"Vital Signs, Vital Victories”

2019 University of Maryland School of Medicine Gala Celebrates Victories in Medicine

“Tonight, we are gathered to celebrate our many victories in medicine though the extraordinary power of collaboration.” With that greeting, E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at UM Baltimore, John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, and Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, welcomed more than 1,000 alumni, faculty, staff, students, and other distinguished guests to the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Annual Gala on May 4 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

“Vital Signs, Vital Victories,” was the theme for the 2019 Gala, which set the tone for an evening of celebration of the accomplishments of our esteemed physicians, biomedical researchers, and allied health professionals.

“The victories we focus on tonight are unlike those from usual scenarios,” said Dean Recce. “Each day our faculty, staff, trainees and students are driven by the relentless pursuit for victory over disease, emerging infections, and injury.”

This year’s Gala co-chairs were Scott Rifkin, MD, CEO and Co-founder of Mid-Atlantic Health Care, LLS, and his wife Frances Rifkin, RN. “I have personally benefited from the vital victories for which the School of Medicine is widely known,” said Dr. Rifkin, who shared a compelling story about his life-saving surgery that altered the trajectory of his life. “When a cardiologist told a young mother that her three-year old child would certainly die, she brought that child to a thoracic surgeon. The child had experimental surgery and lived to be a physician, a father of three, and a grandfather. I was that child, R Adams Cowley was that surgeon, and that great medical school was the University of Maryland School of Medicine.”

Michael Cryor, President of the Cryor Group, and Chair of UMSOM’s Board of Visitors, also spoke on the benefits of collaboration and emphasized the unique role and responsibility of the institution. “What has brought us together—from places near, far, and wide—is our commitment to making people well,” he said. “Our prospects become stronger when we combine talents, capabilities, resources, and resolve, which adds up to something truly transformative.”

Private philanthropy continues to be critical to the growth of the School of Medicine. Dean Reece highlighted the impact donors have had on advancing the work of the School and in the recruitment of students. Katy Eslami, a fourth-year medical student and President of the graduating class, shared the invaluable opportunity created for her by receiving scholarship support. “While growing up, for as long as I remember, my parents spoke of a desire to move to America for a better future,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the generosity of people like you, I would not be standing here. I would not have been able to support myself through college, and certainly not through medical school.” Katy is set to graduate later this May and will begin her residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The program closed with a special video presentation, showcasing a series of breakthroughs in the children’s medicine and surgery.

The Gala coincided with Alumni Weekend at the School of Medicine, giving graduates an opportunity to attend the Gala as part of their reunion activities. After dinner, guests enjoyed a great performance by the 23-piece performing ensemble Mood Swings, led by Jack Vaeth, Class of 1992.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn More About the UMSOM Gala >>

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About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research.  With an operating budget of more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically-based care for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit www.medschool.umaryland.edu