 class at UMass Chan.

In March, Primary Care Track residents held their annual off-campus day-long retreat at the Worcester Historical Museum where they learned about a variety of topics on gender-affirming care. The focus of this year’s retreat was chosen so that residents would have a greater understanding and increased comfort with how to care for this patient population. “We were fortunate to have local and outside speakers who shared their expertise, and eloquent patients who so passionately shared their journeys,” said Elizabeth Murphy, MD, program director of the Primary Care Track and associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine.

On May 3, the UMass Chan/UMMH community will also have the opportunity to learn more about caring for the trans and gender-diverse community at the Affirming Health Care for our Trans and Gender Diverse Community Summit. “This summit is a great opportunity to bring together faculty, students, and caregivers across the UMMH and UMass Chan community who are committed to improving care for our trans and gender non-conforming patients,” said Deborah Blazey-Martin, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and vice chair for ambulatory affairs in the Department of Medicine.

Please note that the summit is not open to the general public and pre-registration is required for all attendees. Register

Read the full story.

The Equip Program at UMass Chan Medical School provides mid-career women faculty the opportunity to improve their communication skills through peer coaching and skills-based practice. Led by Jennifer Reidy, MD, course director, and chief and professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Care, and Emily Green, MD, assistant vice provost of Faculty Affairs, this year’s program included seven faculty from the Department of Medicine. Participants included Isabel Castro, DO, of Palliative Care, Deepika Devuni, MD, of Gastroenterology, Lara Kovell, MD, of Cardiovascular Medicine, Anila Medina, MD, of Geriatric Medicine, and Karen Salomon-Escoto, MD, Zheni Stavre, MD, and Peggy Wu, MD, all of Rheumatology.

The six-session program which ran from January through March was well-received with participants reporting that it was “transformational”, “invaluable”, and a “great experience”.

Read the full story.

Shiv Sutaria, MD, associate medical director of the UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) Hospital at Home (HAH) Program and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, was a key contributor to a recent study, led by the Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT). The study, published in PLoS One, focused on health care professionals’ perspectives on point-of-care technologies. The team concurrently studied patients’ perspectives toward point-of-care testing. “Our primary findings were that [providers and patients] are open to POCTs—there's trust—but questions remain regarding the cost to patients as well as reimbursement for the providers,” said Dr. Sutaria.

Beyond his role in the POCT studies, Dr. Sutaria’s passion remains deeply rooted in his hospital-at-home work. He has been involved in digital innovations and the development of tools that the emergency department uses to help identify patients who are appropriate for hospital-at-home.

Read the full story.

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Elizabeth Douglas, DO, MPH, a third-year Internal Medicine Resident on the Primary Care Track. Here, Dr. Douglas describes her clinical and research interests, what makes UMass Chan a great place for residency, and her favorite things to do in the Worcester area. 

"I wake up in the morning and look forward to going into work alongside the best admin, residents, fellows, and mentors. I would pick UMass again in a heartbeat just for them, not to mention the variety of cases we get here and patient diversity."

Read Dr. Douglas' full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellowship Spotlight, we highlight Hawa Ozien Abu, MD, PhD, MPH, a Geriatric Medicine fellow. Here, Dr. Abu describes her clinical and research interests, why she chose UMass Chan for her fellowship, and her favorite place to travel with her family.

"The UMass Chan Geriatric Medicine fellowship remains my ultimate choice as the program provides holistic training tailored to enhance my career trajectory as a geriatric physician-scientist and enables me to function at the intersection of the things that I love, compassionate service for older adults through medicine and clinical research."

Read Dr. Abu's full spotlight.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight Rahul Sood, MD, director of interventional pulmonology, co-director of pulmonary procedures, and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care. Dr. Sood is an interventional pulmonologist who works with patients who have lung cancer and other conditions including emphysema and airway stenosis. He also performs several procedures including bronchoscopy in the ambulatory setting. In March, we spoke with Dr. Sood to learn about the path that led him to become a physician and his work as a pulmonologist at UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Health.   

“It's a very collaborative atmosphere at UMass…there's a lot of interdisciplinary collaboration with other divisions, especially with our colleagues in thoracic surgery and radiology, as well as medical oncology and radiation oncology,” Dr. Sood said. “I think that the atmosphere is very collegial here and that's a big draw for me.” 

Read Dr. Sood's full spotlight.

The DoM Clinical Research Core is proud to share that clinical research coordinators, Daniel Mbusa and Matthew McNulty, current members of the PRISM program in the McManus lab, along with clinical research nurse, Ann McCarthy, volunteered for Read Across America at the Elm Park Community School in Worcester on March 2 (Dr. Seuss’s Birthday). Read Across America supports and celebrates a nation of diverse readers and our team members were excited to participate! 

We are also excited to announce that both Daniel and Matthew have been accepted to UMass Chan Medical School and will be attending in the fall. Daniel is a graduate of the Worcester Public Schools and joyfully received his acceptance to UMass Chan on the same day that he volunteered for Read Across America. 

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer death with many PDAC patients dying due to a phenomenon called “cancer cachexia”, a systemic metabolic wasting syndrome marked by profound adipose tissue and muscle loss.

UMass Chan scientists Jason Pitarresi, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, and David Guertin, PhD, professor of molecular medicine have received funding from the Department of Defense for their project, “Determining the Molecular Etiology of and Strategies to Block Pancreatic Cancer Cachexia”, to study the mechanisms of PDAC-associated cachexia using novel mouse models and human organoid systems.

Read the full article.

This month, we feature Vijaya Sudhakara Rao Kola, PhD, as our Postdoc Spotlight. Dr. Kola is a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Matthew Hemming in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. 

"I chose UMass Chan because of its strong commitment to academic excellence and its vibrant community, which exposes me to learning and understanding higher standards for my scientific growth."

Read the full spotlight.

This month in our Graduate Student Spotlight, we feature Favour Akabogu, a student in the lab of Dr. Matthew Hemming and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. 

"The community and student body at UMass Chan is very supportive of students’ growth and development in science and personal life. I chose UMass Chan due to the positive interaction I had with current students and faculty during the admitted student visitation day. That experience has stayed the same. It feels nice to be in a community where you feel supported and seen."

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Matthew Hemming, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist, physician-scientist, and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Hemming’s clinical work is focused on caring for patients with soft tissue sarcoma and his research is focused on understanding the biology and pathogenesis of sarcomas.

"Early in my medical training, I had the privilege to work with and care for several patients with rare forms of cancer called sarcoma,” said Dr. Hemming. "These experiences, together with my appreciation for the unmet need for more effective treatments and better scientific understanding of these diseases, focused my trajectory towards a career dedicated to sarcoma clinical care and research.”

Read Dr. Hemming's full spotlight.

Over the February school vacation week, Melanie Trombly, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, and Maritza Vazquez-Byrnes, both of the Department of Medicine, volunteered along with other members of the UMass Chan community at City View Elementary School in Worcester.  

As part of UMass Chan’s partnership with the Worcester Public Schools through its North Quadrant Support Initiative, volunteers helped clean out the library in preparation for the school’s new STEM lab, organized the food pantry, and helped sort various school materials. 

We thank them for their service to our local community!

Jeffrey Rade, MD, medical director of the Heart and Vascular Interventional Laboratory and professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was the recipient of the 2024 Heart of Gold Award - Heart & Vascular Professional at this year’s Central Massachusetts Heart and Stroke Ball.  

Dr. Rade was honored for his vital role in running the STEMI PCI service at UMass Memorial Medical Center. This service provides support to over 250 patients every year presenting with acute heart attacks, with lifesaving procedures. His leadership of this critical service has been invaluable in improving outcomes for cardiovascular patients in Central Massachusetts and the surrounding areas. 

Congratulations, Dr. Rade!

Savant Mehta, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, has been named a fellow by both the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Both fellowships are awarded to members whose accomplishments and contributions have significantly advanced the field of endoscopy and gastroenterology. 

We congratulate Dr. Mehta on these prestigious honors. 

In February, Safdar Medina, MD, assistant professor of medicine and director of Pediatrics at Tri-River Family Health Center, spoke with NPR about the ongoing challenges of drug addiction in the pediatric population and the use of medically assisted treatment to help these patients. Dr. Medina is one of the many pediatricians who works with the adolescent population in fighting addiction, and notes it is one of the most rewarding things he does. “If we can take care of it, we have produced an adult that will no longer have a lifetime of these challenges to worry about,” said Dr. Medina. 

We also congratulate Dr. Medina for being nominated for the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization (MSNO) Friend of School Nursing Award. Dr. Medina serves as the school physician for the Northborough-Southborough school district and frequently gives his time talking to parents and students about substance abuse, mental health, and diversity. Additionally, he serves as the medical consultant for the School Health Unit at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The award will be presented at the MSNO spring conference in March. 

Listen to the full interview.

Dr. James Fanale’s career has been devoted to healing and caring for patients. A former physician and chief of Geriatric Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Health and later CEO of Care New England in Rhode Island, Dr. Fanale’s life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in March 2022 and abruptly thrust into the role of patient. Despite this diagnosis nearly two years ago, his call to care for others did not end. “Jim has been open about his diagnosis and journey, and what he has learned through his experience,” said Sarah McGee, MD, clinical chief and professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine. His book, Onward: A Teaching, and a Love Story – for Physicians, and Everyone, and featured in a Special Article in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, was published this past September and tells of his experience of being both a doctor and the patient.  

With myriad professional accomplishments and accolades, Dr. Fanale has indeed made a lasting impact through his leadership roles at hospitals in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as a past president of the American Geriatrics Society. He has also given generously to developing the next generation of geriatricians through his support of programs like the Geriatric Interprofessional Immersion Program for UMass Chan Medical School residents. “Jim pioneered the specialty of geriatric medicine in central Massachusetts,” said Jerry Gurwitz, MD, division chief and professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine. “His leadership of the American Geriatrics Society, along with his philanthropic efforts have had an amazing impact on the field of geriatrics at UMass and nationally.” In January, Dr. Fanale was awarded the Stephen J. Hagerty Memorial Award at the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association’s Annual Meeting, and most recently, the reopening of the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit at Kent Hospital in Rhode Island was dedicated in honor of his groundbreaking work developing ACE units which are now in hospitals all across the country.  

Through his personal narrative in Onward, Dr. Fanale continues on his path of service by pulling back the curtain on his own experience as a patient, adding further depth to his many contributions and legacy. 

Onward: A Teaching, and a Love Story – for Physicians, and Everyone is available for purchase on Amazon.  

Read the feature in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Nancy Skehan, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine, has been hard at work in collaboration with UMass Chan faculty members in developing a new medical student curriculum for the Vista program. The new curriculum goes beyond the biomedical and pathophysiological components of patient care and focuses on understanding patient environments and exploring socioeconomic pressures to keep patients healthy following their time in the hospital.

“A lot of the training that we provide in medical education is inpatient-based and allows us to consolidate a lot of experience in a short period of time,” said Dr. Skehan. “The reality of the care that’s actually delivered to our patients is vastly in the outpatient setting." 

Read the full story.

Physician-educator, Mary Callery O’Brien, MD, is passionate about medical education. Since she completed her chief residency at UMass Chan Medical School in the mid-1990s, Dr. O’Brien has developed and led innovative curricula for medical students in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine.

Dr. O’Brien finds the work that she does in the medical school profoundly rewarding and encourages her physician colleagues to consider teaching. “Education in the Department of Medicine and at UMass Chan has always been considered important and that's why I have stayed because there are a lot of opportunities, even for community practitioners,” she said.

Read the full story.

Like many hospitals, UMass Memorial Medical Center is in the midst of an ongoing capacity crisis which has been particularly burdensome in the intensive care unit (ICU). While the UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) Hospital at Home (HAH) Program, started in August 2021, has periodically cared for patients coming from the ICU, their teams see the potential for greater collaboration.

HAH and Critical Care launched a closer partnership in January which is already showing strong outcomes. “It is still early but we'll continue to work together to build this relationship,” said Taki Michaelidis, MD, MBA, MS, medical director for the UMMH HAH Program.

Read the full story.

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Jeremy Soonhyouk Kwon, MD, a third-year Internal Medicine resident. Here, Dr. Kwon describes his clinical interests, what makes UMass Chan a great place for residency, and his favorite thing to do in the Worcester area. 

"Dr. Kopec and my co-residents make what should be a tough job into a fun job!"

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we highlight Fizzah Iqbal, MBBS, an Endocrinology fellow. Here, Dr. Iqbal describes her clinical and research interests, why she chose UMass Chan for her fellowship, and her favorite place to travel. 

"I have been fortunate to work with a diverse and experienced team that emphasizes independent thinking and encourages constant learning."

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight Abbas Rupawala, MD, director of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Center and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology. In February, we spoke with Dr. Rupawala to gain insights into what inspires him, and learn about his work, as well as ongoing studies for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. 

"Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are debilitating illnesses, but if we can treat them in time and lead our patients’ care appropriately, we can impact their quality of life, so working with these patients is very gratifying.”

Read the full spotlight.

The DoM Clinical Research Core would like to thank Jennifer Germain who will be leaving UMass Chan at the end of this month. Jennifer served as the Director of Clinical Operations for the Clinical Research Core since its inception. She has been crucial in supporting clinical trial development, staffing, and regulatory guidance, and has served as a tremendous leader and mentor for the clinical research coordinators throughout the department.

The Core team wishes Jennifer all the best in her future position with Beth Israel Lahey Health Network. 

David Smelson, PsyD, professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science, has been awarded a 2024 National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative Award for Mentorship. The NIH HEAL Award for Mentorship recognizes HEAL-funded researchers who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the development and mentorship of early career scientists in the pain and addiction research fields. Dr. Smelson was awarded this honor for his commitment to creating a supportive environment, demonstrating integrity, and commitment to inclusion and diversity to help prepare researchers to become mentors in the future.  

We congratulate Dr. Smelson on this honor.

Learn more.

In an Opinion article, published in Trends in Immunology earlier this month, Stefania Gallucci, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, proposes that extracellular DNA (eDNA), a crucial component of the matrix of most biofilms, is a universal ID (identity card) that the immune system uses to recognize biofilms.  

Most bacteria can form biofilms which are complex fortresses against a hostile environment. Recurrent and chronic infections are associated with forming biofilms that are resistant to antibiotics and pose a major challenge in treating recalcitrant bacterial infections.  

Understanding whether and how the immune system recognizes the presence of biofilms is important so that we can improve therapeutic approaches to biofilm-carrying infections.  

Read the full publication.

Fiachra Humphries, PhD, recently had his study titled, “ECSIT Facilitates Memory CD8+ T Cell Development by Mediating Fumarate Synthesis During Viral Infection and Tumorigenesis,” published in Nature Cell Biology. The study focuses on how certain immune cells, called memory CD8+ T cells, help the body fight against tumors. Dr. Humphries and his team discovered a protein called ECSIT that is crucial for the formation of memory CD8+ T cells and helps produce a substance called fumarate inside T cells, which activates a specific gene program controlled by a protein called TCF-1.  

Dr. Humphries and his team also found that higher levels of ECSIT in T cells are associated with a particular type of memory CD8+ T cells and cancer patients with higher levels of ECSIT tend to have better survival rates. When the team restored the levels of fumarate in T cells that lacked ECSIT using fumarate-based therapeutics, the T cells regained their ability to fight tumors effectively. This finding suggests that fumarate-based treatments could be used to enhance the function of CD8+ T cells in the tumor environment and improve the effectiveness of checkpoint immunotherapy, a type of cancer treatment. 

Read the full publication.

Jay-Hyuck Shim, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, along with his co-PI, Julia Alterman, PhD of RNA Therapeutics, has received a Pilot Project Program award from the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science for their project titled, “Development of a Novel RNA Interference as a Therapeutic Agent for Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

For their project, they aim to develop a novel siRNA-based therapy that suppresses inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis while promoting the healing of inflammation-induced bone loss. Specifically, Dr. Shim’s work will focus on the development of a bone-anabolic siRNA that targets endogenous bone-forming suppressor Schnurri-3 and an anti-inflammatory siRNA that targets interleukin-1 signaling. 

Lara Kovell, MD, recently received a K23 award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study the development of a mobile health intervention for blood pressure management in pregnancy. Dr. Kovell aims to develop the digital health approach, “Moms@Home”, to support home blood pressure monitoring for women with hypertension during pregnancy. Using this approach, Dr. Kovell will work to improve the quality and cultural relevance of hypertension care by examining the effects of Moms@Home on home blood pressure monitoring in a diverse population of pregnant women with hypertension. 

Dr. Kovell will be joined by experienced mentors on the study including David McManus, MD, ScM, the Richard M. Haidack Professor of Medicine, chair, and professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine, and other faculty at UMass Chan.  

Fiachra Humphries, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, Rigel Chan, MD of Neurology, and Elaine Lim, PhD of Genomics & Computational Biology, have received pilot funding from the PolyBio Research Foundation.

The study team plans to investigate the potential connection and impact of long COVID on neurodegenerative disease. Specifically, the team will work to determine the relationship between the herpes virus and Alzheimer’s Disease to identify new strategies for limiting viral replication and developing treatments for severe COVID-19.

Learn more.

Roberto Caricchio, MD, the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology, chief of the Division of Rheumatology, co-director of the Lupus Center, and professor of medicine, recently received a $1.2 million award from the Lupus Research Alliance to support the development of a biorepository and registry at the Lupus Center at UMass Chan. The Lupus Landmark Study and research biorepository, Lupus Nexus, was launched by the Lupus Research Alliance and its clinical research affiliate Lupus Therapeutics, with UMass Chan being one of the first seven to participate. As a contributor to the design of the repository, Dr. Caricchio aims to enroll enough patients to provide sufficient materials for scientists and clinical investigators to pursue projects that will result in a better understanding of the disease.

"Lupus is a very diverse disease from a clinical point of view and from a human point of view. Unfortunately, many lupus patients don't respond to approved medications. We need to take care of those patients and understand why they're not responding to treatment. That's why these biorepositories are so important," said Dr. Caricchio.

Read the full article.

This month, we feature Irina Radu, MD, MHA, as our Postdoc Spotlight. Dr. Radu is a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Dr. Khanh-Van Tran in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and co-president of the UMass Chan Postdoctoral Association.

"To me, UMass Chan has proven to be the ideal environment for growth—a place where you can find support for your innovative ideas and where you can transform dreams into reality."

Read the full spotlight.

This month in our Graduate Student Spotlight, we feature Mingqi Dong, a student in the Fitzgerald lab and the Immunology and Microbiology Program at UMass Chan. 

"I’m currently studying the cellular and molecular landscape changes in the brain when a fundamental antiviral pathway in microglia goes rogue. Hopefully, in the future, I can contribute to the therapeutic development for patients with neurological diseases by applying the skills and knowledge I gained at UMass."

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight physician-scientist, Lara Kovell, MD, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Dr. Kovell’s work focuses on implementing evidence-based interventions, grounded in culturally relevant practices, to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease in women. Specifically, the long-term goal of her research is to improve care and outcomes for pregnant women with hypertension. Dr. Kovell also serves as the director of the Internal Medicine Residency Research Track and is the inaugural director of the Women’s Pregnancy and Heart Disease Clinic.  

"We have worked with many incredible women in the Worcester community, who have been willing to share their own stories about their own devastating complications related to hypertension and preeclampsia. Their selfless dedication to support others impacted by hypertension and our research inspires and fuels me to continue this work to improve the care of hypertension in pregnancy."

Read the full spotlight.

Pulmonary Care at UMass Memorial Health has been ranked as one of the best in their specialty area in a new ranking out last week from Healthgrades. Healthgrades ranked hospitals in 32 states in 18 specialties to determine the Specialty State Rankings. Congratulations to the Pulmonary team! 

Read the full article.

Christopher Marshall, MD, clinical chief, and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, was featured in an article by Everyday Health titled, “What Should I Cook if I Have Heartburn?” In the article, Dr. Marshall and other contributors discuss ways to adjust eating habits to lower the risk of heartburn. He explains that an important first step to minimize heartburn is identifying individual triggers, as different foods can trigger heartburn for different people. He adds that one common cause of heartburn is fatty foods, as the fat can coax stomach acid into the esophagus, causing discomfort.  

“If someone says they eat a big greasy meal and they get heartburn, the first thing they can do is not do that,” said Dr. Marshall. 

Read the full article.

Samir Malkani, MD, clinical chief and professor of medicine, and Amin Sabet, MD, assistant professor of medicine, of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, were featured in yesterday’s Boston 25 News report, “Weight-Loss Wonder Drugs: Mass. Doctors Explain Who Should be Really Taking Them.”  

Drs. Malkani and Sabet discussed the growing popularity of medications such as Ozempic, originally introduced for diabetes, but later proven to assist with weight loss. They explained that although taking these drugs can lead to significant weight loss, all of the medications have risks and potential side effects that need to be discussed with patients.  

“I don’t have a hesitation of prescribing it as long as the person really understands what it’s all about and what the effects could be,” said Dr. Sabat. “It’s a very exciting field. People who didn’t have a lot of great options before, we’re seeing great options for them.”

Watch the report.

The Division of Health Systems Science is pleased to announce that as of January 1, 2024, Mitch Gitkind, MD, professor of medicine and surgery, and assistant dean for GME quality and patient safety education, will be serving in the role of Interim Advisor for Health Systems Science Education and Quality Scholarship.Through this role, Dr. Gitkind will assist in expanding Health Systems Science education-related opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels at UMass Chan. Dr. Gitkind received his medical degree from UMass Chan Medical School and completed his internship and residency at the Memorial Campus of UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) (formerly known as Worcester Memorial Hospital). He completed a fellowship in gastroenterology through Tufts University School of Medicine. His current clinical focus is obesity medicine and bariatric surgery.  

He has held multiple positions in hospital administration at UMMMC, including associate chief quality officer and associate chief medical officer. He is an experienced educator, having mentored over 100 quality improvement projects for faculty and trainees, and has developed and delivered curriculum on QI, patient safety, conflict resolution, and clinical topics. In 2017, Dr. Gitkind became an assistant dean, and assumed responsibility for the development and support of QI, patient safety, and health care disparities curriculum for the school’s more than 600 residents and fellows in ACGME-approved programs. From 2019 through 2023, he was part of the leadership team that oversaw the creation of “Vista,” a new three-pillar undergraduate medical education curriculum that added health systems science to the T.H. Chan School of Medicine’s MD programs.  

Congratulations Dr. Gitkind on this new role!

Each year the Primary Care Track of the Internal Medicine Residency holds an off-campus retreat for residents to learn about and discuss a topic of particular importance and relevance to their training. This full-day event is a unique opportunity for them to step outside the clinical setting to engage in meaningful dialogue together and with invited speakers. This year’s retreat, to be held in March, will focus on gender-affirming care. 

Elizabeth Murphy, MD, program director of the Primary Care Track and associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, is organizing the retreat and chose this topic for a variety of reasons. “I've had residents in the past who have told me that [a patient] opened up to them in a visit and said, ‘I want to live my life as a different gender,’ and they were afraid or didn't know what to say or do,” said Dr. Murphy. “We want to make sure that our residents, if presented with this situation, can provide care that is supportive and warm—and even if they don't have all the answers, they know where to go to find them. That’s my main goal.”  

This year’s retreat will feature Stephen Dunn, DO, a graduate of the Internal Medicine Residency at UMass Chan, primary care physician, and director of medical education at Fenway Health in Boston, who will speak about primary care for  LGBTQI patients including health screening for transgender patients and prescribing hormones to transgender patients. Speakers will also include patients and family members, Joy Lee, PhD, a researcher from PQHS, and Nadine Smith, a speech and language pathologist who cares for transgender patients. Dr. Murphy is currently working to finalize additional guest speakers including physicians, researchers, and other members of the UMass Chan/UMMH community. 

As she plans this day, Dr. Murphy is grateful for the support she has received from leadership in the Department of Medicine, in particular, Deborah Blazey-Martin, MD, MPH, vice chair for ambulatory affairs in the Department of Medicine, chief of General Internal Medicine, and associate professor of medicine. “Dr. Blazey-Martin has been incredibly supportive as we build this program into the track,” said Dr. Murphy. 

Dr. Murphy is passionate about gender-affirming care in her roles as a physician, educator, and advocate but, most importantly, in her role as an aunt. “One of the reasons that I'm so interested in this is that I have a transgender niece, and before I experienced her transition, this was extremely foreign to me,” said Dr. Murphy. “I watched my niece be so sad as the little boy that she was born as and always knowing that she was a girl… and [now that she has transitioned] is a spectacularly beautiful person in all aspects. For me, that was the most transformative thing. If I can help other providers who have not experienced the positive impact when someone can safely and effectively transition, then that is an important goal for me.” 

In late 2023, Geriatric Medicine welcomed its first ambulatory physician lead (APL), Linsey Barker, DO, to help guide the geriatric clinic as its team continues to grow. Dr. Barker, a clinician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, enthusiastically took on this new role, and aims to help strengthen processes by thinking creatively and working collaboratively with all members of the clinic.  

“[The geriatrics clinic] is very much a team-based model. We recognize that when we are caring for older adult patients who may have more medical complexity and other things that need to be taken into consideration, we need to take a team-based approach,” said Dr. Barker. “Having just started recently at UMass, I am still figuring out processes, but I am excited. I work [in the clinic] regularly and get to see what works well and maybe areas where we could continue to improve upon, especially as our group is growing.” 

Dr. Barker also recognizes and is appreciative of the wealth of knowledge and experience that surrounds her as she establishes herself in her practice and as the clinic’s first APL. “A lot of my colleagues have been here for a while and really know what's worked before and what hasn't, so it is great to be able to have conversations with them and get their feedback.”  

Dr. Barker’s passion for her work as a geriatrician and team-based care was seeded early in her medical training and flourished during her internal medicine residency at UMass Chan. Although her intention was always to pursue a career in geriatric medicine, Dr. Barker’s interests grew while rotating with the geriatrics group. In the clinic, she spent time learning from and working with Dr. Erika Zimmons. She was also able to work with Dr. Jerry Gurwitz on various research projects. “[Dr. Gurwitz] was a great mentor and strongly advocated for me to pursue a career in geriatrics,” said Dr. Barker.  

After Dr. Barker completed her chief residency, she chose to pursue her fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston so that she could experience how geriatric medicine was practiced in an environment with a different patient population. Her training there enriched her learning and broadened her perspectives, which she hopes to incorporate as she establishes her practice in Worcester. As Dr. Barker embarks upon her career and new role as APL, she is excited for what the future holds. “I'm always trying to think about ways that we could think differently or get creative, so I’m very excited to be in this role.” 

Dr. Barker earned her medical degree at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency and chief residency in internal medicine at UMass Chan Medical School and her fellowship in geriatric medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Barker joined the faculty at UMass Chan/UMass Memorial Health in August 2023.  

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Anna Gubala, MD, a third-year Internal Medicine resident on the research track. Here, Dr. Gubala describes her research interests, her involvement with different groups and activities at UMass Chan, and her favorite activities in the Worcester area. 

"UMass Chan is a great place to train for residency because of the supportive and wonderful community of residents and physicians, as well as the high clinical volume and sick patients."

Read Dr. Gubala's full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellowship Spotlight, we highlight Qadija Qadri, MD, an Infectious Diseases and Immunology fellow. Here, Dr. Qadri describes her clinical and research interests, why she chose UMass for her fellowship, and why New England is her favorite vacation spot!  

"UMass is a leading institution providing fellows with an opportunity for outstanding experiences. Training at the medical center offers exposure to a diverse patient population and helps build a solid foundation in knowledge and clinical expertise."

Read Dr. Qadri's full spotlight.

Brigid Carlson, MD, is a clinician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine who sees inpatient and outpatient populations in the UMass Memorial Health system. Her inpatient work focuses on cardiac critical care, and in her outpatient cardiology clinics, she sees a full spectrum of patients on the University campus and at Shrewsbury Internal Medicine. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Carlson, learn more about her work as a cardiologist, and, in alignment with February’s American Heart Health Month, pick up some important tips for improving heart health for ourselves and our families. 

“I think that a lot of times with diet and healthy food choices, [physicians] talk about things to avoid. I tell my patients to try to have five fruits or vegetables in a day, so rather than thinking, ‘I can't have that’ which can be discouraging and hard to maintain, I ask them to make sure that they’ve prioritized healthy foods first.” 

Read Dr. Carlson's full spotlight.

Congratulations to Jeffrey Stoff, MD, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Medicine and chief of Renal Medicine, on his retirement! Friends, family, and colleagues gathered to celebrate and show their gratitude to Dr. Stoff on Thursday, February 1. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors!

Happy New Year from the DoM Clinical Research Core. If you are interested in learning more about the services that are offered through the Core or would like to submit a request for assistance, please visit our website.

We look forward to working with you in 2024!  

Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science, Clinical Informatics Section, and a co-director in the Program in Digital Medicine, was recently featured in Scientific American. In the article titled, “Do Fainter Lines on Home COVID Tests Mean You’re Getting Better?”, Dr. Soni and other contributors discuss COVID-19 tests and their ability to indicate the severity of the infection. They explain that the darker the lines appear on a COVID test, the more infection is present. However, tests that show fainter lines are said to contain fewer antigens, meaning the virus is less present in the body. Dr. Soni notes that human error is an important part of how much we can learn by looking at the intensity of tests. He further explains that carefully swabbing for a sample would collect more antigens, therefore producing a clearer result. From there, the patient can interpret whether their infection is more or less severe. 

Learn more.

Timothy P. Fitzgibbons, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was interviewed in a Boston Globe article titled, “Two People Have Died After Drinking Panera’s ‘Charged’ Beverages. Is Marketing to Blame?”. The article describes Panera’s newest caffeinated drinks and the dangers they pose to customers with preexisting health conditions. Two customers died after consuming the drinks, both with preexisting health conditions. "I’m almost certain they didn’t realize how much caffeine was in the beverage,” stated Dr. Fitzgibbons. He continued that the amount of caffeine in the “charged” beverages is too much, even for a person without any underlying health conditions.

Learn more.

During January and February, the Annals of Internal Medicine is highlighting a list of the most influential articles published in 2023. Included, is the July 2023 article, “Performance of Rapid Antigen Tests to Detect Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection – A Prospective Cohort Study,” by investigators in the Department of Medicine and the Program in Digital Medicine, colleagues from the Departments of Emergency Medicine, Microbiology and Physiological Systems, and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at UMass Chan, the UMass Center for Clinical & Translational Science, and collaborators from Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as well as government and industry.


The study evaluated the performance of rapid antigen tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic and asymptomatic participants and included over 7,000 participants from throughout the United States. Investigators found that the performance of rapid antigen tests were optimized when asymptomatic participants tested three times and when symptomatic participants tested two times, both at 48-hour intervals.

Authors from the Department of Medicine and/or Program in Digital Medicine included Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, Honghuang Lin, PhD, Biqi Wang, PhD, David D. McManus, MD, ScM, Laura Gibson, MD, Nisha Fahey, DO, ScM, and Laurel O’Connor, MD.

“…COVID-19 seemed to settle into its endemic period, no longer dominating the news or our pages but still inspiring science to move forward with better understanding of treatments, long-term effects of infection, and mitigation strategies,” said Christine Laine, MD, MPH, editor and chief of Annals of Internal Medicine. 

Congratulations to all who were involved in this study! 

Learn more.

Harris Feldman, MD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Program in Digital Medicine under the mentorship of Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, has been selected as the 2024 TL1 Postdoctoral Trainee for his project titled, “Characterization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Flares using Electronic Medical Record and Home-based Collection of Data and Identifying Multimodal Predictors of Flares.”

This award, issued by the UMass Center for Clinical & Translational Science, will assist Dr. Feldman as he furthers his training in digital medicine and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Learn more about the TL1 training award.

Stefania Gallucci, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity, recently received R21 funding from the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for her project titled, “Reprogramming of the Innate Immunometabolism by Bacterial Biofilms.” 

In this project, Dr. Gallucci will explore the innate immune response against bacterial biofilms through the characterization of the transcriptional and metabolic changes occurring in dendritic cells (DC) upon recognition of bacterial amyloids. She hopes to reveal new metabolic pathways as novel therapeutic candidates, starting with the purine pathway, an understudied pathway in DC biology, to strengthen innate responses against biofilm-driven infections.

Lisa Cavacini, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity, was recently awarded funding from the Department of Defense, for her project, “Preclinical Development of an Oral Nanobody Prophylactic to Prevent Diarrheal Disease.” Her project focuses on Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea-associated illness in developing countries. Those most at risk for ETEC infection are infants and young children, as well as travelers to endemic countries, including military personnel. It is estimated by the World Health Organization that yearly ETEC causes about 220 million episodes of diarrhea globally. Infection occurs when the bacteria colonizes the host small intestine and then produces toxins that stimulate the lining of the small intestine to secrete excessive fluid, leading to watery diarrhea. According to Dr. Cavacini, recent studies suggest that effective protection against ETEC may be achieved by inducing immunity to bacterial fimbrial adhesins, which are proteins that facilitate adhesion of the bacteria to the intestinal lining. Dr. Cavacini additionally notes that the major difficulty in creating an adhesin-based vaccine is the diversity of ETEC strains and despite years of effort by the military, there still is no licensed vaccine against any pathogenic ETEC strains.

With this grant, Dr. Cavacini and her team propose an alternative, and complementary, approach in oral, pre-exposure prophylaxis with novel IgA antibodies that are active against all major pathogenic ETEC strains. The team has established the proof of concept in nonhuman primates with a strain specific secretory IgA antibody. More recently, she and her team have discovered a panel of unique nanobodies or VHH antibodies that have significant cross-protective activity. The goal of the project is to develop these nanobodies as IgA proteins which are stable, long-lasting, and administered orally to prevent ETEC infection. Additionally, the project will address an unprecedented medical need of ETEC prophylactic measures and potentially impact thousands of people worldwide, while contributing to the decreasing rates of morbidity and mortality caused by ETEC each year. 

David McManus, MD, ScM, the Richard M. Haidack Professor of Medicine and chair in the Department of Medicine, recently received T32 funding from the NIH's National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute for his project titled, “CardiOvascular Digital hEalth Research (CODER) Training Program.” The CODER T32 training program aims to develop postdoctoral investigators with expertise in cardiovascular digital health by bringing together highly skilled and collaborative training faculty from multiple disciplines, with the ultimate goal of developing and equitably implementing novel digital health solutions that improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disorders. 

CODER is a collaboration between the Departments of Medicine and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, and leverages the diverse and progressive environment at UMass Chan Medical School to provide a dynamic transdisciplinary, translational research training infrastructure for postdoctoral fellows who aspire to be independent investigators and team scientists in digital health research, specifically for implementing novel solutions that will improve cardiovascular health in an equitable manner. The program supports collaboration among trainees at MD and PhD levels, bringing patient-oriented digital health researchers, community, population, and data scientists, together with bioinformatics experts and industry, to enhance and expedite advances in cardiovascular research.

Dr. McManus will co-direct this T32 training program with Dr. Ben Gerber, division chief of Health Informatics and Implementation Science in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we feature the work of Mayuko Ito Fukunaga, MD, MSc, a physician and assistant professor of medicine in the Divisions of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Health Systems Science, and co-chair of the Cancer Screening Researcher Subcommittee at UMass Chan Medical School. Dr. Ito Fukunaga also serves as a task group member at the National Lung Cancer Roundtable.  

"My research is about healthcare delivery of lung cancer screening and involves primary care, radiology, pulmonary, population health and clinical informatics. I appreciate everyone’s support and mentoring across departments and disciplines. I particularly appreciate [the] primary care teams and lung cancer screening program for letting me do this type of research in real-world clinical settings."

Read Dr. Ito Fukunaga's full spotlight.

Trainees in the Internal Medicine Residency recently received their fellowship match results. Twelve of our 22 graduating Internal Medicine categorical residents elected to stay at UMass for fellowships including in Cardiovascular Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pulmonary and Critical Care, and Hematology/Oncology. We congratulate all the residents and wish them the very best in the next step of their training.

View the full list of matches.

In this month’s Fellowship Spotlight, we highlight Hima Doppalapudi, MD, a Renal Medicine fellow. Here, Dr. Doppalapudi describes her clinical interests, why she chose UMass for her fellowship, and her favorite vacation spot and activities.  

"During my fellowship interview, I felt right at home and knew this was where I wanted to complete my training. My attendings are approachable and the environment is perfect to develop our skills with ample autonomy with sufficient supervision."

Read Dr. Doppalapudi's full spotlight.

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Joseph Daniel, DO, a second-year Internal Medicine resident on the Primary Care and Medical Education tracks. Here, Dr. Daniel describes his clinical and research interests, what makes UMass Chan a great place for residency, and his favorite spot to eat in Worcester. 

"UMass Chan is a great place to train for residency. The complexity and diversity of the patient population along with the education and mentorship available makes this residency special."

Read Dr. Daniel's full spotlight.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight Shaoguang Li, MD, PhD, a scientist and professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. Last month we sat down with Dr. Li to learn more about his work and how he is studying artificial intelligence and its applications in other specialties to develop new, cutting-edge therapies for blood cancers.

"When you’re young and you experience your friends and your relatives getting cancer…you know you want to make an impact. It makes you feel like, ‘This is the field I want to be in.’ That is the real reason why I [chose to pursue a career in cancer research]."

Read Dr. Li's full spotlight.

The DoM Clinical Research Core would like to congratulate Kenneth Ralto, MD, clinical chief and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Renal Medicine, and his study team for successfully enrolling its first subject in the VISIONARY clinical study. VISIONARY is a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of VIS649, an inhibitor of cytokine A PRoliferation Inducing Ligand (APRIL), for the treatment of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). The second subject is already scheduled to be screened in the upcoming weeks.  

If you would like to learn more about working with the DoM Clinical Research Core, please complete the intake form found at our website.

Raquel Binder, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, was recently named a 2023 Mentored Career Development Training Program (KL2) scholar.

Under the mentorship of Ann Moormann, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Timothy Kowalik, PhD and Ana Maldonado-Contreras, PhD, of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, and Andres Colubri, MFA, PhD, of Genomics and Computational Biology, Dr. Binder’s project will focus on “Unraveling Respiratory Virus Transmission Dynamics among Latinx and Black Communities in MA.” 

Kristy Chiang, a PhD candidate in the labs of Drs. Kate Fitzgerald and Ann Marshak-Rothstein, and Kaiyuan Hao, a PhD candidate in the labs of Drs. Ann Rothstein and Michelle Kelliher, recently received awards for their research posters at the New England Immunology Conference earlier this month. Kristy’s poster titled, “Autoimmune interstitial lung disease is initiated by STING gain-of-function radioresistant cells,” and Kaiyuan’s poster titled, “TLR9 is required for the development of DNaseII deficiency-induced liver inflammation,” both received recognition at the annual conference. 

Kaiyuan Hao not pictured.

Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and a faculty member in the Program in Innate Immunity, has been elected as a 2024 member of The American Society of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Pukkila-Worley is one of 100 Active and International Members to receive this honor. He will be officially inducted into the Society at the ASCI Dinner and New Member Induction Ceremony on April 5, 2024, as part of the AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

We congratulate Dr. Pukkila-Worley on this exciting honor and recognition of his contributions as a physician-scientist.

Learn more.

Allan Walkey Co-Chairs Updates to the American Thoracic Society Guidelines on the Management of Adult Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 

“An Update on Management of Adult Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: An Official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline” was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in early November 2023. Co-chaired by Allan Walkey, MD, chief and professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science, the updated guidelines incorporate new evidence addressing the use of corticosteroids, venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, neuromuscular blocking agents, and positive end-expiratory pressure for the management of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

Learn more.

Ze Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral student in the lab of Dr. Kate Fitzgerald, was recently awarded an Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship award through the Cancer Research Institute. The fellowship acknowledges the significance of Dr. Zhang’s previous onco-neuroimmunology research and provides support for his upcoming work in innate immunity research. 

“I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to ongoing efforts in basic biology, particularly innate immunity, and am excited about the potential impact of this fellowship. I want to express my sincere thanks to my doctoral supervisor, Professor Xiaodong Wang, my postdoctoral supervisor, Professor Kate Fitzgerald, and the other referees for their recommendations and support,” stated Dr. Zhang. 

With funding from the fellowship, Dr. Zhang will utilize skills in biochemistry genetic biology, molecular biology, and immunology to address important immunology challenges, particularly related to NLRP1, including NLRP1 inhibitors and agonists. These endeavors will deepen the understanding of immune regulation and provide valuable compounds for dissecting biology and its roles in disease, with the ultimate objective of developing therapeutic drugs aimed at curing specific immune-related diseases. 

Researchers at UMass Chan School of Medicine received funding from the Reagan Udall Foundation for the FDA to develop a novel tool and test the reliability, validity, and feasibility of algorithms using real world data to support regulatory decisions. Led by Sonal Singh, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science, the focus of this project will be on outcomes in pregnancy. "Real world data is increasingly being used to evaluate the safety of drugs in pregnancy as pregnant women may be underrepresented in clinical trials,” said Dr. Singh. “We anticipate that the tool developed from this study can be used to evaluate the reliability and validity of algorithms on important maternal and fetal outcomes.” He added, “This tool may support a flexible and transparent approach to regulatory decisions around the benefits and risks of drugs used during pregnancy."  

The new tool will build on Dr. Sonal’s previous collaboration on the development of the Algorithm Certainty Tool (ACE-IT) tool to evaluate real world algorithms for cardiovascular outcomes.  

The co-investigator on this study is Carla Rodriguez-Watson, PhD, MPH from the Reagan Udall Foundation for the FDA.  

Faculty and trainees from the Department of Medicine gave talks and presented their research at the UMass Chan Medical School's 28th Annual Research Retreat which was held earlier this fall at UMass Amherst. Douglas Golenbock, MD, the Neil and Margery Blacklow Chair in Infectious Diseases and Immunology Professor and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, the recipient of this year’s Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Scholarship, gave a Keynote Address titled, “Interferon Epsilon: An Estrogen-Dependent Type I Interferon That is Uniquely Exploited by Neisseria gonorrhoeae”. Additionally, faculty from the Divisions of Hematology and Oncology and Health Systems Science - Clinical Informatics Section discussed their research, and faculty and trainees from the Department of Medicine presented their posters which included several interdepartmental and multi-institutional collaborative projects. Kate Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III, professor of medicine, associate vice provost for basic science research, vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine, chief of the Division of Innate Immunity, and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, served as the moderator for one of this year’s sessions.

Click here to view the list of this year's presentations and posters.

Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science, Clinical Informatics Section, and a co-director of the Program in Digital Medicine, is the principal investigator on a recent study to expand free-at-home COVID-19 and influenza testing nationwide. With Dr. Soni and UMass Chan scientists serving as research partners, the team recently engaged in a pilot study in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where they focused on engaging community partners such as local health departments to reach underserved populations. In doing so, they worked to expand the Home Test to Treat program, a collaborative effort of the National Institutes of Health, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the digital health technology firm, eMed. The program offers free at-home COVID and flu tests for those who are uninsured or underinsured, or are enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, VA Health Care, or Indian Health Services and includes the LUCIRA by Pfizer COVID-19 test and Flu (A/B) Test. Dr. Soni and his team worked to analyze the data from the pilot study and collaborated with eMed to make improvements to the program. 

Learn more.

This month, we feature Ze Zhang, PhD, as our Postdoc Spotlight. Dr. Zhang is a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Kate Fitzgerald in the Division of Innate Immunity. 

"My research focuses on innate immunity and cell death, with specific emphasis on inflammasome and cGAS-STING, as well as novel programmed cell death. Drawing from my experience in Professor Xiaodong Wang’s Lab, where I engaged in the study of two independent projects—onco-neuroimmunology and cell death, I delved into the intricacies of innate immunity, particularly inflammasome biology, employing biochemical, genetic, molecular biology, and pharmacologic methods in the Fitzgerald Lab."

Read the full spotlight.

This month in our Graduate Student Spotlight, we feature Pooja Parameswaran, a student in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan and the lab of Dr. Megan Orzalli in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology.

"I was very keen on joining a program with a focus on Innate Immunity and UMass Chan is perfect for that. We have several PI’s who work in the space, so there are so many opportunities to learn. Additionally, thanks to a very collaborative environment it’s really easy to share knowledge, techniques, and reagents."

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we feature the work of Honghuang Lin, PhD, a professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science, Clinical Informatics Section, and a co-director in the Program in Digital Medicine. 

Dr. Lin’s research focuses on the development of novel computational methods to study complex diseases. He is a longtime investigator of the Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running cardiovascular epidemiological study that recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. Dr. Lin has extensive experience in the analysis of genetic and omics data. Through his role in various large-scale international genetic consortiums, he and his collaborators have identified thousands of genetic variants associated with various diseases, including chronic inflammation, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and Alzheimer’s disease.

"I am dedicated to advancing the field of computational biomedical science," said Dr. Lin, "I look forward to continuing to make contributions to the field in the years to come."

Read Dr. Lin's full spotlight.

Anna Gubala, MD, a third-year Internal Medicine resident, led a food drive this month to gather donations for the Thanksgiving holiday. Along with other residents, Dr. Gubala helped raise $1,580 and filled multiple cars of goods that were delivered to the Worcester County Food Bank.

We applaud Dr. Gubala and her colleagues for their hard work and service!

Laura Gibson, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, has been selected as a Worcester Business Journal 2023 Champions of Health Care Award honoree.

The award honors those who excel in helping others, promoting innovation, and improving access to care. Dr. Gibson's work on cytomegalovirus (CMV) and leadership in infectious disease and immunology research highlights her qualifications for the award. She will be honored at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.  

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Gibson! 

The Department of Medicine is seeking applicants for the newly established Leadership Fellowship. Believed to be the first academic internal medicine administrative fellowship in the U.S., the Department of Medicine is pleased to offer this new program that will help develop tomorrow’s administrative leaders in medicine. 

Maureen Canellas, MD, MBA, the director of the Leadership Fellowship and an assistant professor and physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine, developed the program along with David McManus, MD, ScM, chair of the Department of Medicine, and Richard Forster, MD, associate professor of medicine and physician in the Division of Hospital Medicine, who will serve as a program advisor on the fellowship. Dr. Canellas’ enthusiasm, experience, and expertise in administrative leadership training led her to this role. She completed an administrative fellowship in emergency medicine, has an MBA, and currently runs an elective for emergency medicine residents that focuses on health systems and health systems science. It was through her work in health systems and digital medicine that she and Dr. McManus began to have discussions about the current gap in leadership training for internal medicine physicians. “There are hospital-based fellowships and there are emergency medicine-based fellowships,” said Dr. Canellas, “but [to our knowledge] there are no academic internal medicine administration fellowships.” 

This two-year, non-ACGME accredited full-time fellowship will offer up to 2 fellows per class protected time to obtain an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management as well as clinical rotations through the UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Hospital at Home program. Participants will gain expertise in administration specifically through the lens of the executive leadership within the Department of Medicine.  

Goals:  

• Foster the training and growth of future executive leaders in departmental and hospital administration and operations. 
• Create a low-risk environment where the fellow can translate administrative theory into action at an early stage in their career. 
• Create leaders in the growing fields of digital health and data analytics and how those implementations relate to hospital operations and finances. 
• Foster early mentor-mentee relationships that span beyond the fellowship and progress the fellow’s career development and advancement. 

Minimum Requirements: 
Applicants must be graduates of an ACGME-accredited residency program by July 1 of the fellowship year and be able to obtain independent medical licensure in the state of Massachusetts. 

Learn more.

What started as a quality improvement project is now slowly growing into a well-received weight management program at the Benedict Primary Care clinic at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Three years ago, Jeevarathna Subramanian, MD, associate professor of medicine, and Varun Ayyaswami, MD, assistant professor of medicine, both in the Division of General Internal Medicine, started a quality improvement project during Dr. Ayyaswami’s residency. Their project focused on overall obesity management in primary care and they found that very few patient appointments were made for obesity management. They surveyed providers on the primary challenges of managing obesity and although it was found to be a significant problem, the medical complexity of patients and resource limitations made it difficult for providers to appropriately address the issue. Many providers requested an embedded metabolic clinic to focus on weight management and weight stabilization for patients, leading to the development of today’s Weight Management Program. 

With encouragement and support from providers such as Nina Rosano, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Bruce Weinstein, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Deborah Blazey-Martin, MD, vice chair for ambulatory affairs and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, Drs. Subramanian and Ayyaswami developed the program with the goal of serving patients with weight issues and high blood pressure, along with other comorbidities. Additionally, they wanted to focus on how weight impacts the patient’s health and how they can work to maintain a healthier weight and lifestyle. 

Although the program is still in its beginning stages, work in the clinic is conducted on Monday mornings, where Drs. Subramanian and Ayyaswami alternate enrolling patients into the program, establishing a plan based on their medical history, and coordinating with other departments and services as needed, such as Behavioral Health and Endocrinology. The Weight Management Program has been well-received throughout the Benedict clinic. Dr. Subramanian explains that as the program expands, multidisciplinary collaboration between primary care providers and sub-specialists will be important. “Getting a nutritional aspect and an exercise aspect to this will be very important additions,” stated Dr. Subramanian. “[Additionally] having someone who has expertise in advocating for activity for these patients depending on their weight are all important aspects.” 

The team also hopes to provide the necessary resources to keep patients on a healthy track for the future. “Weight management and obesity are going to fall into the lap of primary care providers. The more primary care providers that [become] familiar with this [program] the better it is,” said Dr. Subramanian.  

Over the last few months, we have featured patient flow initiatives in Medicine that aim to increase patient discharges by noon and 2 p.m. These initiatives are critical to improving quality of care, overall patient safety, and timely care progression.

This month, we are featuring the Cohorted Unit-Based Teams initiative that launched in early June 2023—specifically, the pulmonary medicine unit on 5 West led by Shahzad Khan, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine.  

One of the primary objectives of the Cohorted Unit-Based Teams initiative has been to establish effective flow for patients to be discharged in a timely manner through coordinated team care. This, in turn, allows for patients who are in the emergency room and need a bed to be transferred to the floor for care. On 5 West, Dr. Khan and his team accomplish this through multidisciplinary rounds which include meeting with individuals from the health care team (usually a second-year or senior resident), nursing management, case management, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, and a COPD nurse navigator. During these meetings, they discuss patients and establish a care progression plan together, rather than having what might be at least six or seven individual conversations with different team members. Dr. Khan and his team are able to identify what is needed to allow the patient to be discharged and coordinate a plan together. They aim to have the patient discharged during the day for a variety of reasons including ensuring they stay on track with medications (if they are discharged at night, the pharmacy might be closed and they could miss their medication for that day). It has also helped with various logistical factors in transitioning the patients home, including transportation. 

Overall, the initiative has seen positive results thus far. Prior to the initiative, the pulmonary service placed discharge orders before noon on 19% of discharges. The team is now discharging one-third of their patients before noon. By working closely with the nurse manager, Viet Le, and case manager, Steven Nordborg, who have been critical to the success of this initiative, Dr. Khan has also been able to steadily increase the number of patients discharged before 2 p.m. over the last several months. There has also been a steady trend in decreasing the length of stay on the unit.  

“It's been a big effort even though it seems like a small thing. It has taken a lot of work from hospital leadership and communicating with different services to come together and focus on this one thing and with all these moving parts,” said Dr. Khan. “It is impressive how quickly it has moved forward and how infrequent there are hiccups because everyone is willing to figure out the next step.” 

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Garrick Gu, MD, a second-year Internal Medicine resident. Here, Dr. Gu describes his clinical and research interests, his involvement with groups on campus, and his favorite place to eat in Worcester! 

"The students and residents are so impressive in their dedication to their patients and their communities, always reaching out to family members and communities to promote health equity and quality care."

Read Dr. Gu's full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellowship Spotlight, we highlight Rina Modha, MD, a Rheumatology fellow in the Department of Medicine. Here, Dr. Modha describes her clinical interests, why she chose UMass for her fellowship, her favorite vacation spots, and more! 

“[I chose UMass for my fellowship because] the work environment was appealing, and the program's culture was extremely welcoming. I appreciated the clinical exposure fellows experienced with individual patient panels and the breadth of pathology in the community.”

Read Dr. Modha's full spotlight.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight Terrell Johnson, MD, a physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and co-director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice in the Department of Medicine. He joined UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Health this past August and has enthusiastically dived into a variety of activities across Medicine’s mission areas.

In addition to his roles as a clinician and educator, Dr. Johnson will be taking a new leadership role in the Pipeline for underRepresented Students in Medicine (PRISM) program, a program that introduces postgraduate students from diverse backgrounds who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM, to clinical research and healthcare opportunities. “I think there is a great opportunity to work with these students to make them so strong that they cannot be missed,” said Dr. Johnson. “Whether it is additional opportunities in research or in educational activities and exposures to experiences in the field, we want them to be prepared [for their future careers in medicine] and confident.”

Read Dr. Johnson's full spotlight.

The Department of Medicine Clinical Research Core is excited to welcome Alok Kapoor, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at UMass Chan, to the Research Core team. 

Dr. Kapoor will be working to expand the research portfolio of the Division of Hospital Medicine and serving as a research mentor to faculty interested in developing research projects. Dr. Kapoor is a physician-scientist with a research focus on safe and optimal use of anticoagulation and has extensive clinical experience as a hospitalist. The Core is grateful to have him on board.  

Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, along with MD/PhD students and lab members, Mohamad Nasrallah and Nick Peterson, recently had a manuscript published in PLOS Pathogens titled, “Transcriptional suppression of sphingolipid catabolism controls pathogen resistance in C. elegans.” In their study, Mohamad and Nick discovered that cellular regulation of sphingolipids, complex macromolecules that are required for diverse biological processes, are required for host survival during bacterial infections. They found that transcriptional control of enzymes that break down these molecules is required for pathogen resistance. These data define a new link between nutrient acquisition, metabolism, and host susceptibility to bacterial infection, and reveal a novel pathway that may be targeted to promote survival during bacterial infection. 

“I am extremely proud of Mo’s and Nick’s accomplishments in my lab,” said Dr. Pukkila-Worley. “They are both outstanding MD/PhD students and their collaboration on this project was a lot of fun for me to be a part of.”  

The Pukkila-Worley laboratory investigates host-pathogen interactions and bacterial pathogenesis, with a primary focus on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important human pathogen. One of their areas of interest is the growing field of immunometabolism, specifically the discovery and investigation of individual micronutrients and metabolites that are essential for animals to survive challenges with infectious pathogens.  

Read the full piece. 

This month, we feature Samreen Fatima, PhD, as our Postdoc Spotlight. Dr. Fatima is a postdoc in Dr. Hardy Kornfeld’s lab in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine. 

"UMass has a very strong TB research group with Drs. Kornfeld, Behar, and Sassetti working very closely with each other to find answers to complex TB questions. The way these labs function as a group made me choose UMass for my postdoctoral training. I consider myself extremely lucky to have taken this decision because each day I get to learn so much because of the way we work in collaboration at UMass."

Read the full spotlight.

This month in our Graduate Student Spotlight, we feature Seden Bedir, a third-year graduate student in Dr. Li Li’s lab in RNA Therapeutics, who previously rotated in the labs of Drs. Read Pukkila-Worley, Kate Fitzgerald, and Ann Moormann in the Department of Medicine.  

"My current research focuses on utilizing in vitro evolution techniques to engineer synthetic RNA to establish a novel RNA therapeutics platform. My overarching goal is to do research in synthetic immunology where I can take advantage of my interdisciplinary background."

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Jae-Hyuck Shim, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, director of the Bone Analysis Core, and a faculty member in the Horae Gene Therapy Center at UMass Chan Medical School. Additionally, along with Dr. Guangping Gao, Dr. Shim is the co-scientific founder of AAVAA Therapeutics, Incorporated, a company committed to developing gene therapies for the rare skeletal disease Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP).  

Dr. Shim’s research focuses on elucidating the molecular and genetic pathways that control the activation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, bone-forming osteoblasts, and bone-resorbing osteoclasts in pathological conditions, including complex skeletal diseases (osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA), heterotopic ossification, bone fracture, critical-sized bone defects) and rare skeletal diseases (FOP and osteogenesis imperfecta).

Dr. Shim not only contributes to various scientific collaborations at UMass Chan but also takes pride in the Department's supportive environment. "The Department of Medicine at UMass Chan has a strong collegial environment where scientists and clinicians with diverse backgrounds can work together and create novel scientific findings and therapeutic interventions,” remarked Dr. Shim. “Most importantly, it is a very enjoyable place to work.”  

Read Dr. Shim's full spotlight.

The UMass Memorial Cancer Survivorship Program is now live! The program is designed to give cancer survivors the tools and resources to aid in navigating life beyond cancer treatment and improve overall quality of life. 

More information can be found by visiting the site.

In a new Voices of UMass Chan podcast out this week, Sunita Puri, MD, draws on her experience in the field of palliative care while discussing the hidden harms of CPR.

“[What] we should be talking about with [the patient] is, is CPR going to help restore the…quality of life you want and is your underlying issue reversible, meaning, do we have a reasonable chance of treating the cause of potential arrest,” said Dr. Puri. “When somebody has end-stage cancer, end-stage cirrhosis, heart failure, we have to be honest with patients and ourselves about the limits of what we can do and the limits of the body, and I don't think we're good in our society, in general, let alone in medicine, discussing limits.”

Listen to the podcast.

Irina Radu, MD, MHA, a cardiology postdoctoral fellow, presented her poster on the important work that the UMass Chan Postdoctoral Association is doing to empower diversity in postdoctoral scholars at this year’s UMass Chan Diversity Summit poster session that was held on October 11, 2023.  

Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Fellowship, and provider in the Division of Palliative Care, was recently awarded the Amy Sylvester Award for healthcare excellence from the NVNA and Hospice’s Charitable Fund Board of Trustees. Dr. Puri was recognized for her leadership, candor, and compassion in the palliative care conversation. The award is presented annually to individuals who have made an impact on health care in their communities by way of philanthropy, advocacy, or education. 

Constantinos (Taki) Michaelidis, MD, MBA, MS, medical director for UMass Memorial Health’s Hospital at Home Program, and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, has been honored with the Hospital at Home Users Group Clinician of the Year Award. Dr. Michaelidis was celebrated for delivering exceptional patient care and for building and improving the hospital-at-home program. 

Vaikom Mahadevan, MD, the Edward Budnitz, MD, Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine and chief of Cardiovascular Medicine, and an expert in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) was recently consulted for consideration of transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement. The patient who had a history of congenital pulmonary stenosis, had undergone open repair at the age of 9 months. They subsequently underwent a surgical pulmonic valve replacement in 2021, and three months following surgery were anemic and began IV and oral iron replacement. The anemia progressed and the patient started requiring regular blood transfusions. After extensive hematology evaluation, the patient was found to have hemolysis with no other identifiable cause apart from the bioprosthetic heart valve. The patient also had an echocardiogram that suggested moderate pulmonary regurgitation and had some right heart failure symptoms, along with hypoalbuminemia. Records were obtained from the referring hospital and a telehealth appointment was made to evaluate the patient. Ultimately after consultation with Dr. Mahadevan and his team, a plan was made for the patient to undergo a transcatheter pulmonic valve-in-valve procedure at UMass Memorial Medical Center. In addition to Dr. Mahadevan, structural heart coordinators Ashleigh Poptic, ACNP-BC, and Nicole Majkut, PA-C, along with catheterization laboratory members Sue Maddelena, Tara Zidonis, Raul Navarro, and Stephanie Costello, worked to coordinate resources, appropriate equipment, and perform staff education in preparation for the procedure. 

In mid-September, the patient was pre-admitted under the care of Kevin O’Day, MD. They were then transferred to the cath lab for transcatheter tricuspid valve‐in‐valve (TPViV) implantation with the team led by Dr. Mahadevan, and including Jennifer Walker, MD, of Cardiac Surgery, Nikolaos Kakouros, MD, PhD, director of the structural heart disease program and co-director of the transcatheter aortic valve replacement program, and Dr. Ujjwal Rastogi, a structural heart fellow. The cardiac anesthesia team led by Dr. Brian Gebhardt provided anesthesia support. Procedural staff included Dan Niemi, RT, Mary Blair, RN, and Ivette Bryan-Picard, RN. 

The procedure and recovery went very well, and the patient was discharged the following day. The patient was able to return home within a week of the procedure and has continued follow-up care planned with their local adult congenital heart disease cardiologist.

We congratulate the entire team on this successful procedure!

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Nicolas Fandino-Rubio, MD, a second-year Categorical Internal Medicine resident at UMass Chan. Here, Dr. Fandino-Rubio describes his clinical and research interests, what makes UMass a great place for residency, and his passion for soccer. 

"I find myself frequently using my own heritage and language to connect with many of our patients and create a positive impact in their care."

Read Dr. Fandino-Rubio's full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we highlight Allen Chang, MD, a fellow in the Clinical Informatics Fellowship. Here, Dr. Chang describes his clinical background, why he chose UMass for his fellowship, and a recent sightseeing trip around the U.S.! 

"My increasing fascination with generative AI and large language models coincided with the establishment of UMass’s new fellowship in Clinical Informatics, and joining the program was the perfect opportunity for me to meaningfully explore the role of these new tools in the delivery of healthcare, not just for patients, but for clinicians as well."

Read Dr. Chang's full spotlight.

In 2022, the Division of Hospital Medicine launched its Procedural Service as a way to help address patient flow challenges. The idea emerged from pre-pandemic conversations between Greg Leslie, MD, physician, assistant professor of medicine, clinical and interim division chief, and Michael Devine, DO, physician and assistant professor of medicine, both of Hospital Medicine, and subsequent discussions with fellow hospitalists. At the time, they had observed that while resident teams in the division had trainees who could perform bedside procedures such as lumbar punctures, paracenteses, and arterial punctures for blood draws because it was part of their training, nonresident teams were left to call on others for assistance. Drs. Leslie and Devine thought that if they could create a service where hospitalists were trained and credentialed to perform these procedures it would help with some of the flow challenges. They put a call out to fellow hospitalists to identify a core group who were interested in getting credentialed and were pleasantly met with enthusiasm. “It's been really fun to build this up,” said Dr. Devine, who currently serves as the director of the Procedural Service. “We had a whole spectrum of attendings at various levels in our division that have wanted to be part of this, from senior, decorated faculty to junior faculty that were interested in [learning and getting credentialed] in these procedures.”

With a core group of seven hospitalists credentialed to perform these procedures, they have started to have a noticeable impact on patient flow. “The biggest benefit of this Procedural team is that it allows for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures to happen as quickly as possible in order to let the teams advance the care plan, ” said Dr. Leslie.

Learn more about the Procedural Service.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Doreen Brettler, MD, a physician and professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Brettler has spent her career caring for benign and malignant hematology patients, with primary concentrations in hemostasis and thrombosis. She currently sees a broad spectrum of patients at the University campus for bleeding and clotting disorders, genetic blood disorders, and low blood cell conditions, as well as other chronic diseases and low-grade hematological malignancies. In October, we sat down with Dr. Brettler to learn more about her work. 

Read Dr. Brettler's full interview.

Mohan Pahari (left), a clinical research coordinator in the Department of Medicine's Clinical Research Core, participated in the 25th Annual UMass Cancer Walk that took place on Sunday, September 24, at Polar Park. The UMass Cancer Walk has become the largest, one-day, single-location fundraising event in the area raising over 16 million dollars since starting in 1999. Mohan was proudly supporting the fight against cancer and promoting Lupus study trials at UMass Chan. 

UMass Chan Medical School recently received an $8.9 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for renewed support of their initiative to advance the development of home-based and point-of-care health technologies. The Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT) in Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders, which was created as an offshoot of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) at UMass Lowell and UMass Chan, is one of the seven centers nationwide that received five-year awards as part of the NIH’s Point of Care Technology Research Network.  

Led by co-principal investigators David McManus, MD, ScM, the Richard M. Haidack Professor of Medicine, chair and professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine, and Dr. Nathaniel Hafer, of Molecular Medicine, CAPCaT has supported over 20 projects since receiving funding in 2018 and aims to support new tools to address heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders in underserved populations.

Speaking to UMass Chan news, Dr. McManus said, “There’s what’s considered a ‘valley of death’ in the development of technologies between the time when someone comes up with a really good idea and starting a company, but they need resources to evaluate the technology and develop it. Few companies actually make it…CAPCaT’s goal is to identify that earlier-stage company, which is high risk but potentially high reward, bring in regulatory expertise and commercialization experts, and brainstorm with the team about other applications of the technology.” 

Learn more about CAPCaT.

Honghuang Lin, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and a director in the Program in Digital Medicine, had his study titled “Association Between Electrocardiographic Age and Cardiovascular Events in Community Settings: The Framingham Heart Study,” featured in the USA Today article “How One’s Health Study, inspired by FDR’s death, Changed Life in America Forever,” as part of the Framingham Heart Study’s 75th anniversary. The Framingham Heart Study has changed how Americans and their doctors view heart disease over the course of three generations. 

Dr. Lin's study applied a deep neural network model to predict biological age from standard 12-lead ECG collected in the Framingham Heart Study and included 9,877 participants with 17 plus-minus 8 years of follow-up. Accelerated aging was found to be associated with a significant increase in all-cause mortality (HR 1.28, 95%CI 1.14-1.45), as well as multiple adverse cardiovascular outcomes, suggesting the potential of an ECG-based age predictor as a scalable biomarker of future cardiovascular risk. 

Read the USA Today article.

PRISM program clinical research coordinator, Daniel Mbusa, BS, was inspired to pursue a career in medicine and clinical research through formative experiences in high school. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Daniel spent most of his childhood living in Uganda. He came with his family to the United States in 2013 and settled in Worcester where he attended North High School. “I started to become interested in medicine when I took Human Physiology and Pathology in high school,” said Daniel. “I enjoyed learning about the systems and organs of the body, different diseases and conditions, and prevention and treatment.” As a senior in high school, he also interned in a cancer research lab at UMass Chan Medical School.  

Read the full story.

This month, we are excited to feature Romana Rashid, PhD, as our Postdoc Spotlight! Dr. Rashid is a postdoc in the labs of Drs. Douglas Golenbock and Kate Fitzgerald. Here, she describes her primary research focus, why she chose UMass for her postdoctoral studies, and her growing interest in sports.

"My aspiration was to be part of an exceptional immunology lab and institution that fostered personal and professional growth while offering opportunities to engage with diverse communities."

Read the full spotlight. 

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Kevin Donahue, MD, the David J and Barbara D Milliken Professor of Preventive Cardiology, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, director of Electrophysiology Research at UMass Chan Medical School, and an attending cardiac electrophysiologist at UMass Memorial Health. He also serves as a co-director of the Transdisciplinary Training in Cardiovascular Research T32 training grant.

Dr. Donahue’s research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms of and developing therapies for cardiac arrhythmias. His work in his lab and in the invasive electrophysiology laboratory has yielded important achievements and groundbreaking discoveries, including the first-ever report of gene transfer to treat cardiac arrhythmia, which was published as the cover article of Nature Medicine in December 2000. Additionally, studies from his lab have yielded important findings showing the complete elimination of ventricular arrhythmia inducibility after gene transfer in an animal model of post-myocardial infarction ventricular arrhythmias, a novel mechanism for post-infarction ventricular tachycardia, and control of atrial fibrillation with a novel epicardial gene painting method, which he developed in his lab.

Read Dr. Donahue's full spotlight.

Deepika Devuni, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, has received a 2023 Women Physicians Section Inspiration Award from the American Medical Association. This award honors and acknowledges physicians who have offered their time, wisdom, and support throughout the professional careers of their fellow physicians, residents, and students.  

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Devuni!  

On Saturday, September 9, UMass Memorial Health, along with other community partners, hosted the Worcester Multicultural Community Health Fair at the YMCA Fuller Family Park in Worcester, MA. Members of the community were invited to attend this event for health education, screening, and other resources. Among the many volunteers at this event were Deborah Nadler, MD, Shantel Brissett, MD, and Sakeina Howard-Wilson, MD, cardiology fellows, and Irina Radu, MD, MHA, a postdoctoral cardiology research fellow. They took blood pressure measurements and offered participants valuable insights on essential topics such as blood pressure management, cholesterol control, smoking cessation, weight management, sleep improvement, increasing physical activity, blood sugar management, and adopting healthier diets.  

“By showing cohesion and team spirit, while serving our community, we had a significant impact representing UMass Cardiology at the Worcester Multicultural Community Health Fair. We had a lot of fun together,” said Dr. Radu.  

We applaud our Cardiovascular fellows for their service and dedication to the Worcester community! 

Brittany Tran, MD, a second-year Internal Medicine resident at UMass Chan, received first place for her quality improvement poster, “The Difficult IV Access (DIVA) Project: Improving IV Access at Nighttime Rapid Responses.”

Additionally, Divya Sudireddy, MD, a third-year Internal Medicine resident, earned second place for her quality improvement poster, “Enhancing Cardiovascular Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.”

Michelle Nabi, MD, a current Internal Medicine residency intern, was also awarded second place for her clinical vignette, “Bilateral Posterior Cerebral Strokes Post-Cardiac Catheterization Leading to Anton-Babinski Syndrome.” 

Please join us in congratulating our IM residents on their accomplishments!  

In late September when a patient coded on 5 West, resident, respiratory, nursing, anesthesia, and pharmacy teams worked together, responding in a collaborative, organized, and respectful manner. This exceptional effort was recognized by team members and leaders who were present, including Christine Bielick Kotkowski, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician and chief of Medicine-Pediatrics, who said, in part, “…it was reassuring how calm and collected the entire team was, and they worked cohesively throughout.…witnessing the closed-loop communication between the unit secretary and the nursing staff to ensure adequate messages were relayed, was great.” Additionally, there was an organized debrief afterward where the teams deliberately and methodically went through the occurrence and offered support to each other.  

We thank all team members for their commitment to quality care.

Pamela Burgwinkle, a nurse practitioner in the Anti-Coagulation clinic, was recognized by a patient for her excellent care this past summer. The patient stated that Pamela was exceptionally helpful, understanding, and empathetic. 

We thank Pamela for her hard work and exceptional care of her patients. 

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we highlight Daniella Gonzalez, DO, a third-year Internal Medicine resident at UMass Chan. We recently caught up with Dr. Gonzalez to learn more about her clinical and research interests, what makes UMass a great place for residency, and the book club she started with Dr. Lauren Feld!  

Read Dr. Gonzalez's full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Mark Skiba, MD, PhD, a current Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellow at UMass Chan. Here, Dr. Skiba discusses his clinical interests, why he chose UMass, and his favorite place to travel!  

Read Dr. Skiba's full spotlight.

Michael Devine, DO, a physician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, is currently leading an innovative initiative to improve discharge orders at UMass. In a new conversation with Dr. Devine, he discusses the drivers of this initiative, results thus far, and goals for future applications.

“[In our initial pilot], we specifically looked at the metric of discharge orders before noon because when we initially reviewed the data, we found that the resident teams were about 10% lower than uncovered attendings…[We] decided the goal for our internal medicine resident teams would be to improve discharge by noon to around 25% from 15%. Over the last year, our residents were able to reach that goal.”

Read Dr. Devine's full interview.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Sarah McGee, MD, MPH, clinical chief and a professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, whose career has spanned more than 30 years. We recently spoke with Dr. McGee about her work and what makes her chosen field of practice unique.

Read Dr. McGee's full interview.

Fiachra Humphries, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, recently had a commentary published in Trends in Immunology, titled, “cGAS-like receptors: back to the future.” cGAS and STING are important innate immune receptors that drive immune responses to cytosolic DNA, have been implicated in a wide range of inflammatory diseases, and are now the focus of drug discovery efforts. Recent computational and biochemical studies have identified ancient forms of cGAS-like receptors (cGLRs) that play key roles in bacterial immunity. In this Spotlight article, Dr. Humphries and his team discuss a recent study published in Cell that builds on these findings that constructed and characterized >3000 cGLRs to reveal conserved mechanisms of nucleic acid sensing across the animal kingdom.

In addition, Dr. Humphries and his team discuss potential implications for human immunity and how studying these ancient forms of cGAS and STING can inform future work on uncharacterized cGAS-like receptors in the human genome. 

Read Dr. Humphries' paper.

Lauren Feld, MD, physician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and physician executive for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Department of Medicine, recently had her study titled, “Parental leave, childcare policies, and workplace bias for hepatology professionals: A national survey,” published in Hepatology Communications. Here, Dr. Feld and her team aimed to understand the presence of workplace bias around child-rearing and inadequate parental leave, which may negatively impact childbearing decisions and gender equity in hepatology. Additionally, her team sought to understand the influence of parental leave and child-rearing on career advancement in hepatology. The physician members of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) were surveyed regarding career plans, family planning, parental leave, and work accommodations. Dr. Feld and her team identified that women reported gender-based and maternity bias in the workplace and during training, which was more frequently experienced by Black and Hispanic women. As two-thirds of women had children during training, Dr. Feld identified that medical training is a particularly influential time to provide programmatic support to address long-term gender disparities in career advancement. Dr. Feld runs the Feld Lab at UMass, which studies interventions to improve workforce gender equity as well as women’s health in liver disease. 

Read the full story.

Kate Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation Chair in Biomedical Sciences, professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Innate Immunity, vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine, and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, recently had a collaborative study, “Development of LB244, an Irreversible STING Antagonist,” published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Led by Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Paul Thompson from the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology, they, along with members of their labs and other colleagues, report on their identification of LB244, a small-molecule inhibitor of STING. STING is a central driver of pathology in many autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders including lupus, Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS), and STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI). Here, their studies show how LB244 is able to inhibit a wild-type STING variant which may advance their understanding of its relevance in the context of health and disease. Their data provide a structure for further study and development of therapeutics to treat STING-dependent inflammatory diseases. 

Learn more about the study.

Shyam Patel, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, recently had a review published in the British Journal of Haematology. In the article titled “Challenges and solutions to superior chimeric antigen receptor-T design and deployment for B-cell lymphomas,” Dr. Patel and his team focus on the major obstacles to advancing therapeutic reach for CAR-T products in early lines of therapy. Since the introduction of CAR-T therapeutics for patients with leukemia and lymphoma, there is still a debate as to where these therapeutics fit into the care plan of a patient. Dr. Patel and his team discuss the barriers of CAR-T therapy, including antigen escape, “cold” tumor microenvironments, host inflammation, and CAR-T cell exhaustion. They also highlight solutions to these barriers, such as point-of-care CAR-T manufacturing and early T lymphopheresis, and review evidence that supports early CAR-T deployment for B-cell lymphomas. 

Read the full review.

The Program in Digital Medicine (PDM) in the Department of Medicine was recently featured as part of UMass Chan’s Advancing Together campaign. In an article titled, “Digital Medicine: Three ways technology may soon improve your health,” early innovations from the PDM and their commitment to improving health care are explored. Led by David McManus, MD, ScM, chair of the Department of Medicine, the Program in Digital Medicine uses mobile tools to keep patients healthy at home, such as smartphone applications, where patients can access health coaching, monitoring, and more. Additionally, the program utilizes the power of artificial intelligence to help detect symptoms and risk factors in various diseases such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease. The program is also currently working on suicide prevention software, as part of a new center led by UMass Chan, which aims to prevent suicide through evidence-based use of technology.

“In all these ways, our teams are working together to drive innovation to make health care healthier,” said Dr. McManus. 

Watch the PDM video feature. 
Learn more about the PDM.

This month, we are excited to feature Milton Pereira, PhD, as our Postdoc Spotlight! Dr. Pereira is a postdoc in the labs of Drs. Ricardo Gazzinelli and Douglas Golenbock in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology. We recently caught up with Dr. Pereira to learn more about his research focus, why he chose UMass, and his trips to the Azores Islands.

Read the full spotlight.

This month in our Graduate Student Spotlight, we feature Boyao (Joanna) Zhang, a PhD student in Dr. Egil Lien’s lab in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology. We recently caught up with Joanna to learn more about her research interests, her favorite hobbies, and more!

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Egil Lien, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity. Dr. Lien also holds a faculty appointment at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in Trondheim, Norway.

Read Dr. Lien's full spotlight.

In late August, Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Fellowship, and provider in the Division of Palliative Care, was interviewed on NPR’s Think podcast about her recent New Yorker essay, “The Hidden Harms of CPR.”  

Listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Samwise Bodkin, a senior ASG administrator for the Divisions of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and Geriatric Medicine recently completed their Lean Black Belt project and achieved Black Belt Certification. Sam and their team develop onboarding trainings, system access, and resource guides for new administrator caregivers at UMass Memorial Medical Group. Please join us in congratulating Sam on this honor!  

Jonathan Kay, MD, the Timothy S. and Elaine L. Peterson Chair in Rheumatology, and professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, was recently awarded the distinction of Master of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).The title is one of the highest honors at the college and is awarded to ACR members who have made outstanding contributions to the institution and the field of Rheumatology through scholarly achievement and service to their patients, students, and the profession. On receiving this honor, Dr. Kay stated, “I am humbled and honored to be awarded the distinction of Master of the American College of Rheumatology. I am grateful to my family, friends, and colleagues who have supported me throughout my career.” Dr. Kay will be presented with this award at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in November. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Kay on this prestigious achievement!  

Chinmay Trivedi, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of cardiovascular medicine research in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was recently recognized for teaching a well-received lecture in the Cardiovascular System block of Vista at UMass Chan. Dr. Trivedi was praised by leadership member Michael Fahey, MD, for his recent lecture on Microcirculations. We thank Dr. Trivedi for his continuing contributions to our educational mission.

In this month's Fellow Spotlight, we feature Taruna Arora, MD, a Hematology and Oncology fellow from Nagpur, India. We recently caught up with Dr. Arora to learn more about her interest in sickle cell disease and Hemophilia, why she chose UMass for her fellowship, and more! "My goal is to organize a transitional care clinic for young sickle cell patients in close collaboration with pediatric counterparts and establish a personalized pain plan for efficient and better clinical outcomes."

Check out her full spotlight by clicking here.

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we feature Ashley Blau, MD, a second-year Internal Medicine resident on the research track, from Milford, CT. We recently caught up with Dr. Blau to learn more about her clinical and research interests, her favorite Worcester activities, and more! "I am convinced we have one of the most supportive residency programs in the country. It is obvious that UMass invests in its future and its people. As part of the resident wellness committee and women in medicine group, I have realized how our input as residents is valued and used to guide new initiatives and programs."

Check out her full spotlight by clicking here.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Margret Chang, MD, assistant professor of medicine, attending physician, and medical director of the Office Based Addiction Treatment Program at Tri-River Family Health Center. She is also the director of the Resident Addiction Curriculum in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at UMass Chan Medical School and holds an appointment in Pediatrics. Over the last five years, Dr. Chang and her team have built the Office Based Addiction Treatment Program up from treating under 20 patients by individual providers to now having over 100 patients in the program that operates in a primary care setting with a team-based approach. Of this work she said, “The ability to be with patients who may feel a great deal of shame about their addiction, and to say to them, ‘I can help you right here in my primary care office’, that is what I love about this work.”

Read Dr. Chang's full spotlight by clicking here.

Fiachra Humphries, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, recently had a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), titled, “Targeting STING Oligomerization with Small-Molecule Inhibitors.” STING is an essential adaptor protein required for inflammatory responses to pathogen or host cytosolic DNA. The DNA that enters the cytosol then activates the enzyme cGAS to generate a molecule called cGAMP. cGAMP then binds STING directly and induces a conformational change which initiates its activation. Dr. Humphries explains that STING activation leads to the production of type I interferons and inflammatory cytokines and although it is an important molecule for immune defenses, STING activation also plays a key role in driving inflammatory diseases, such as AGS, SAVI, COPA syndrome, ALS, Parkinson’s disease and SLE. He further states that there is an urgent need to develop specific small molecule STING antagonists to treat these diseases. In this study, Dr. Humphries worked to identify a new class of small molecules that can inhibit STING by blocking its oligomerization, leading to a further understanding of STING biology, the creation of a new paradigm, and how STING can be inhibited pharmacologically. 

Read Dr. Humphries' paper.

Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and co-director of the Program in Digital Medicine, was recently quoted in The New York Times piece, “Covid Didn’t Take a Summer Vacation.” With a recent uptick in cases, the article gives an overview of case monitoring as well as current recommendations for testing and treating Covid-19. Rapid tests remain effective for all variants and if you get a positive result, you can trust the result is accurate. If you are having symptoms but receive a negative result, it is recommended that you test again. “If the virus is not present in large quantities,” you may get a negative result even when you’re symptomatic, said Dr. Soni. “By doing serial testing, you give yourself a chance to catch the virus when it has increased to a higher quantity in your body.” 

Read The New York Times article.

On August 5, Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Fellowship, and provider in the Division of Palliative Care, had her essay, “The Hidden Harms of CPR,” published in The New Yorker. Her essay takes the reader through an intimate account of an experience she had with a patient’s family who was faced with deciding whether to elect CPR for their husband and father who was seriously ill from Covid. While she recounts her experience with the family, Dr. Puri weaves in the history of CPR, how, when, and why it is often used, and its outcomes. She also discusses the need for improved physician training to have conversations with patients and their families so that they may make better-informed decisions.   

“Reversing a death is not the same as restoring a life. Nonetheless, CPR has become an expectation rather than an exception, a treatment meant for a few but applied to all” – Sunita Puri   

Related: May 2023 Chair's Spotlight: Sunita Puri

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Chinmay Trivedi, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of cardiovascular medicine research in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Research in the Trivedi lab focuses on identifying regulatory mechanisms and rational therapies for congenital cardiac and vascular diseases affecting patients. Of their work, Dr. Trivedi says, “Trainees in the lab continue to make fundamental discoveries advancing our knowledge of devastating diseases that affect both children and adults.”

Read Dr. Trivedi's full spotlight.

BRIDGE Innovation and Business Development at UMass Chan Medical School recently awarded nearly $2M in funding for 13 faculty projects, including four in the Department of Medicine and Program in Innate Immunity. 

As reported by UMass Chan news, the BRIDGE Fund supports critical research milestones for inventions and discoveries that have a high potential to change the course of disease.

Faculty projects include: 

• Kevin Donahue, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine: High-intensity and atrial-specific gene expression for treatment of atrial fibrillation 
• Fiachra Humphries, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity: Therapeutic targeting of a macrophage receptor in cancer. 
• Ann Marshak-Rothstein, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity: Development of a second generation sFasL gene therapy for glaucoma. 
• John Harris, MD, PhD, chair and professor of dermatology, director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center, and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity: Self-delivering AIM2-siRNA as adjuvant therapy to treat nonresponders to melanoma immunotherapy.
  
  Learn more about the UMass Chan BRIDGE Fund and this year's awardees.

Mayuko Ito Fukunaga, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, was recently awarded a K08 from the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Ito Fukunaga’s project, “Facilitation of Information eXchange for Shared Decision Making (FIX-SDM) for Lung Cancer Screening,” aims to develop and pilot test a multi-strategy implementation program using health informatics to promote shared decision-making for lung cancer screening. The goal of her project is to improve the initial uptake of lung cancer screening, as well as longitudinal adherence to annual follow-ups by supporting shared decision making. Dr. Ito Fukunaga’s mentors at UMass Chan include Drs. Kathleen Mazor, Rajani Sadasivam, and Sybil Crawford. 

Kate Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III, professor of medicine, associate vice provost for basic science research, vice chair of research in the Department of Medicine, chief of the Division of Innate Immunity and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, has received an Innovator Award from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation for her project, “HOXA11os, an IBD associated lncRNA that maintains tissue homeostasis and restrains inflammation.” Many treatments for IBD focus on blocking inflammation and fail to repair damaged tissue and restore the integrity of the tissue. Dr. Fitzgerald and her group have identified a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), HOXA11os, that is only expressed in the colon. When HOXA11os is present the tissue is healthy and functional, however in patients with ulcerative colitis, the levels decrease. To model this state, they generated mice lacking this lncRNA and like patients with UC, these mice developed colitis. The lncRNA localizes to the mitochondria in cells of the healthy colon, but when the lncRNA is lost, the mitochondria in the cells in the colon are damaged, produce reactive oxygen species, and damage colonic tissue. These findings provide new insights into how HOXA11os can help mitochondria work well to maintain homeostasis in the gut, which suggests new opportunities to restore tissue health by controlling the levels of this lncRNA.

Lorissa Smulan, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, has received a Catalyst Award from the American Lung Association. Her project titled “Defining the Mitochondrial Sirtuins and Type I Interferon Axis in Tuberculosis,” aims to understand the contributing factors of Mtb-induced mitochondrial damage. According to Dr. Smulan, mitochondria play an important role in the immunometabolic response to pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB). Mtb targets mitochondria in macrophages, rewiring metabolism and inducing a redox imbalance, which contributes to infection-induced macrophage necrosis. Damaged mitochondria release mitochondrial DNA, which may induce type I interferons (IFN), leading to exacerbated TB immune pathology.  

Dr. Smulan hopes to characterize the link between Mtb-induced downregulation of mitochondrial sirtuins and mitochondrial damage. Additionally, she will investigate how decreased activity of sirtuins may promote TB progression via increased type I IFN signaling induced by mitochondrial dysfunction. Understanding the link between mitochondrial sirtuins, mitochondrial damage, and type I IFN will be beneficial for the development of host-directed therapies for TB. 

Honghuang Lin, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and a co-director in the Program in Digital Medicine, was recently featured in an article by UMass Chan Communications for a new study where ECGs can predict biological age, risk of death, and cardiovascular disease. Originally published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, the study titled “Association Between Electrocardiographic Age and Cardiovascular Events in Community Settings: The Framingham Heart Study,” led by Dr. Lin, tests the association between ECG age, death, and cardiovascular outcomes over 35 years in the community-based Framingham Heart Study. The study found that having an ECG age higher than chronological age was related to a higher risk of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and death. An ECG age lower than chronological age was associated with decreased risk of adverse cardiac events and death. 

Learn more about Dr. Lin's study.

Nikolaos Kakouros, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine was recently featured in a Boston 25 News segment, discussing an improved heart valve replacement procedure. For patients with aortic stenosis, Dr. Kakouros explains that aortic valves can now be replaced through a small incision in the groin, a procedure titled Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). Through this new procedure, cardiologists can treat aortic stenosis in many patients without more invasive surgery.  

Watch the Boston 25 news segment.

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we feature Victor Acosta-Rivera, MD, a rising third-year Internal Medicine resident on the primary care track. We recently caught up with Dr. Acosta-Rivera to learn more about his clinical and research interests, hobbies, and favorite Worcester activities! 

Read Dr. Acosta-Rivera's full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Altaib Al Yassin, MD, DO, MS, a Gastroenterology fellow. We recently caught up with Dr. Yassin to learn more about his work, why he chose UMass for his fellowship, and a recent trip to Morocco!

Read Dr. Yassin's full spotlight.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Kathleen Mazor, EdD, professor of medicine and interim chief in the Division of Health Systems Science. Prior to her work as interim chief, Dr. Mazor also served as the associate director of the Meyers Health Care Institute, a joint endeavor of UMass Chan Medical School, Reliant Medical Group, and Fallon Health. This August, she will “semi-retire” after having been at UMass Chan for over 25 years. We recently had the opportunity to speak with her about some of the highlights of her work, what has been most meaningful, and her plans as she begins her next chapter.

Read Dr. Mazor's full spotlight.

The DoM Clinical Research Core would like to thank the members of the first Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC 1.0). Drs. Kevin Donahue, Evelyn Kurt-Jones, Ann Moormann, and Pranoti Mandrekar were essential in providing expertise on the scientific, analytic, operational, and budgetary aspects of the many research projects that have come through the Core since its inception. Additionally, the Core is excited to announce the new SOC 2.0 whose members include, Drs. Kevin Donahue (returning), Nina Rosano, Jonathan Kay, Alan Mullen, and Mireya Wessolossky. The Core looks forward to working with these highly qualified members to help advance and support the Department's incoming clinical research studies. 

Alok Kapoor, MD, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, was recently awarded funding on an R21 from the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Dr. Kapoor’s project, “Storytelling for Reducing Gap in AC Use in African Americans with Atrial Fibrillation,” aims to understand the stories of African American patients who have atrial fibrillation (AF) and who are on anticoagulant (AC) therapy.

Six million Americans suffer from AF, a heart rhythm abnormality that is a major risk factor for stroke. Despite this, only 60% of eligible AF patients receive treatment, and this gap is even larger for African Americans, who use anticoagulation 10-22% less frequently compared to White patients. As AF is a major risk factor for stroke, professional societies recommend AC in most patients. However, some patients are reluctant to start or continue taking AC due to the onset of bleeding or other setbacks. This translates to roughly 900-2,000 preventable strokes and 180-400 preventable deaths occurring in African Americans each year. For these reasons, teams at UMass Chan, led by Dr. Kapoor, and the University of Michigan, led by Dr. Geoff Barnes, are partnering on Story-AF, a project dedicated to understanding the stories of African American patients who have AF and are on anticoagulant therapy.

African American patients will share their experiences of being diagnosed with AF and the setbacks they faced during treatment. By recording these shared experiences from patients, Dr. Kapoor and his colleagues plan to test the power of the stories in a randomized feasibility trial to convince other African American patients to take anticoagulants to prevent stroke and improve their health. For the trial, African American patients will be assigned to intervention groups and will watch videos of patients’ stories. Dr. Kapoor and his team will then assess trends in the initiation of AC and the persistence of AC six months into the trial. 

Carly Herbert, an MD/PhD student in the lab of Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in Health Systems Science and faculty in the Program in Digital Medicine, was recently interviewed by HealthDay for their article, “Sick? You'll Need Multiple Tests to Rule Out COVID.” Here, Ms. Herbert discussed a recent study conducted by researchers at UMass Chan that confirms that regardless of whether patients have symptoms or not, repeat testing after 48 hours can help rule out COVID infections. 

"What we see is that when people test once, there are a good amount of people where their infection may be missed. This is what we call a false negative. And this can really provide [misleading] information to somebody that they are healthy and can go about their daily life, when really if they test again two days later, they are positive,” said Ms. Herbert.  

Read more.

Lee Quinton, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, was recently awarded R01 funding from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) as a protective countermeasure in response to lung infection. The project aims to reveal the biological features of the immune receptor LOX-1 in response to respiratory infection, possibly revealing novel mechanisms of tissue protection. 

Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, due in large part to the onset of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Imbalances of biological processes controlling immunity and tissue integrity increase the likelihood that lung infections progress to pneumonia, but little is known of when, where, and how host signals integrate to confer protection. In this project, Dr. Quinton and his team propose the scavenger receptor LOX-1 as a regulatory node for shaping inflammation in the pneumonic lung. While this receptor has well-established roles in promoting vascular injury in patients with atherosclerosis, its function in the lungs is unknown. Their preliminary studies in mice and humans show substantial accumulation of LOX-1 in pneumonic lungs. Additionally, mouse studies reveal that LOX-1 in the airspace compartment dampens immunopathology in the infected lung. Therefore, Dr. Quinton and his team will test the central hypothesis that LOX-1 on airspace myeloid cells bolsters tissue protection in response to lung infection. Their proposed studies will utilize in vivo and ex vivo approaches to reveal basic biological mechanisms of tissue homeostasis during pneumonia, which could elucidate novel clinical interventions in patients with or at risk for this disease. 

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Zaida Ramirez-Ortiz, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity. 

Read her full spotlight.

Hardy Kornfeld, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, and colleagues at the M Viswanathan Diabetes Research Center in Chennai, India, recently published a manuscript based on results from the Effects of Diabetes on Tuberculosis Severity (EDOTS) study. This manuscript was the latest of 26 peer-reviewed publications based on the results from the EDOTS study. The study enrolled adult participants newly diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) between 2014 and 2018 and was designed to evaluate the TB-diabetes interaction in a group of participants in Chennai, India, where the prevalence of TB and diabetes is high.  

In their latest manuscript, Dr. Kornfeld and his colleagues evaluated the effects of prediabetes at baseline in the EDOTS cohort, reporting that participants with sustained prediabetic dysglycemia, measured after the intensive phase of TB treatment, had a higher death rate and delayed sputum TB culture conversion, compared to normoglycemic participants. The significance of the finding is that the adverse effects of dysglycemia on human immunity to TB are not confined to people classified with “frank diabetes”. Additionally, Dr. Kornfeld concluded that the global population at risk for adverse TB outcomes is therefore larger than the estimates based on diabetes alone. Although the mechanism of TB susceptibility in prediabetes is unknown, research in the Kornfeld lab using animal models recently identified elevated plasma glycerol as a contributing factor to TB severity. As glycerol elevation is known to precede the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes, Dr. Kornfeld and his collaborators are currently planning further clinical studies to investigate whether the association identified in animals is relevant to TB severity in people living with prediabetes.

Read more.

Kate Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III, professor of medicine, associate vice provost for basic science research, vice chair of research in the Department of Medicine, chief of the Division of Innate Immunity and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, and Ann Marshak-Rothstein, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, have been awarded a competing renewal for their NIH T32: Training in the Molecular Basis of Autoimmunity and Autoinflammation (also known as the Autoimmunity and Autoinflammation Training Grant or AATG).  

Originally awarded in 2018, Drs. Fitzgerald and Marshak-Rothstein will continue to lead as Principal Investigators of the AATG program, which prepares predoctoral students to become future scientific leaders by providing them with a strong foundation in the basic principles of innate and adaptive immunity. The program brings together over 30 investigators from ten departments at UMass Chan, whose expertise range from basic research to drug discovery, and who are engaged in basic and/or translational, disease-oriented research focusing on autoimmunity and autoinflammatory conditions. The goal is to provide students with a skill set to succeed as independent and creative investigators in a constantly evolving biomedical research landscape. 

The eICU program at UMass Memorial Health is leading exciting new efforts to improve efficiency and patient outcomes in intensive care units across Central Massachusetts.

Learn more.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Catherine Fiore, MD, a third-year fellow in Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, from Essex Fells, New Jersey. We recently caught up with Dr. Fiore to learn more about her work, why she chose UMass, and more.  

Read the full spotlight. 

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we feature Wyatt DeLomba, MD, an upcoming third-year Internal Medicine resident, from Cranston, Rhode Island. We recently caught up with Dr. DeLomba to learn more about his clinical and research interests, hobbies, and loyalty to his home state’s PawSox (no WooSox games for Dr. DeLomba!). 

Read the full spotlight. 

On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, members of the Department of Medicine and the greater UMass Chan community gathered on campus to celebrate the retirement of Deborah DeMarco, MD, professor of medicine, senior associate dean for clinical affairs, and associate dean for graduate medical education, after over 30 years of service.  

The Department of Medicine extends our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. DeMarco for her tireless work and dedication to the educational mission of our department and UMass Chan. Her work has had an important impact on countless educators and trainees during her tenure, which will be felt for many years to come. We wish her all the best.

Roberto Caricchio, MD, the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology, professor of medicine, and chief of the Division of Rheumatology, recently launched the Lupus Center at UMass Chan, a new research and clinical care center in collaboration with UMass Memorial Health. Along with Elena Gkrouzman, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Dr. Caricchio and his colleagues aim to focus on several areas of investigation, including subclinical infections as triggers of lupus and its flares, the utilization of artificial intelligence to investigate clinical data of lupus patients, and identifying predictors of flares or early signs of lupus disease. 

Learn more. 

Lauren Feld, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, was recently featured in UMass Chan’s UpNext! diversity and inclusion newsletter. Here, Dr. Feld explains her role in workforce equity in the Department of Medicine and why she is passionate about ensuring that everyone across the training spectrum in medicine is supported.

Learn more. 

Katherine Cooper, MD, a rising PGY2 internal medicine resident, was recently awarded a 2023 Emerging Liver Scholar Award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

This highly competitive award is designed to promote the study of hepatology among outstanding residents who have the potential for a career in academic medicine and may be interested in choosing adult or pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, hepatopathology, surgery, or GI radiology with an emphasis on hepatobiliary imaging as their career focus.

Melissa Fischer, MD, MEd, professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and vice provost for Interprofessional and Instructional Innovation, was recently awarded the 2023 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching. The Manning Prize, which is awarded to faculty who excel in teaching and service, was given to five University of Massachusetts faculty members across the university system.

Learn more. 

In this month’s spotlight, we highlight the work of Jeeva Subramanian, MD, an associate professor of medicine and physician in General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Subramanian has worked in both inpatient and ambulatory settings throughout her career, but her passion lies in ambulatory medicine. In her spotlight, we highlight her work as a physician and current research projects, as well as her love for teaching and the community that she serves. 

Read more. 

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, and physician on the infectious disease consult service.  

Read more.

The Program in Digital Medicine is excited to announce the launch of its new and improved website. The PDM team invites the UMass community to visit their new hub for research, collaboration, and unparalleled digital medicine expertise. 

Learn more about The Program in Digital Medicine.

Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and co-director of the Program in Digital Medicine, is the principal investigator of a new study to measure blood pressure and other heart-related variables using the Heart Seat, a smart toilet seat that can measure heart rate and oxygen saturation. The study titled COMMODE-seat, which stands for correlating outcomes with mobile monitoring using digital sensors in a seat, will test how a smart toilet seat can help patients with chronic diseases better manage their health.

Learn more.

Evelyn Kurt-Jones, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, was recently awarded funding on an R21 from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Kurt-Jones’ project titled “Role of ADAM9 in Viral RNA Sensing and Antiviral Innate Immunity” aims to explore the function of ADAM9 in RNA virus infections, particularly focusing on viruses that cause cardiac damage.  

Dr. Kurt-Jones and her team determined that ADAM9, a protein expressed on the surface of human cells, has been implicated in a range of human diseases, including multiple types of cancer, inflammatory diseases, and wound healing; however, very little is known about its role in the response to viral infection. Dr. Kurt-Jones and her team recently discovered that ADAM9 is critical for protecting cardiomyocytes during RNA virus infection. They hypothesized that ADAM9 promotes the detection of viral RNA genomes within the cytosol of infected cells, therefore leading to a robust type I interferon response, which is critical to protecting the heart from virus-induced damage.  

The DoM Clinical Research Core would like to acknowledge and welcome the new chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dr. Vaikom Mahadevan. The Core has been working closely with Dr. Mahadevan since his arrival and eight new clinical studies are expected to start within the next 6-12 months. They are actively enrolling three cardiovascular studies including Resilient, a randomized trial to compare mobile health cardiac rehabilitation, which has 89 participants enrolled. The Core is excited to be working with Dr. Mahadevan and the Cardiovascular Medicine Division to continue their success in clinical research.

Stefania Gallucci, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Innate Immunity has been awarded tenure. Congratulations, Dr. Gallucci, for this well-deserved honor. We are thrilled for you and look forward to our continued work together in the Department of Medicine.

A special congratulations to DoM faculty and staff members who have recently achieved service milestones in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

Click here to view the list.

On Thursday, May 25, 2023, Internal Medicine residents and fellows from the Department of Medicine presented their clinical vignette, research, and quality improvement posters at the annual Resident and Fellow Poster Day. Congratulations to all the residents and fellows who presented. We are incredibly proud of your work! A huge thank you to all who participated and to the judges for taking the time to review the over 80 posters that were submitted; each of the posters was judged independently by at least three faculty members. We are also grateful to the support staff Jessica Novia and Mary Roberts for organizing the event.  

Click here to learn about this year's winners and to view the list of judges.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has approved the expansion of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowships. Gastroenterology and Hepatology will expand from 9 fellows this year to 12 fellows by academic year 2026-2027, Hospice and Palliative Care will expand from 1 to 2 fellows for academic year 2024-2025, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine will expand from 9 fellows this year to 12 fellows by academic year 2026-2027. 

The fellowships’ program directors Krunal Patel, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, and William Wong, DO, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, were instrumental in moving these proposals forward. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Sandeep Jubbal, MD, assistant professor of medicine in Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Nancy Lee, MD, assistant professor of medicine in Hospital Medicine, Christopher Marshall, MD, clinical chief and assistant professor of medicine in Gastroenterology, and David Cachia, MD, associate professor of medicine in Hematology and Oncology, for graduating from the Physician Leadership Development Program on Friday, May 5, 2023. As part of their final project within the PLDP, they each presented a business proposal for a new service to UMass leadership, with the goal of obtaining funding. We are thrilled to announce that all their projects were funded! 

Dr. Jubbal’s proposal “Leveraging Existing Digital Tools for Sustainable Mental Health Care”, aims to provide an automated, standardized, and empathic MyChart message to patients struggling with mental health after their discharge, directing them to a UMass Memorial Health website which will streamline access to psychiatric care. The website will link to area outpatient mental health centers to arrange intake appointments in-person or through telehealth. The hope is that this proposal becomes a national model for suicide prevention innovation. Other key personnel for this proposal include Drs. Christian Klauke, Department of Emergency Medicine, and Brian Daly, Department of Psychiatry. 

Dr. Lee’s proposal “Integration of Social Determinants of Health Screening to Inpatient Workflows”, is to pilot an inpatient social determinants of health (SDOH) screening project to help identify barriers to the process, gain feedback from stakeholders, and ensure successful integration of standardized early SDOH screening processes into UMass inpatient workflows. She explains that UMass has already implemented SDOH screening in many ambulatory clinics, however, these screenings are not used on the inpatient side. Successful implementation of inpatient SDOH screening has the potential to improve patient flow and long-term patient outcomes. Other key personnel for this proposal include Drs. Rita Khodosh, Department of Dermatology, and Thi Hong Van Do, Tri-River Primary Care.

Dr. Marshall’s proposal “Walk and Roll Program: Enhanced Recovery by Early Ambulation,” aims to launch an early mobilization program for transplant patients within UMass. Current barriers to ambulation after transplant procedures include a lack of equipment and expertise, and competing priorities throughout the clinic, making early and intensive ambulation a low priority. By developing an early intensive patient ambulation program, Dr. Marshall and his colleagues hope to decrease the need for post-acute inpatient rehabilitation and reduce the length of stay at the hospital. Other key personnel for this proposal include Drs. Matthew McCauley, Chair of Quality Improvement, Division of Hospital Medicine, and Babak Movahedi, Chief of Transplant, UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Dr. Cachia’s proposal “STAY Interview for Physician Retention,” aims to implement a new interview process to help increase physician retention. The goal is to identify any concerns of physicians earlier on to build employee engagement and loyalty, improve employee retention, build trust between employees and managers, and foster a positive workplace culture. By interviewing physicians with this new process, Dr. Cachia and colleagues hope the data gathered can then be used to expand the pilot study to a system-wide initiative. Other key personnel for this proposal include Drs. Muriel Cleary, Pediatric Surgery, Brandon Smoller, Department of Anesthesiology, and Xiaofei Wang, Department of Pathology.  

Rahul Sood, MD, clinician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, was recently interviewed on Boston 25 News, where he discussed a new procedure at UMass that enables doctors to diagnose and remove cancerous tumors in the same day. 

Dr. Sood, along with thoracic surgeon Dr. Mark Maxfield, and pathologist Dr. Andrew Fisher discuss a robotic procedure called RODAT (robotic, one anesthetic diagnosis and treatment) that can diagnose and remove cancerous lung tumors in patients within the course of about three to four hours. The procedure begins with a pulmonologist, in this case, Dr. Sood, performing a robotic bronchoscopy to view and biopsy the tumor. “With the robotic bronchoscopy procedure, we can get much deeper into the lung tissue than we were able to do with prior equipment,” stated Dr. Sood. The sample is then promptly analyzed by UMass pathologists to determine a diagnosis, and if it is cancerous, providers can operate and remove the tumor in the same day. UMass was the first health care system in New England to perform this type of procedure.  

Learn more.

Since its launch in 2021, the Program in Digital Medicine has quickly gone from a start-up program that met critical needs for innovative at-home testing and care solutions during the pandemic, to a program that is now opening doors to revolutionary digital medicine research, clinical applications, collaborations, and a synergistic relationship with UMass Memorial Health’s Center for Digital Health Solutions.  

In the Spring 2023 issue of @umasschan magazine, PDM leadership describe the path they have taken thus far, key initiatives, challenges, and opportunities as they look toward the future. “It’s really about problem-solving…It’s about listening to patients, engaging populations, addressing inequities, and driving improvement. We want to turn the tables on technology and make it so that our patients, our sons and daughters and parents, have the health care systems and tools that they need. We might be wildly ambitious, but I think that if we leave health care a little bit healthier through our work in the digital world, that would be a wonderful deliverable for us at UMass Chan,” said David McManus, MD, ScM, chair and professor of medicine.

Read the article and learn more about the Program in Digital Medicine team. 

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we feature Alessandro Colletta, MD, a third-year Internal Medicine resident, originally from San Maurizio D’Opaglio, a small town in northern Italy. He will be one of the chief residents in 2023-2024. We recently caught up with Dr. Colletta to learn more about his clinical and research interests, his involvement in the Diversity Action Council, and more.

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Offdan Narvaez-Guerra, MD, a fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine, from Arequipa, a city in the Andean Highlands of southern Peru. We recently caught up with Dr. Narvaez-Guerra to learn more about his work, why he chose UMass, and more. 

Read the full spotlight.

Frail geriatric patients are vulnerable to acute stressors including hospitalizations. They can become more vulnerable when they transition from one environment to another and need additional support when recovering from acute stressors. When patients go home from the hospital, they usually receive a follow-up telephone call within 48-72 hours of their discharge from the primary care or geriatric clinic as part of transitional care management. During this brief call, nurses check to see how the patients are doing. Although this call provides a touchpoint, there is no face-to-face assessment which can make it difficult to determine how the patient is adjusting to the transition back home. The majority of these patients then receive home health services for about 3-4 weeks which may include nursing care, physical therapy, and/or occupational therapy and a one-time visit with their primary care provider. When the home health services are complete, their follow-up care generally comes to an end. While paperwork from the home health visits is transmitted to the primary care and geriatrics clinics at the conclusion of their care, there is generally no other communication with providers, unless there is a serious problem. Thus, it is difficult for primary care and geriatric providers to assess whether or not the patient has made progress since their hospitalization. 

 In an effort to provide better coordinated and patient-centered care during the transition period, Stephanie Sison, MD, a geriatrician working at the Benedict Adult Primary Care Clinic and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and Kouta Ito, MD, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine in the Divisions of Geriatrics and Health Systems Science, are planning to partner with Mobile Integrated Health (MIH), a team of specially trained paramedics at UMass, to address the gaps in care between discharge and when home health services begin, as well as follow up after home health services are complete. The concept is that after frail geriatric patients are released from the hospital, MIH will go to the patient’s home within 48 hours to complete a medical and geriatric assessment and fill the gaps in care before home health services commence. In addition to the typical medical assessment which happens during post-discharge follow-up, the geriatric evaluation will include assessment of fall risk, safety, cognitive status (presence of delirium), medication appropriateness and adherence, and social support. When home health services are complete, MIH will return to the patient’s home to conduct a follow-up visit, assess their progress, and address needs that may have come up after their clinic visit and after discharge from home health services. During these visits, the MIH team will be in direct contact with the primary care or geriatric providers to discuss patient needs based on their assessment. The main goal of this collaborative initiative is to provide additional support for frail older adults in their recovery phase after an acute stressor, filling in the gaps that have been observed to commonly exist when older adults transition from hospital to home, ultimately improving patient outcomes such as reducing the incidence of rehospitalization.  

Dr. Sison anticipates this collaborative initiative will launch at the end of June.  

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Mayra Tisminetzky, MD, PhD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine in the Divisions of Health Systems Science and Geriatrics. She also holds a secondary appointment in population and quantitative health sciences.  

Dr. Tisminetzky’s research focuses on the epidemiology of aging and cardiovascular diseases with a specific focus on addressing the management and clinical outcomes of older adults with multiple chronic conditions. In her spotlight, we highlight some of her recent and prominent projects, and her dedicated work teaching medical, nursing, and graduate students at UMass Chan.

Learn more about Dr. Tisminetzky.

Chinmay Trivedi, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Harish Janardhan, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Trivedi lab, and Roy Jung, a PhD student in the Trivedi lab, recently had their work published in Circulation Research.

Their review titled “Lymphatic System in Organ Development, Function, and Regeneration” focuses on the functionality and importance of the lymphatic systems in the body’s immune defense against pathogens, fluid homeostasis in the extracellular regions, transport of nutrients and signaling molecules to the blood, and tissue growth.  

Learn more.

Vandana Nagpal, MD, associate professor of medicine and associate chief, and Jennifer Reidy, MD, the Joy McCann Professor for Women in Medicine, associate professor of medicine and chief – both in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, along with colleagues from Neurology, recently had their study, “Improving Access to Specialist Palliative Care for Patients with Catastrophic Strokes Using Best Practice Advisory – a Feasibility Study,” published in The Neurohospitalist.  

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in the United States but palliative care utilization in stroke is low compared to other diseases such as cancer, heart failure, and liver and renal disease. Palliative care is recommended by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to help patients and families navigating life-altering stroke, but studies have shown that only a small fraction of patients receive palliative care consultation. 

In this quality improvement project, the study team developed a Best Practice Advisory (BPA) that was delivered through Epic, for patients with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of greater/equal to 20 (patients with higher scores are less likely to recover and are considered critically ill). The BPA served as a reminder to the primary stroke team to consider a goals-of-care discussion and consultation with the palliative care service for these patients and prompted a needs assessment for the whole interdisciplinary team. The goal of this project was to study how the BPA was intervened upon by care teams and whether it increased palliative care consultations in stroke patients. 

Results showed the BPA triggered accurately in Epic for all patients with an NIHSS score greater than/equal to 20 and palliative care consultations resulting from the BPA increased from the first year of implementation to the next two years. More work needs to be done to refine the parameters of how the BPA is triggered but ultimately, this intervention could be an important way to address unmet needs of stroke patients and their families in the neurocritical care setting. 

Read more.

Hong Yu, PhD, adjunct professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and the director of the Center of Biomedical and Health Research in Data Sciences (CHORDS) at UMass Lowell, recently led a study, “Associations Between Natural Language Processing–Enriched Social Determinants of Health and Suicide Death Among US Veterans,” that was published in JAMA Network Open. Here, investigators studied the link between suicide risk among veterans and social determinants of health (SDOH), such as housing instability, financial problems, and violence. The findings revealed how natural language processing (NLP), a form of artificial intelligence, can be used to analyze available information about social determinants of health, which leads to better suicide risk assessment and prevention. 

The study team developed an NLP that could extract SDOH from unstructured clinical notes in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration’s electronic health records, a first of its kind study at a large scale. Using the data, researchers were able to better identify patients at risk of suicide based on their social determinants of health and providers could then share appropriate resources with patients. Although this study was conducted with veterans, it is expected that the results would translate to the general population as well.  

About CHORDS 
The UMass Lowell Center of Biomedical and Health Research in Data Sciences (CHORDS) conducts cutting-edge informatics research to accelerate biomedical and healthcare discoveries through innovative computational methods and technologies in information science, data science and translational science. David McManus, MD, the Richard M. Haidack Professor in Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine, serves as a co-director of CHORDS. 

Read more.

Honghuang Lin, PhD, FAHA, professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and a director in the Program in Digital Medicine, recently spoke with the Telegram & Gazette about a study he is leading that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify early signs of cognitive decline that could be linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study is a partnership between UMass Chan Medical School and Linus Health, with the aim that early detection of cognitive decline can prompt faster treatment, potentially slowing down the disease’s progression.

Using a clock-drawing test, patients are asked to draw a clock on an iPad, rather than using pen and paper. “A traditional test might miss subtle imperfections in the lines drawn or placement of numbers in the clock. AI not only captures that information but also pools the results from all study participants to identify trends that could unlock patterns in early cognitive decline,” Dr. Lin explained to the T&G.Additionally, the study team asks patients to recall three words at the end of the exam, take a 32-question lifestyle survey, and receive a brain health action plan based on their responses. The answers to the questions are then used to recommend various lifestyle changes that can improve brain health. Dr. Lin explains that using the AI exam is much faster than traditional exams, with results within minutes. The immediate results can then be used to develop action and care plans for patients.

Jeevarathna Subramanian, MD, associate professor of medicine and a primary care physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine commented, “The goal is to potentially introduce the AI test into primary care practices worldwide.” The study team hopes to test 150 patients through this summer and that this work will lead to a broader clinical trial to further test this AI technology in the future. 

Read more.

In this month’s Trainee Spotlight, we feature Liraz Galia, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Kate Fitzgerald, PhD, professor of medicine, associate vice provost for basic science research, vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine, chief of the Division of Innate Immunity and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, Samantha Tse, MD/PhD student in the lab of Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and Kevin Gao, MD/PhD student in the labs of Dr. Fitzgerald and Ann Marshak-Rothstein, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology. They were the recipients of the inaugural RISE: The Robert W. Finberg, MD Memorial Research Training Awards and presented their research at Innate Immunity Day 2023: Mechanisms and Methods of Cell Death on Wednesday, May 10. 

Learn more about each trainee by clicking their names below.

Liraz Galia, PhD.
Samantha Tse.
Kevin Gao.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, we highlight the work of Milka Koupenova, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.  

Dr. Koupenova’s research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underline platelet-mediated immune response during viral infections and how this response contributes to cardiovascular disease.

Learn more about Dr. Koupenova.

Shawna Steadman, MS, RN, ACNP, a provider in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, and instructor in nursing, was recently invited to speak to staff at Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital in Worcester, on the topic of basic primary palliative care skills. She discussed how to manage symptoms of serious illness, support patients and their families through serious illness, and have serious illness discussions centered around setting goals. 

Learn more about Ms. Steadman.

Elizabeth Murphy, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Primary Care Residency Track, recently presented her poster, “Tapping into the Experience and Expertise of Established General Internal Medicine Leaders to Keep Residents Engaged in Pursuing Primary Care Careers,” at the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) 2023 Annual Meeting in Austin, TX, where she was the poster competition winner for her Programmatic Innovation Poster.  

Dr. Murphy’s poster describes the Benedict Leaders Clinic which was established to help keep trainees on the path to pursuing primary care careers. Previously, some trainees who had intended on pursuing a career in primary care changed their plans due to challenges they faced in their continuity clinics. As part of the Benedict Leaders Clinic, each intern is paired with a general internal medicine leader who has a critical role in leadership throughout the clinical system and medical school, with the goal of acquiring career skills and gaining mentors. They found at the end of the second year of their program, 6 out of 8 residents intended to continue pursuing primary care careers and for the first time in years, many categorical and Chief residents also intended to continue pursuing primary care careers. 

Learn more. 

Rebecca Kowaloff, DO, a provider in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, recently published an article in the Journal of the National Medical Association, titled “Even at the End of Life, Patients of Color are Denied Equity.” Here, Dr. Kowaloff discusses racial disparities in end-of-life care for people of color. She explains that racial and ethnic minority patients often have life-limiting illnesses diagnosed at later stages, which are less aggressively managed due to decreased access to healthcare and providers minimizing complaints.  

“Many of the reasons for this disparity are socioeconomic, relating to healthcare access and social support for medical decision-making and home caregiving. However, these deficiencies combine with healthcare providers’ implicit biases against racial and ethnic minorities’ ability to understand complex medical decision-making,” states Dr. Kowaloff. Patients who are not given the necessary care information are then forced into potentially harmful medical interventions. Dr. Kowaloff further explains that cultural values and expectations, such as spiritual beliefs and language barriers, are also large factors in end-of-life care differences between white patients and patients of color. When clashing with the view of healthcare providers, these factors can hinder progress toward culturally sensitive care.  

Learn more. 

Left to Right: Katherine Conlon, Candice Dufour, Ibriz Moonim, Maritza Vazquez-Byrnes, Kaity Lewis, Tina Peladeau, Karen Griffin, Kristen Fuhrmann, Gary Sadusky, Julie Schutz, Rose Doherty, Maureen Mayfield, Sierra Williams, Jaime Restic, Karen D'Amico

Administrative staff members from the Department of Medicine gathered on Wednesday, April 26, to celebrate Administrative Professionals' Day and enjoy breakfast treats and coffee with fellow colleagues.

We thank all of our staff for their hard work and dedication to the department!

The Department of Medicine's Spring Town Hall was held on Monday, May 1. Below are a few highlights.

We celebrated the achievements of Greg Leslie, MD, assistant professor of medicine and clinical chief of Hospital Medicine, Jenna L'Heureux, NP, Gastroenterology, Mary Stanley, NP, Cardiovascular Medicine, Melissa Schnauber, LPN, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Michelle Drew, clinic manager, Tri-River, Kristen Fuhrmann, administrative coordinator, Innate Immunity, and Sandra Durand, clinic manager, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. Congratulations to all the awardees!

We heard from Department of Medicine leadership who discussed goals for mission areas during the upcoming year. Deborah Blazey-Martin, MD, MPH, vice chair for Ambulatory Care, Yoel Carrasquillo-Vega, MD, MBA, director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and Rick Forster, MD, vice chair for Professional Development, each gave a presentation and took time for questions. At the Fall Town Hall, we will hear from vice chairs, Drs. Kate Fitzgerald, Kim Eisenstock, and PY Fan about their research, clinical care, and education goals, respectively.

We also heard about professional development opportunities for faculty, clinicians, and staff, the Department of Medicine’s updated Core Values, upcoming events, and more!

If you missed the Town Hall, we encourage you to watch the recording or view the slides below. 

Click here to view the slides.
Click here to view the Town Hall recording.

In this month’s Resident Spotlight, we feature Julia Hyman, MD, a third-year Internal Medicine resident, originally from Newton, MA. Dr. Hyman is recognized for going above and beyond for her patients, approaching them with great professionalism and kindness. One of her many accomplishments is that she helped plan a wedding for a patient in palliative care, who expressed the wish to be married before they passed away. 

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Anila Zainab Medina, MD, MPH, a fellow in Geriatric Medicine, originally from Karachi, Pakistan. In late April, we caught up with Dr. Medina to learn more about her work, an incredible trip that she took to Iceland, and her favorite author.  

Read the full spotlight.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Sunita Puri, MD, MS, director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine. She is also a writer of nonfiction and memoir.

Read the full spotlight.

Congratulations to Sandra Durand, clinic manager in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, for winning a department staff award.

Congratulations to Michelle Drew, clinic manager at Tri-River, for winning a department staff award.

Congratulations to Melissa Schnauber, licensed practical nurse, in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, for winning an advanced practitioner achievement award.

Congratulations to Mary Stanley, nurse practitioner in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine for winning an advanced practitioner achievement award.

Congratulations to Jenna L'Heureux, nurse practitioner in the Division of Gastroenterology for winning an advanced practitioner achievement award.

Congratulations to Greg Leslie, MD, clinical chief in the Division of Hospital Medicine, for winning a faculty achievement award.

The Department of Medicine Clinical Research Core staff, in conjunction with the UMass Chan Volunteer Program, was proud to send a group of hard-working volunteers to City View Discovery elementary school to help stock supplies for students in their new food pantry, “The Eagle’s Nest.” One hundred percent of the City View’s 430 students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and this new pantry will be accessible to all of the students. This opportunity to give back to the community was organized by the Juniper Helps Organization, an outreach project that distributes food and basic supplies through local schools to families in need. 

Learn more about this collaborative community partnership.

Sanjay Ram, MD, and Peter Rice, MD, both professors of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, were recently featured in a UMass Chan News article describing the risk of a novel gonorrhea strain in Massachusetts.

January 19, 2023, two cases of multidrug-non susceptible Neisseria gonorrhoeae were detected, in which five classes of the strain were resistant to six of the seven antibiotics tested. Although ceftriaxone is available to treat gonorrhea, Dr. Ram explains the importance of performing cultures on patients in order to identify and screen asymptomatic cases to treat and stop the spread of the new strain. Without proper screenings, the strain could accumulate more resistant mutations as it is passed from one person to another. Dr. Rice explains that the lack of cultures being performed in the U.S. is why the strain can mutate and continue to survive. To help combat the spread of gonorrhea, Drs. Ram and Rice encourage patients to be forthcoming with their providers about their sexual history, especially teenagers and young adults.

Jason Pitarresi, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, has been accepted into the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 NextGen Stars Program. The program provides an exciting opportunity to increase the visibility of early-career scientists at the AACR Annual Meeting and to support their professional development and advancement. Dr. Pitarresi will present at the AACR meeting today, April 19, in Orlando, Florida. 

Learn more.

Laura Gibson, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, was recently interviewed and featured in the STAT article, “Often Overlooked, a Common Infection During Pregnancy Kickstarts a Conversation About Newborn Screening,” for her work on Cytomegalovirus (CMV). 

CMV is a virus that once infected, is retained by the body for life. Although common, CMV can be especially harmful to a fetus, increasing the risk of stillbirth, and neurodevelopmental delays and disabilities, including cerebral palsy, seizures, vision impairment, and progressive hearing loss.

In the article, Dr. Gibson explains that CMV is often a progressive disease and describes it as a “constant interaction between the virus and the immune system.” She further explains that whatever is found in testing at birth can worsen over time for the child and live with them for life. To date, there are no tests that can determine active CMV infection in a mother during pregnancy, however, physicians like Dr. Gibson are actively fighting for CMV screenings to help protect newborns impacted by the virus. 

Learn more.

Nancy Anoruo, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine and director of innovation for the Program in Digital Medicine, and Neil Marya, MD were recently interviewed by the Telegram & Gazette, about AI’s impact on jobs and its current and future applications at UMass Chan and UMass Memorial Health. The article, “Artificial intelligence: Job killer or creator in Worcester,” describes its current use in the UMMH Hospital at Home program as well as plans for research studies using AI to identify patients at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and diabetic retinopathy.  

While the article touched upon the inevitable loss of some jobs, Dr. Anuruo highlighted the benefits, including the potential for economic growth within medicine. She noted, “AI is opening doors. Maybe it will replace limited things, but it will also expand what we do and understand.”

Read more.

Neil Marya, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, and a director in the Program in Digital Medicine, was recently featured in an article published in the Worcester Business Journal titled, “Diagnosing AI: Healthcare community excited, wary of artificial intelligence.” In the article, Dr. Marya discusses how artificial intelligence technologies are being used to potentially reshape the way diagnoses are made, current limitations, and his hopes for the future.  

Dr. Marya is researching new diagnostic tools for pancreatic and bile duct cancers, which, through observational use, have shown promise. “We’re not acting on the AI right now. It’s just in the background, and we are understanding how it works in these cases,” said Dr. Marya. With the use of artificial intelligence (AI), these tools can learn to diagnose cancer, but it is not yet enough to rely on for definitive diagnoses. Although AI has been able to make a diagnosis before a pathologist in some cases, there have been false negatives in other cases. He also explains that there is the possibility that AI might not perform as accurately when placed into practice with different demographic groups. “I love the research we’re doing; and I’m really passionate about it, and I trust it; but I think we need to be measured with how we approach this,” Dr. Marya said. “It’s really important to do this right.” 

The research and AI technology are continuously evolving and Dr. Marya said that patients and their families are not as skeptical as one might expect. “If there was a better way, a more accurate way to get a diagnosis sooner, they're all for it,” he said. “A lot of people, for good and bad, I think they just want the most accurate diagnosis done as soon as possible. And however that's done, I think people just want the best results.” 

Read more.

The Program in Innate Immunity (PII) is thrilled to announce the winners of the RISE: The Robert W. Finberg, MD Memorial Research Training Awards. The purpose of these awards is to encourage our students and post-doctoral scholars to produce highly competitive research in honor of the late Robert W. Finberg. 

The PII would like to thank the faculty who participated in the independent review panel. We appreciate their time and efforts!  

The following trainees have been named as the inaugural awardees: 

Liraz Galia, PhD, postdoctoral awardee, Fitzgerald Lab 
Project title: The LncRNA HOXA11os Regulates Mitochondrial Function in Myeloid Cells to Maintain Intestinal Homeostasis 

Kevin Gao, MD/PhD student, student awardee, Fitzgerald and Rothstein Labs 
Project title: STING-Mediated Autoinflammation in Endothelial Cells Initiates Interstitial Lung Disease 

Samantha Tse, MD/PhD student, student awardee, Pukkila-Worley Lab 
Project title: Non-Canonical Pattern Recognition by a Nuclear Hormone Receptor Identifies Virulent Bacteria in C. elegans 

RISE awardees have been invited to present their research at Innate Immunity Day 2023. 

Congratulations Liraz, Kevin, and Samantha! 

Matthew Hemming, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, and his team are studying a sarcoma known as a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), in search of a potential treatment. In his study, “MOZ and Menin-MLL Complexes are Complementary Regulators of Chromatin Association and Transcriptional Output in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor,” published in Cancer Discovery, Dr. Hemming and his team worked to knock out GIST cell lines using the gene-editing tool known as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), with the goal of searching for genes essential to the cells’ survival. They discovered that GIST cells depend upon the gene regulatory complexes MOZ and Menin-MLL to live, and the suppression of these complexes decreases GIST cell multiplication. According to Dr. Hemming and his team, the results define unique chromatin regulatory dependencies in GIST and identify potential therapeutic strategies for clinical use.   

Read more.

Nancy McCool, LICSW, AHPSW-C, ACHP-SW, a social worker in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, along with her team, have implemented a new program to train hospital social workers to conduct earlier care conversations with patients using the Serious Illness Conversation Guide. Nancy and her team created this program with the goal of adding to the skillset of social workers in conversation, family dynamics, and resource management, with a structured format for having earlier care conversations with patients. By implementing this program, social workers will be able to bring information from these conversations to the medical team earlier in the patient’s hospital course and disease trajectory. 

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. In a recent episode of Voices of UMass Chan, Roberto Caricchio, MD, the Myles J. McDonough Chair of Rheumatology, professor of medicine, and chief of the Division of Rheumatology, describes a new lupus program launching at UMass Chan in collaboration with UMass Memorial. 

Listen to the podcast.

Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Fellowship, and provider in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, had her Opinion Guest Essay, “As a Doctor, I Know Being Ready to Die Is an Illusion,” published in the New York Times on March 29, 2023. Here, Dr. Puri explores a physician’s expectations and response to the intricacies and complexity of patients coming to terms (or not) with dying.  

Read her essay. 

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Elena Byhoff, MD, MSc, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine with research activities in the Division of Health Systems Science. 

Dr. Byhoff is a primary care physician and researcher whose focus is on reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for her patients through screening for social needs in the clinical setting and establishing partnerships between health care and community organizations. By engaging relevant stakeholders, her goals are to partner with historically marginalized communities to implement evidence-based interventions that may help alleviate negative Health Related Social Needs (HRSN), which can have an impact on an individual’s physical and mental health across the lifespan. 

Read the full spotlight. 

The RA-PROPR study is a pragmatic clinical trial designed to address the question of what the best next choice of treatment is for a patient with active rheumatoid arthritis despite TNF inhibitor therapy, a non-TNF biologic, or a JAK inhibitor. Presently, this treatment decision is made without any evidence from a comparative effectiveness study. Patients participating in RA-PROPR are randomized to receive either a non-TNF biologic or a JAK inhibitor and are followed by their treating provider, in the context of routine clinical care, to assess response to treatment over 12 months.  

UMass Chan is one of 26 sites in this multicenter clinical trial, which is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcome Research Institute (PCORI) and coordinated by the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). Jonathan Kay MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, and the Timothy S. and Elaine L. Peterson Chair in Rheumatology, serves on the steering committee for this clinical trial and as site principal investigator, with Drs. Mauricio Leitao and Mohan Pahari of the DoM Research Core as its outstanding study coordinators. 

While the UMass Chan site began enrollment six months after other sites, the team has already enrolled five subjects as of March 1, 2023, is presently the fifth highest enrolling site overall, and is the second highest enrolling academic site (after UAB, which has enrolled only one more patient than UMass Chan). The UMass Chan site is poised to enroll two additional subjects, which will advance them to the position of the third highest enrolling site overall in the study. 

Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, and MD/PhD students Nicholas D. Peterson and Samantha Y. Tse, recently had a study published in Immunity, titled “Non-canonical pattern recognition of a pathogen-derived metabolite by a nuclear hormone receptor identifies virulent bacteria in C. elegans.”  

The study aims to detect microbial infection that intercepts pathogen-derived signals of growth to assess the relative threat of virulent bacteria. A nuclear hormone receptor in the nematode C. elegans senses a toxic metabolite produced by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to activate innate immunity. This data reveals an ancient strategy that informs the origins of pathogen detection and may be among the most primordial forms of immune sensing in animals.  

Atrial fibrillation (AF) currently affects up to six million Americans with 12 million projected by 2050. AF is particularly prevalent in long-term care (LTC) facilities (i.e. nursing homes) ranging from 7.5% to 17%. Over 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or Alzheimer’s Disease-related dementias (ADRD). AD/ADRD co-occurs with AF 60% of the time in LTC residents. Research linking the development of AD and ADRD to AF has emerged recently, however, the impact of treatments for AF on LTC residents with co-occurring AF and AD/ADRD is not understood. Recent evidence has emerged that anticoagulation (AC), the main treatment for AF, may prevent cognitive impairment and slow further cognitive decline in individuals with existing AD/ADRD. Weighing against the benefits, however, are several burdens of AC on LTC residents including major bleeding episodes (requiring hospitalizations and procedures to control bleeding) and more frequently, nonmajor bleeding episodes which lead to trips to the emergency department. 

Alok Kapoor, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, and his team, recently received funding from the Alzheimer’s Association to investigate the benefits and burdens of AC in LTC residents with co-occurring AF and AD/ADRD. First, they will measure these benefits and burdens using merged Medicare datasets. Then, they will develop a conversation aid (CA) to promote discussions between LTC providers and residents with AF and AD/ADRD about the risks and benefits of AC. With their findings, the team hopes to foster shared AC decision-making between providers and their LTC residents with co-occurring AF and AD/ADRD. 

Jennifer Kodela, DO, a second-year Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellow, has developed a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Medical Education (PCCM) track under the mentorship of Reid Evans, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and education specialist.   

The two-year, longitudinal curriculum is designed to develop skills in teaching, mentoring, and scholarship for those interested in pursuing a career as an educator in academic medicine. The curriculum consists of a short lecture series that occurs twice a year, supported by supplemental lectures offered by visiting speakers. In addition, fellows are expected to participate in authentic teaching practices, which involve standardized feedback, reflective practice, and experimental learning through committee participation and projects aimed at curriculum design. Fellows are also expected to complete a medical education portfolio by the end of the track and are encouraged to pursue scholarships throughout the two years.   

In total, five fellows are currently participating in or planning to join the track. There are six PCCM faculty members involved in the track, all of whom have completed the required trainings and are engaged in providing standardized feedback. The track offers core lectures for the residency and fellowship and is engaged in active projects directed at curriculum development and design. These projects include the revision of the VISTA curriculum respiratory block, the creation of the medical school ICU selective, and the development of the ECMO curriculum.   

In addition to her work on the PCCM track, Dr. Kodela was recently recognized for excelling in the care of a patient. The patient’s family expressed deep gratitude for Dr. Kodela, whom they said provided incredible physical care and treated their loved one with respect, compassion, and patience.  

We are grateful to Dr. Kodela for her many contributions to the Department of Medicine.  

Lara Kovell, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, is senior author on the study “Social Determinants, Blood Pressure Control, and Racial Inequities in Childbearing Age Women With Hypertension, 2001 to 2018,” which was featured in a special “Go Red for Women” issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association in late February.  

Dr. Kovell and her team aimed to understand the health inequities in maternal mortality for women from under-represented racial and ethnic groups. The focus of the study was to evaluate blood pressure control and social determinants of health in women of childbearing potential with hypertension. Dr. Kovell concluded that black women of childbearing age were more than twice as likely to have uncontrolled blood pressure than white women of similar age. In addition, food insecurity was found to be one of the common social factors that may affect high blood pressure risk. 

The liver transplant team, part of the UMass Memorial Transplant Program, was recently recognized for performing their one-thousandth liver transplant at the medical center. This milestone was featured on CBS News Boston in early February, in a story highlighting the patient who received the transplant.  

"Our patients are fortunate to have access to high-quality transplant services in Central Massachusetts from a dedicated multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, and support staff. The transplant team has been a model for teamwork across divisions, departments, and disciplines. While 1,000 liver transplants is a momentous milestone for our program, I am most excited to see what great things are yet to come from this group," stated Christopher Marshall, MD, clinical chief and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology. 

Savant Mehta, MD, transplant hepatologist and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, added: “The initiation of liver transplant in 1998 at UMass Memorial Healthcare was a landmark event and helped to fulfill our mission of improving the health of the people of our diverse communities of Central New England through culturally sensitive excellence in clinical care, service, teaching, and research. I was privileged to be a part of this initiative from its very early stages and I am happy to report that completing 1,000 liver transplants at UMass is a step in the direction of fulfilling this mission and we hope to continue to improve and enhance this further over the coming years.”  

We applaud the transplant program for achieving this milestone and look forward to its many continued successes. 

Gisela Banauch, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, was recently featured in a blog by the American College of Chest Physicians.

In the blog titled "Improve Your Skills at the Bedside with CHEST's Thorough Ultrasound Courses," Dr. Banauch explains the importance of Ultrasonography courses, as they "provide an important supplementary pathway to reach competence in both knowledgeable interpretation and skillful application of this new bedside technology."

Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Fellowship, and provider in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, was recently featured in an article by Yahoo News on former President Jimmy Carter's decision to “spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care.”

With hospice care often being misunderstood, Dr. Puri explains common misconceptions as well as the importance of the service and its benefits to patients.

Laura Gibson, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, was recently featured in a Voices of UMass Chan podcast, where she discussed her upcoming study with Moderna to investigate Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and its transmission in group childcare settings. CMV is a common virus and is often mild in healthy adults and children. However, CMV acquired before birth, known as Congenital CMV, can lead to severe infection in infants. Early studies show that the transmission of this type of disease is specifically common in group childcare and early childhood education settings, making the transmission from children to pregnant mothers easier. 

In the study titled “CMV Immune Transmission and Immune Tracking,” Dr. Gibson aims to collect saliva samples from children currently in group childcare or early education settings to examine how many children per facility are already infected with the disease. For stage two of the study, Dr. Gibson plans to enroll additional children and family members at various childcare locations in the study, with the goal of understanding the transmission of CMV in group childcare settings and how to reduce the risk factors of CMV. 

 Congratulations to Jessica Novia, project manager of the Administrative Services Group (ASG), for winning a staff award.

 Congratulations to Bridget Breault, program coordinator, in the Division of Renal Medicine, for winning a staff award.

 Congratulations to Lindsey Shanahan, PA, Bone Marrow Transplant, Division of Hematology/Oncology, for winning an APP citizenship award. 

 Congratulations to Caitlin Alves, PA, Division of Hospital Medicine, for winning an APP citizenship award. 

 Congratulations to Jonathan Min, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, for winning a faculty citizenship award. 

 Congratulations to Constantinos (Taki) Michaelidis, MD, MBA, MS, medical director, Hospital at Home Program, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, for winning a faculty citizenship award. 

Several faculty members in the Department of Medicine were recently awarded Digital Health Insights (DIGI) Grants from UMass Memorial Health’s Center for Digital Health Solutions (CDHS). The program provides grants to health care providers in support of novel approaches for the use of digital health technologies that have a positive impact on quality, efficiency, patient and/or provider engagement, health equity, or financial outcomes. 

Faculty in the Department of Medicine were awarded the following DIGI Grants: 

Asem Ali, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, for “Utility & Feasibility of Continuous Glucose Monitoring for Insulin Dosing and Improving Glucose Control in Hospitalized Patients.” 

Madona Azar, MD, provider in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, for “Use of GLP1-RA's in patients with diabetes and established ASCVD: Underutilization and proposal to improve adherence to standards of care.” 

Jonathan Cheah, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, for “Optimizing Prescription of Proven Therapies for Osteoporosis.” 

Eric Cucchi, EICU, and John Mordes, MD, professor emeritus in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, for "Continuous Glucose Monitoring in the ICU: Validation & Implementation."

Michael Devine, DO, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, for “Improving Discharge by Noon and Discharge by 2:00 p.m.”

Matthew Greenwood, MD, provider in the Division of Hospital Medicine, for “An Epic Upgrade for the Transitional Care Team: Incorporating the Hospital Medicine Patient Triaging System Into the Current Electronic Medical Record.” 

Matthew Niemi, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Renal Medicine and Konstantin Abramov, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Renal Medicine for “Optimizing Medical Therapy for Diabetic Kidney Disease.” 

Khanh-Van Tran, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, for “Advanced Lipid Lowering Therapeutics.” 

Jeevarathna Subramanian, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, along with Jamie Faro, PhD, from the Department of Population & Quantitative Health Sciences, is leading a small pilot study at UMass Chan Medical School that will help determine how to effectively integrate patient wearable device data into electronic health records. This remote study also aims to allow providers to help patients set and monitor physical activities and fitness goals.  

The study will equip patients with a Fitbit, which syncs the Apple HealthKit mobile app to patient portal electronic health records. Focusing on tracking the number of steps each patient takes per day, researchers will use this data to determine how providers want to receive notifications about their patients’ device data, how often they want to communicate with the patient regarding the data, and how to provide goal-setting strategies.  

Learn more.

Deborah DeMarco, MD, professor of medicine, senior associate dean for clinical affairs, and associate dean for graduate medical education has dedicated over 30 years of service to the mission and growth of the Department of Medicine and UMass Chan Medical School and now has announced her retirement in June 2023.  

Dr. DeMarco’s service to our institution has been exemplary and highly impactful to the growth and success of our GME programs. Her commitment to making these programs more inclusive, supportive, and well-structured has strengthened our ability to continue to recruit top-tier students to our institute.  

Of her time in GME, Dr. DeMarco recently remarked, “I have been associate dean since 2001 and it has been the most rewarding career I could have ever wished for. The people I have worked and collaborated with in both the school and clinical system, and the variety of issues we deal with in the GME office have made every day different and never boring. When I started in this role in 2001, we had about 42 ACGME-accredited programs and 456 residents. We have grown to 63 programs with 628 residents and fellows. In the past several years we have achieved new residency programs in urology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and just last week otorhinolaryngology so we now have the full cadre of core residency programs. Mentoring new program directors through the challenges they face and helping residents and fellows navigate their training years in a supportive environment have been some of the greatest joys in this role.”  

Beginning with her first academic leadership appointment as director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program in 1995, Dr. DeMarco has served UMass Chan as an active member and leader of important initiatives and programs. She has served on numerous committees, several of which focus on strengthening and growing GME programs through focused task forces for diversity, supporting the wellness and growth of our residents, and ongoing curriculum review and strategic planning. Specifically, her service on the GME and UMass Chan Diversity Task Forces, Woman’s Leadership Workgroup, Academic Accommodation Committee and Educational Diversity Initiatives demonstrate her long-standing dedication to the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion as they pertain to not only GME but also the greater campus community and beyond.  

Dr. DeMarco has received multiple honors and awards, including the Sarah Stone Excellence in Education Award and the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award for demonstrating excellence in overseeing residency and fellowship programs in 2021. Most recently, Dr. DeMarco was the recipient of the 2022 Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service.  

The Department of Medicine extends our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. DeMarco for her tireless work and dedication to the educational mission of our department and UMass Chan. Her work has had an important impact on countless educators and trainees during her tenure which will be felt for many years to come. We wish her all the best in her upcoming retirement later this year.  

Led by Emil Tigas, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Jodi Wilson, NP, and Kaileigh Lavin, NP, all of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, the COPD readmissions program improved upon its FY22 goal to reduce COPD readmissions to 20.5%, by achieving a rate of only 19.6% for FY22. 

The COPD readmission reduction program is a comprehensive program that identifies COPD patients at high risk for readmission and consists of collaborative evaluation and management by the Pulmonology service, COPD nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, social workers, nurse navigators, and other ancillary team members. 

Congratulations on this incredible achievement! 

Six million Americans suffer with atrial fibrillation (AF), a heart rhythm abnormality that is a major risk factor for stroke. Despite this, only 60% of eligible AF patients receive treatment, and this gap is even larger for African Americans who use anticoagulation 10-22% less frequently compared to White patients. As AF is a major risk factor for stroke, professional societies recommend anticoagulation (AC) in most patients. However, some patients are reluctant to start or continue taking AC due to onset of bleeding or other setbacks. This translates to roughly 900-2,000 preventable strokes and 180-400 preventable deaths occurring in African Americans each year. 

For these reasons, teams at UMass Chan Medical School, led by Alok Kapoor, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, and the University of Michigan, led by Geoff Barnes, MD, are partnering on Story-AF, a project dedicated to understanding the stories of African American patients who have AF and are on anticoagulant therapy. Through the project, African American patients will share their experiences, tell their stories about being diagnosed with AF and treated with anticoagulants, and share any obstacles they faced or setbacks that occurred. Researchers then plan to test the power of these stories to encourage other African American patients to take an anticoagulant to help prevent stroke and improve their overall health.

Members of the Division of Hematology/Oncology continue to demonstrate excellence in clinical care and medical education through their leadership, participation, and service in national societies and annual meetings. Division faculty recently accepted opportunities to contribute to their flagship societies, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Kriti Mittal, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology has been invited to serve as a member of the ASCO’s Digital Education Content Planning Group whose purpose is to assist with the planning of topical content in the areas of breast, lung, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers. She will also work alongside faculty to plan and develop content across all ASCO Digital Education’s educational activities. Sakiko Suzuki, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and program director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship program was accepted into ASH’s Medical Educator Institute through a national, competitive application process. This one-year program is offered for medical educators who are guided through in-person and virtual sessions, as well as longitudinal mentoring relationships with medical educator faculty, to gain hands-on experience in various aspects of medical education scholarship.

Members of the division also served as abstract reviewers and session moderators at the ASH Annual Meeting that was held this past December. In addition to his role as an abstract reviewer, Shyam Patel, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, served as the session moderator for Acute Myeloid Leukemias – Biomarkers, Molecular Markers, and Minimal Residual Disease in Diagnosis and Prognosis – Molecular Features and Response to Treatment in AML. Jonathan Gerber, MD, the Eleanor Eustis Farrington Chair in Cancer Research, professor of medicine, and chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, served as the coordinating abstract reviewer and session moderator for Acute Myeloid Leukemias – Investigational Therapies, Excluding Transplantation and Cellular Immunotherapies – Relapsed/Refractory AML. He also currently serves on ASH’s Committee on Practice, Subcommittee on Precision Medicine, and Continuing Certification Working Group, as well as the ASCO Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Trial’s Molecular Tumor Board. Additionally, Dr. Patel, Dr. Laurie Pearson, and Dr. Poorva Bindal were all first authors on abstracts presented in poster sessions at the annual ASH meeting. 

In this month’s Team Spotlight, we highlight the work of the Mission Behavioral Health Lab, which joined the Division of Health Systems Science in the fall of 2022. The lab is led by David Smelson, PsyD, professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and director of the Center of Excellence in Addiction and includes research team members Abigail Helm, PhD, research program manager, Paige Shaffer, MPH, PhD candidate, senior project director and chief data analyst, Jennifer Harter, PhD, senior project director, Michael Andre, MPH, research project director, Brooks Thompson, Kathryn Bruzios, MS, and Idalis Rivera-Ramirez, clinical research coordinators, and Kendra Caputo, Eleni Kachadoorian, Sarah Marcus, and Marinna Kaufman, clinical research assistants, as well as a dedicated team of clinical staff and students.

The Mission Behavioral Health Lab is dedicated to conducting state-of-the-art research toward advancing the understanding of the etiology, consequences, and treatment of addiction and mental health, as well as the implementation of evidence-based practices. Work in the lab includes an evidence-based intervention, called Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking (MISSION), which was developed in 2001 to specifically meet mental health, substance misuse, and other psychosocial needs of individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (CODs). MISSION combines several evidence-based practices into a system of care to address population-specific factors, provide COD treatment, and community-based support to sustain recovery.  

The Mission Behavioral Health Lab’s research includes testing other novel behavioral and pharmacological treatments, community-based treatment engagement approaches, racial and ethnic disparities in care, mobile health devices, multisite implementation trials, and examining psychiatric epidemiological research across addiction. The lab has received funding from the NIH (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Drug Abuse, and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health), Department of Veterans Affairs, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, Bureau of Justice Administration, the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, as well as several other states around the country. They have 12 federal grants including recently received funding for a 4-year grant titled “Supporting Treatment Access and Recovery for Co-occurring Opioid Use and Mental Health Disorders (STAR-COD),” as part of NIH’s The Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL Initiative).   

The Mission Behavioral Health Lab serves as an "academic incubator” for collaborations within the Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, other University of Massachusetts campuses, and beyond, and we are thrilled to welcome their group to the Division of Health Systems Science. 

Learn more about the Mission Behavioral Health Lab: Mission Behavioral Health Lab (umassmed.edu)

Learn more about MISSION here:  www.missionmodel.org 

Related Story by NIH on MISSION: A Whole Health Approach for Treating Opioid Addiction and Mental Illness  

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Lauren Feld, MD, physician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and physician executive for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the Department of Medicine.  

Dr. Feld’s clinical interests include adult gastroenterology, hepatology, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, women’s health in liver disease, and LGBTQ health. She also has a background in clinical medical ethics and quantitative assessment, with specific training and expertise in survey research and secondary data analysis on the impact of psychosocial factors in patient care. Her work focuses on patient-physician communication and access to care, and she is equally committed to advocating for workforce gender equity.

Dr. Feld joined the faculty at UMass Chan/UMMH in September 2022. She brings passion and enthusiasm to her work, and we are thrilled that she has joined us in the Department of Medicine!

Read the full spotlight here.

Kevin Donahue, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was recently awarded funding for an R01 grant titled "Translating post-infarct ventricular tachycardia mechanisms into a therapy” from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Dr. Donahue and his team recently identified 2 potassium channel proteins, which increase only in the arrhythmogenic areas of the heart. The overexpression of these channels alters the electrical reset of the heart cells within the electrical circuit that causes an arrhythmia. With this funding, Dr. Donahue and his team propose to reverse the overexpression of the potassium channel proteins and evaluate the safety and efficacy of arrhythmia treatments in preclinical models. Successful completion of this project will be the first step toward the goal of a permanent cure for ventricular arrhythmias in humans. 

Dr. Blazey-Martin joins us from Tufts Medical Center, where she has served as Chief of Internal Medicine and Adult Primary Care for the last nine years. She has also served as the medical director for Tufts Medical Center LCO, NEQCA since 2021, and for Tufts Medical Center Community Care since 2016. During her time as Chief, she established herself as an accomplished leader, spearheading initiatives that have built models of care to utilize data in innovative ways and enhance performance improvement. She has also strived to lead with compassion and implement strategies to help physicians address burnout and the plethora of challenges that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has held several academic and educational appointments including the Director of Continuing Medical Education Conference in the Division of Internal Medicine and Adult Primary Care, the Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, and the Director of Resident Education for General Internal Medicine. She was the recipient of the Castle Connelly Exceptional Women in Medicine award, 2017-19, and the Kritzman Primary Care Teaching Award at Tufts Medical Center in 2017. Dr. Blazey-Martin earned her medical degree from the Boston University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and her fellowship in Internal Medicine at Harvard University School of Medicine.

Dr. Blazey-Martin will serve as the new Vice Chair for Ambulatory Affairs and Chief of General Internal Medicine. In this role, she will oversee the Division of General Medicine and the Department’s ambulatory strategy and operations. She will support our ambulatory physician leads and will work closely with Medical Center and System leaders in this capacity to provide high-quality ambulatory care, access, and a positive work experience for our ambulatory physicians, advanced practitioners, and clinic staff. 

Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and co-director of the Program in Digital Medicine, is the principal investigator on a new study to evaluate a community health virtual intervention against COVID-19. As part of the National Institutes of Health’s Home Test to Treat program, he and other researchers at UMass Chan will evaluate the data collected from a virtual intervention that will provide free COVID-19 health services, which include rapid tests, telehealth sessions, and at-home treatments.

The program will make antiviral treatment available for eligible individuals who receive a positive COVID-19 test result. By gathering data from participants, Dr. Soni and scientists at UMass Chan will work to identify best practices and make improvements to the Home Test to Treat model. The communities chosen for the study were based on COVID-19 infection trends, a social vulnerability index, and discussions with state and local authorities. The program plans to enroll 100,000 people across the United States by the end of 2023. 

Learn more.

A research team led by David Smelson, PsyD, professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science and director of the Center of Excellence in Addiction, recently received funding for a 4-year grant titled “Supporting Treatment Access and Recovery for Co-occurring Opioid Use and Mental Health Disorders (STAR-COD),” as part of NIH’s The Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL Initiative).   

Using their intervention, Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking (MISSION), the team will combine three evidence-based practices: dual recovery therapy, peer support, and critical time intervention. Clients will be offered six months of MISSION treatment, delivered by a case manager and peer specialist team, along with medications for opioid use disorder. The focus of the grant for the team is to assess whether a less-intensive community intervention, combined with medication-assisted opioid use disorder treatment is effective and efficient among patients.  

Their work was featured this past Monday in an op-ed article by Abigail Helm, PhD, Research Program Director in Dr. Smelson’s group in BASIS (The Brief Addiction Science Information Source), a Harvard Medical School publication. Here, she described the team’s research and its effectiveness in improving substance and mental health outcomes.

Read Dr. Helm’s op-ed.  

Related Story by NIH on MISSION: A Whole Health Approach for Treating Opioid Addiction and Mental Illness  

Ann Moormann, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology in the Department of Medicine and a faculty member in the Program in Innate Immunity, has recently been elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH). Founded in 1903, the ASTMH is the largest international scientific organization of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health. In 2011, the ASTMH Board of Directors established the Fellows of ASTMH, consisting of members who display professional excellence in any phase of tropical medicine, hygiene, global health, and other various disciplines.

“I have been a member of ASTMH since I was a graduate student so it’s a great honor to be recognized for my contributions to the society by this fellowship. I am especially proud of the rising scientists from all over the world who compete for the Young Investigator Award and have enjoyed chairing this committee.” 

We congratulate Dr. Moormann on being elected to this prestigious society and applaud her hard work and dedication to global health.  

Neal Silverman, PhD, research director and professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity was recently awarded continued funding on an R01 as well as a new R56, both from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Silverman’s R01 grant titled “From Drosophila Immunity to Anti-Inflammatories,” aims to understand how host cells recognize microbial infections and induce protective immune responses using molecular and genetic resources available in Drosophila model systems, while translating key discoveries to mammalian systems. With this renewal, Dr. Silverman continues to focus on immune recognition and signal transduction on the immune deficiency (Imd) pathway, while examining related processes in mammalian NOD1/2 pathways.

In his R56 grant titled, “Elucidating Leishmania strategies for parasitophorous vacuole biogenesis,” Dr. Silverman aims to understand the cellular mechanisms that drive the biogenesis of the enlarged parasitophorous vacuole (PV), which allows the survival and replication of amastigotes within macrophages. Leishmania amazonensis (L. amazonesis) is a growing public health problem, as infection with this parasite creates diffuse non-healing lesions and lethal visceral disease, with increasing levels of resistance to standard therapies. Dr. Silverman and his team ultimately seek to investigate three novel mechanisms, identified in his earlier studies, involved in the biogenesis of the L. amazonensis amastigote enlarged PV.

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Hardy Kornfeld, MD, professor of medicine, and Lorissa Smulan, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, both in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care. Dr. Kornfeld’s research focuses on host defense against bacterial and viral respiratory pathogens, with an emphasis on tuberculosis (TB), specifically, the immunometabolism of TB-diabetes interaction, host-directed TB therapies, and post-TB lung disease. Dr. Smulan was a postdoctoral fellow in the Kornfeld lab from 2017-2021 and has continued to work with Dr. Kornfeld while developing an independent line of research as a newly appointed assistant professor of medicine.

Read the full spotlight here.

Neal Silverman, PhD, research director and professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, along with collaborators from the Duke University School of Medicine and the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, recently had their work, “Retrotransposon Activation During Drosophila Metamorphosis Conditions Adult Antiviral Responses,” published in Nature Genetics. 

Learn more about his publication here. 

The Department of Medicine would like to recognize Anna Gubala, MD, an Internal Medicine resident, who recently led a Thanksgiving food drive this month. With the help of medical students and the IM Residency Program, Dr. Gubala was able to collect a total of $1,605 for the Worcester County Food Bank. We thank Dr. Gubala and other members of the community for their generosity this holiday season!

The Department of Medicine would like to recognize the great work of Margaret Cabral, a cardiology APP working on the Heart Failure service, who recently stayed after hours at UMass Memorial Medical Center to assist current residents with the many admissions assigned to them. We thank Margaret for dedicating her time to the residents and applaud her for her professionalism and teamwork. 

Congratulations to David Lyons, MD, physician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, who recently was awarded “Best Cardiologist” at the Telegram & Gazette’s Best of Central MA Awards Gala, on November 10th, at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester. The Best of Central MA program polls the Worcester County community each year to vote for the best of what the area has to offer. We would also like to congratulate Dennis Tighe, MD, physician and professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, who was also nominated for “Best Cardiologist.”  

Congratulations to The Cancer Research Office (CRO) at the UMass Cancer Center, which for the fourth year in a row, has been commended for its outstanding performance by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN). The ECOG-ACRIN is an organization that plays a key role in the National Cancer Institute’s mission through its National Clinical Trials Network and offers memberships to institutions with expertise in clinical research and translational science. Re-evaluation is conducted every year to ensure institutions meet their rigorous performance standards, assessing institutions on data quality, management, timeliness, imaging compliance, and committee service. This year’s commendation for the CRO specifically highlights the excellent data management and patient accruals of the center, enrolling five times as many patients as required. 

Learn more about their accomplishment. 

The Hospital at Home team has had much to celebrate this fall! In late October, the UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) Hospital at Home (HAH) team was awarded the “Hospital at Home Program of the Year,” and the “Hospital at Home Patient Video of the Year,” by the American Academy of Home Care Medicine (AAHCM) HAH User’s Group, a professional society that oversees and advocates for hospital at home services across the country. On receiving these honors on behalf of the UMMH HAH team, Constantinos (Taki) Michaelidis, MD, MBA, MS, medical director for the UMMH HAH program, and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine, Candra Szymanski, MSN, RN, AVP for the UMMH HAH program stated, “The number of people who have been reaching out to [our team to] congratulate [us]…has just been deeply humbling. We are proud of our team and are truly just getting started!” Click here to learn more about HAH and their accomplishments.

Yoel Carrasquillo-Vega, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine and director of diversity, inclusion, and social justice in the Department of Medicine, was honored as a Hero of the Pandemic at CENTRO’s 3rd Central Mass Hispanic Heritage Breakfast that was held at Polar Park in Worcester on October 14th. Dr. Carrasquillo was honored alongside three other recipients during the breakfast. Of his efforts, Juan Gomez, President and CEO of CENTRO commented, “His bravery and dedication during the middle of this difficult period in our collective history, at the hospital, and while deployed to New York, was inspiring.”  

Kate Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation Chair in Biomedical Sciences, professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Innate Immunity, director of the Program in Innate Immunity, and vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine, was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) at the Class of 2021 New Member Class Induction Ceremony on October 14th. Dr. Fitzgerald was elected to the NAM in the fall of 2021, “For pioneering work on innate immune receptors, signaling pathways, and regulation of inflammatory gene expression.” 

Members of the Palliative Care team recently had work published in the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, titled "Palliative Care Buddy System." This work published in September was authored by Palliative Care team members, Nancy McCool, LICSW, ACHP-SW, Jennifer Reidy, MD, the Joy McCann Professor for Women in Medicine, chief of the Division of Palliative Care and associate professor of family medicine and community health, Shawna Steadman, MS, RN, ACNP, and Vandana Nagpal, MD, associate program director of the Palliative Medicine Fellowship, associate chief and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Care. Read more.

Congratulations to Jennifer DeMaio, Operations Supervisor, and Anne Carney, Administrator, who both received Staff Awards at the October 3rd, Town Hall. 

Congratulations to Meridith Malysz, NP, who was awarded an October APP Citizenship Award at the October 3rd, Town Hall. 

Congratulations to Peter Rice, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology, who was awarded the October Faculty Citizenship Award at the October 3rd Town Hall.

Congratulations to Ann Moormann, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease, and to Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease, who recently received tenure!

Congratulations to our faculty who have recently been awarded career development grants! Awardees include Khanh-Van Tran, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nisha Fahey, DO, assistant professor of Pediatrics and faculty in the Program in Digital Medicine, Lara Kovell, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Laurel O’Connor, MD, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine and faculty in the Program in Digital Medicine. 

Congratulations to Chinmay Trivedi, MD, PhD, FAHA, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and his team, whose study, "Pathological MAPK activation–mediated lymphatic basement membrane disruption causes lymphangiectasia that is treatable with ravoxertinib," was recently published in JCI Insight as the cover story. Their paper discusses Lymphangiectasia, an abnormal dilation of lymphatic vessels, which is frequently associated with chylous effusion, respiratory failure, and high mortality in young patients, yet the underlying molecular pathogenesis and effective treatments remain elusive. Dr. Trivedi and his team identify an unexpected causal link between KRAS-Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) activation and defective development of the lymphatic basement membrane that drives lymphangiectasia in humans and mice. 

Deborah DeMarco, MD, professor of medicine, senior associate dean for clinical affairs, and associate dean, Graduate Medical Education, awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service. Melissa Fischer, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, curriculum innovation and iCELS, awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching. Ira Ockene, MD, the David J. and Barbara D. Milliken professor in Preventive Cardiology and professor of medicine, awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Clinical Excellence. 

Roberto Caricchio, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Rheumatology, was named to the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology. Alan C. Mullen, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and academic chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, was invested as the Mary C. DeFeudis Chair in Biomedical Research.