Monday, June 14, 2021
Study Links COVID-19 Public Health Efforts to Dramatic Drop in COPD Hospitalizations
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) analyzed data at the 13-hospital University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and found public health measures designed to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus may have fostered a substantial side benefit: Hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were reduced by 53 percent, according to a new study published in The American Journal of Medicine. This is likely due to a drop in circulating seasonal respiratory viruses such as influenza.
Wednesday, June 09, 2021
Global Study of Microbes in 60 Cities Finds Each Has Unique Fingerprint of Viruses and Bacteria
Each city has its own unique microbiome, a “fingerprint” of viruses and bacteria that serves as type of city profile, according to a new study from an international consortium of researchers that included a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). The international project, which sequenced and analyzed samples collected from public transit systems and hospitals in 60 cities around the world, was published today in the journal Cell.
Tuesday, June 08, 2021
Nearly One in Five Patients Who Die from Unexplained Sudden Cardiac Death Have Suspicious Gene, UM School of Medicine Study Finds
As many as 450,000 Americans die every year from a sudden, fatal heart condition, and in slightly more than 1 in 10 cases the cause remains unexplained even after an autopsy. Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and their colleagues have found that nearly 1 in 5 patients with unexplained sudden cardiac death – most of whom were under age 50 – carried rare genetic variants. These variants likely raised their risk of sudden cardiac death. In some cases, their deaths may have been prevented if their doctors had known about their genetic predisposition to heart disease. The study findings were published last week in JAMA Cardiology.
Tuesday, June 08, 2021
IN MEMORIAM: UM School of Medicine Biomedical Research Pioneer and Pharmacology Professor, Laure Aurelian, PhD
The Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) is saddened to announce the passing of Laure Aurelian, PhD, Professor Emerita of Pharmacology. She was the first woman to receive a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was a pioneer who opened doors for many women to pursue research careers in biomedical science. She was also among the first women to receive independent funding from the National Institutes of Health, receiving her first R01 award in 1970.
Wednesday, June 02, 2021
University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. (FPI) Positions for Significant Business Growth and Advancement, Promotes Three Top Executives to Senior Leadership Positions
William Tucker, MBA, CPA, Associate Dean for Practice Plan Affairs at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Chief Corporate Officer for University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. (FPI), along with UMSOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, have announced recent promotions in the FPI organization. These are expected to further enhance the financial growth and success of FPI, the UMSOM’s faculty practice organization.
Friday, May 28, 2021
Grateful Patient David Carroll Makes a $1 Million Bequest Pledge to Support the Future of the Advanced Heart Failure Program
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that grateful patient David Carroll has made a generous $1 million bequest pledge in support of the Advanced Heart Failure (AHF) program in UMSOM’s Department of Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. This gift follows an initial five-year pledge of $5,000 made by Mr. Carroll in 2017 for operating support of the program.
Thursday, May 20, 2021
University of Maryland Medicine Performs Two Successful Lung Transplants on Patients with COVID-19 Lung Damage
Two patients who were near death after COVID-19 destroyed their lungs, survived and are thriving due to state-of-the-art care and double-lung transplants by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) surgeons at the UM Medical Center (UMMC).
Thursday, May 13, 2021
First-in-Maryland Trial Launched to Test Experimental Device for Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) launched the first-in-Maryland clinical trial of an experimental device to repair a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, the body’s main artery that extends from the heart through the chest into the abdomen. The UMSOM researchers are also surgeons with the University of Maryland Heart and Vascular Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Surgeons implanted the device to repair the artery in the first patient at UMMC in February.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
New Study Suggests Pregnant Women Hospitalized for Covid-19 Infection Do Not Face Increased Risk of Death
Pregnant women who develop severe COVID-19 infections that require hospitalization for pneumonia and other complications may not be more likely to die from these infections than non-pregnant women. In fact, they may have significantly lower death rates than their non-pregnant counterparts. That is the finding of a new study published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).
Wednesday, May 05, 2021
Three Leading UMSOM Faculty Named Among Maryland's Top 100 Women
The Maryland Daily Record has named three leading faculty members at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to its 2021 listing of Maryland’s Top 100 Women. The three-- Tracy L. Bale, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology; Kimberly Lumpkins, MD, MBA, Associate Professor of Surgery; and Jill RachBeisel, MD, the Dr. Irving J. Taylor Professor and Chair of Psychiatry—were chosen for their “outstanding achievements demonstrated through professional accomplishments, community leadership and mentoring,” according to the publication.