Friday, July 29, 2022
Why Breast-Fed Premature Infants Have A Healthier Gut Than Formula-Fed Ones
Human breastmilk has long been considered “liquid gold” among clinicians treating premature infants in a newborn intensive care unit (NICU). Breastmilk-fed “preemies” are healthier, on average, than those fed formula. Why is that true, however, has remained a mystery.
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Researchers Discover One of the Largest Known Bacteria-to-Animal Gene Transfer Inside a Fruit Fly
A fruit fly genome is not a just made up of fruit fly DNA – at least for one fruit fly species. New research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) shows that one fruit fly species contains whole genomes of a kind of bacteria, making this finding the largest bacteria-to-animal transfer of genetic material ever discovered. The new research also sheds light on how this happens.
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Longstanding Brain Scientist and Neurosurgeon, J. Marc Simard, MD, PhD, Named Interim Chair of UM School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology
University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced that leading Physician-Scientist and Neurosurgeon, J. Marc Simard, MD, PhD, the Dr. Bizhan Aarabi Professor in Neurotrauma, and Professor of Neurosurgery, Pathology, and Physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been appointed to serve as Interim Chair of the Department of Physiology.
Monday, July 25, 2022
Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Supports First-of-Its-Kind Conference to Evaluate the Public Health Magnitude of Long COVID And Define A Global R
The conference, hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, reviewed the wealth of cohort data on long COVID, constructed a framework to characterize and define the conditions, and identified the most critical and urgent areas of research needed to better understand, diagnose, and treat this developing public health crisis.
Monday, July 25, 2022
University of Maryland School of Medicine Expert Co-led Novavax Trial that Led to FDA Emergency Use Authorization and CDC Recommendation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week recommended a new COVID-19 protein-based vaccine as an option for primary vaccination of adults 18 years of age and older. The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Karen Kotloff, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health, co-led the multi-center PREVENT-19 clinical trial, which studied safety and efficacy of the Novavax vaccine in about 30,000 adult study participants.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Member Featured on NBC Nightly News Special Report on Gun Violence in America
A University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) faculty member was featured in a prestigious national news program over the weekend highlighting the lifesaving critical care medicine practiced at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). In an extended segment called “One Night in America” that comprised half of the evening newscast for NBC Nightly News and additional coverage on MSNBC, a reporter was embedded in the trauma center from Saturday evening, July 16, into Sunday morning to document emergency trauma cases caused by gun violence. Reporters were also embedded in three other major cities showing different perspectives including police response to shootings and community support from a local street pastor.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Nationally Renowned OB-GYN Physician-Scientist and Fetal Medicine Expert, Irina Burd, MD, PhD, Named New Chair of the UM School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductiv
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Irina Burd, MD, PhD, a nationally-and internationally-recognized physician-scientist and academic leader who is currently Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and the Founding Director of the Integrated Research Center for Fetal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), will become the next Chair of the UMSOM’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, following a national search. She will begin in her new role, October 17, 2022.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Six-Country African Study Shows COVID-19 Can Be Dangerous in Pregnancy
A new study involving hospitalized women in six African countries from the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology (IHV) showed that pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had double the risk of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and four-times the risk of dying in-hospital than pregnant women who did not have COVID-19.
Monday, July 18, 2022
New Genomic Research Shows Why Testing Malaria Vaccines in the Clinic is as Rigorous as Natural Exposure in the Field
Malaria is the deadliest mosquito-borne parasitic infection of humans. In 2021, after a century of research, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the world’s first malaria vaccine. That vaccine reduces the incidence of malaria infections in young children aged 5-17 months by only 30 percent, meaning that it remains critical to continue developing and testing more effective vaccines.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
UM School of Medicine to Expand Innovative Medical Education Spaces with Gift from Entrepreneurial Leader and Alumnus Maurice N. Reid, MD ’99
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that UMSOM will receive a new $1 million gift from Maurice N. Reid, MD ’99, CEO and Medical Director, ExpressCare Urgent Care Centers, bringing his total giving to nearly $2.2 million. Dr. Reid, who has been a longtime supporter the School’s initiatives, is a proud School of Medicine alumnus and member of the Dean’s Board of Visitors.