Monday, January 24, 2022
UM School of Medicine Surgery Professor Jonathan Bromberg, MD, PhD, Receives Prestigious NIH Award for Research on Immune System Regulation
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA announced today that Jonathan Bromberg, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery, has received a prestigious aw ard from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his research into how the immune system regulates itself in the area of transplantation. The $2.3 million grant will enable him to learn more about how the immune system’s gatekeepers, called regulatory T cells, work to suppress the body’s immune response.
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
World-Renowned University of Maryland School of Medicine Trauma Surgeon and Physician-Scientist Celebrates 25th Anniversary
As the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery and Director of the Program in Trauma at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Physician-in-Chief of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), Thomas M. Scalea, MD, FACS, MCCM, has pioneered advances to trauma care for patients in the United States and around the world. He has cared for tens of thousands of Marylanders critically injured in motor vehicle collisions, falls and violent attacks, traveled to China and Haiti to render assistance to earthquake victims, helped train thousands of U.S. Air Force personnel and worked alongside military physicians in war-torn Afghanistan. He has steered Maryland’s highest-level trauma center through two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monday, January 10, 2022
University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Scientists and Clinicians Perform Historic First Successful Transplant of Porcine Heart into Adult Human with End-Stage Heart Disease
In a first-of-its-kind surgery, a 57-year-old patient with terminal heart disease received a successful transplant of a genetically-modified pig heart and is still doing well three days later. It was the only currently available option for the patient. The historic surgery was conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) faculty at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), together known as the University of Maryland Medicine.
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Found to be Safe and Effective in Phase 3 Trial Conducted by UM School of Medicine Researchers
An investigational COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax was found to be 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 illness, according to results from a Phase 3 clinical trial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health served as one of the trial sites, and Karen Kotloff, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at UMSOM, served as Co-Chair for the trial protocol.
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
UM School of Medicine’s Office of Public Affairs and Communications Honored with 2021 PRSA ‘Best In Maryland’ Award
The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)'s Office of Public Affairs & Communications received the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) 2021 “Best in Maryland Award,” the PRSA’s highest honor, for its COVID-19 Communications program. The award was given at the PRSA Maryland Gala, held on December 9, 2021.
Tuesday, December 07, 2021
UM School of Medicine's Department of Radiation Oncology Announces that Preeminent Scientist, Dr. Zeljko Vujaskovic, will Transition to New Role in the Department
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Radiation Oncology Department Chair William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, announced today that Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Radiation Oncology, will transition from his current faculty position to a new role in the Department, effective December 3, 2021.
Monday, December 06, 2021
UM School of Medicine & Regeneron Researchers Link New Gene Variant in Amish Population to Lower Risk of Heart Disease
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers, working with scientists from the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC), discovered a new gene variant associated with lower levels of heart-damaging LDL cholesterol and a blood clotting protein called fibrinogen that appears to significantly lower a person’s risk of heart disease. While the gene variant is extremely rare in the general population (less than 1 in 10,000), it is found in about 12 percent of those living in the Lancaster county, Pennsylvania Amish community, according to the study published today in the journal Science.
Friday, December 03, 2021
UM School of Medicine Researchers Awarded $2 Million NIH Grant to Use Innovative Imaging to Study Causes of Glaucoma
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have received a nearly $2 million federal grant to conduct a clinical trial to help determine the pathway that leads to a common cause of blindness, primary open angle glaucoma. It will study how blood flow to the eye’s retina affects the onset and progression of the disease, which could eventually lead to new tests and treatments for the condition.
Wednesday, December 01, 2021
$6.5M Grant Awarded to Develop Treatment for Alcoholic Liver Disease-Associated Kidney Dysfunction
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and MitoPower LLC (“MitoPower”) were awarded an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant of up to $6.5 million over five years from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The funds will support the development of MitoPower’s lead compound, MP-04, for the treatment of kidney dysfunction due to alcoholic liver disease, a condition known as alcoholic liver disease-associated hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). The IHV, a Center of Excellence member of the Global Virus Network (GVN), will conduct first-in-human single and multiple ascending dose studies to test the safety of the compound, followed by a Phase 1b study in patients.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
University of Maryland Medicine to Eliminate Race from Kidney Function Estimates
University of Maryland Medicine, comprised of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) has announced that it will end the use of a long-standing clinical standard that factors a patient’s race into the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The change could increase access to specialty care, including eligibility for kidney transplantation for thousands of African American people living with advanced kidney disease.