Wednesday, June 29, 2022
16th Annual Student Awards Ceremony Recognizes Top UMSOM Medical Graduates
On May 18, 2022, the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) held its 16th annual Student Awards Ceremony & Dinner at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards. Fourth-year medical students in the Class of 2022 were recognized for their superior academic performance and modeling extraordinary humanism, compassion, and integrity over their four-year tenure in medical school. The event also publicly recognized generous donors, many being alumni, faculty, and friends, whose financial support afforded students with the various scholarships.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Saying Farewell to the UMSOM Class of 2022
After four years of hard work and perseverance, graduates of the Class of 2022 at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) gathered at the Hippodrome Theatre on May 19 to celebrate their official transition from medical students to physicians. This year’s ceremony was especially significant for two reasons: It was the first grand scale in-person graduation celebration since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the final commencement ceremony over which current UMSOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA would preside. The graduating class of 148 physicians, who earned medical degrees, along with others who earned combined MD/Masters and MD/PhD degrees, received their doctoral hoods in front of hundreds of family members, friends, and faculty.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
New Research Shows Mothers’ HIV Status, Breastfeeding, and the Infant Gut Microbiome Can Have Long-Term Impact on Infant Health
Babies born to women with HIV often have poorer health and under-developed growth in the early months of life than infants born to women without the infection — even if those babies don’t contract HIV during birth, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)’s Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) and Institute of Human Virology (IHV). The study also provides new insights into why these health issues often continue throughout the babies’ lives.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Scientists and Clinicians Publish Findings of World’s First Successful Transplant of Genetically Modified Pig Heart into Human Patient
Six months ago, University of Maryland School of Medicine surgeon-scientists successfully implanted a genetically modified pig heart into a 57 year-old patient with terminal heart disease in a first-of-its-kind surgery. It was considered an early success because the patient lived for two months with a strong functioning heart showing no obvious signs of rejection, according to a new paper published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
University of Maryland Medicine Launches Precision Health Study to Create Biggest and Most Diverse Research Database in State
University of Maryland Medicine, the joint enterprise of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and University of Maryland Medical System, today launched a landmark initiative called My Healthy Maryland Precision Medicine Research. The project aims to enroll 250,000 Maryland residents over the next decade who reflect the diversity of the state and want to play a pivotal role in helping researchers understand how genes and lifestyle affect an individual’s health.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Longtime UMSOM Information Technology Leader Sharon Bowser, MBA, Announces Retirement
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Sharon A. Bowser, MBA, Associate Dean and Chief Information Officer, who has dedicated nearly 30 years of service and leadership to the UMSOM, will retire, effective August 1. To ensure a smooth transition in the UMSOM Office of Information Technology Services, Dean Reece announced that Scott Stefan, MBA, Assistant Dean and Deputy Chief Information Officer, will become the Acting Associate Dean and Chief Information Officer. Song Yu, PhD, the Executive Director of IT Projects, will become the Acting Assistant Dean and Deputy Chief Information Officer. Both appointments will be effective August 1.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Most Doctors Still Believe in Prescribing Unnecessary Antibiotics to Treat Asymptomatic Infections, UM School of Medicine Study Suggests
An estimated 70 percent of primary care physicians reported in a survey that they would still prescribe antibiotics to treat asymptomatic infections based solely on a positive urine specimen. This is despite long-held medical guidelines recommending against this practice, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which was led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
NIH Awards Grant to Train Global Health Scientists in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) received a $5.5 million award from the National Institute of Health’s Fogarty International Center to help foster the next generation of global health scientists. The award entitled, “Integrated Network of Scholars in Global Health Research Training (INSIGHT)” will expand global health research across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean by providing one-year mentored research training to U.S. and lower-middle income country scholars.
Friday, May 20, 2022
NIH Grant Awarded to Study HIV Drug-Resistant Genetic Mutations Across Africa
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV) researchers received funding from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for $2.7 million to study genetic changes in two genes from the HIV-1 virus that may make it resistant to antiretroviral therapy. The study, named INSPIRE, will analyze genetic variation in types of HIV circulating in a handful of African countries that will help to better understand the implications of these mutations and will improve clinical management of patients.
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
UM School of Medicine Announces Dean Emeritus Dr. Donald E. Wilson as Recipient of American Heart Association’s 2022 Watkins-Saunders Award
Longtime champion for health equity and advocate for minority representation in medical academia, Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, AGAF, Dean Emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), will receive the 2022 Watkins-Saunders Award given by the American Heart Association (AHA) of Baltimore & Greater Maryland. Recipients must be an individual or organization who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to overcoming health and community disparities in the state of Maryland. Dean Wilson, who served as dean of UMSOM from 1991 until his retirement in 2006, will be honored on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at the AHA’s virtual Watkins-Saunders Award Ceremony.