Tuesday, December 29, 2020
UMSOM’s Dr. Kathleen Neuzil Receives 2020 Marylander of the Year Award for Unprecedented Leadership on COVID-19 Vaccines Research and Treatment
Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, FIDSA, the Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH, Professor in Vaccinology and Director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM)’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), has been named this year’s “Marylander of the Year” by the Baltimore Sun. In a historic and challenging year dominated by COVID-19, the Sun editors also named front-line health care and service workers as co-recipients along with Dr. Neuzil, for their essential roles in the battle against the novel coronavirus.
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
UMSOM Physician-Leaders to Join Dean’s Senior Staff as Associate Dean and Assistant Dean and will Head the Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Vice Dean for Academic Affairs James Kaper, PhD, along with UMSOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Silke Niederhaus, MD, Associate Professor and Transplant Surgeon in the Department of Surgery, and Ada Offurum, MD, Assistant Professor and Leader of the Hospitalists Program in the Department of Medicine, will together lead the Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development as Associate Dean and Assistant Dean respectively. Their joint appointments follow the passing in May 2020 of Nancy Ryan Lowitt, MD, EdM, a longtime University of Maryland School of Medicine educator and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Professional Development.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Largest Study of Its Kind Identifies Which COVID-19 Patients Face the Greatest Risk of Mortality During Hospitalization
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or if they are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, according to a new study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine the link between certain common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from COVID-19. Their analysis found that men had a 30 percent higher risk of dying compared to women of the same age and health status. Hospitalized patients who were obese, had hypertension or poorly managed diabetes had a higher risk of dying compared to those who did not have these conditions. Those aged 20 to 39 with these conditions had the biggest difference in their risk of dying compared to their healthier peers.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Low-Income Preschoolers Exposed to Nurturing Care Have Higher IQ Scores During Their Teen Years, Landmark Study Finds
Preschoolers living in impoverished communities who have access to a nurturing home environment have significantly higher intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in adolescence compared to those raised without nurturing care. That is the finding of a new international study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers, which examined data from more than 1,600 children who were followed from birth through their teenage years. Results were published this week in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
University of Maryland School of Medicine Researchers Create Extensive Gene Expression Database to Gain New Insights into Pneumococcal Infections
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine published one of the most comprehensive analyses of how genes get expressed during infection (known as a transcriptome). The analyses include three different strains of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, meningitis and middle-ear infections. It also includes analyses of the lungs and four other organs in an animal model where the bacteria resides, multiplies and takes hold in the body. Their findings were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
UMSOM Institute of Human Virology’s Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD Receives Top Award from National Physician’s Group
Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and Director of UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV) Division of Clinical Care and Research, has been awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. Dr. Kottilil is also Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UMSOM Department of Medicine and is a scientific advisory member of the Global Virus Network (GVN).
Tuesday, December 01, 2020
UM School of Medicine Researchers Receive Federal Grant to Test Innovative Approaches for Rehabilitation
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have received a $4.6 million federal grant to study rehabilitation strategies and determine the best course of action to help restore mobility and function to patients who suffer from debilitating strokes and other neurological conditions. The grant was awarded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Promising Results Seen in Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine After Phase 1 Trial by University of Maryland School of Medicine
Just six months after beginning a clinical development program that first enrolled here at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), Pfizer and BioNTech report interim results showing an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine had no serious safety concerns and has been found to be 95 percent effective in protecting individuals from COVID-19.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
UMSOM's Department of Radiation Oncology Announces New Endowed Professorship and Senior Leadership Appointments in the Department
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Department of Radiation Oncology Chair William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, along with UMSOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that three prominent faculty members in the Department of Radiation Oncology will be promoted into leading department positions that recognize their outstanding academic scholarship and success.
Monday, November 16, 2020
University of Maryland School of Medicine Establishes Two New Endowed Professorships Through Private Gifts and Matching State Funds
– University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that the school has been awarded $1.5 million in matching funds from the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce. The funds, when combined with private philanthropy, has allowed the creation of two new endowed professorships – one in the Department of Neurology and one in at the Institute of Human Virology (IHV). As part of its goal to attract and retain top faculty and foster the development of new technologies and therapies, the School of Medicine had requested that the funds be used to establish these two new endowed professorships.