Extreme Heat No Match for DoM Faculty at this Year’s Pan-Mass Challenge 

Matthew McGuiness, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, recently volunteered at this year’s Pan-Mass Challenge, held on August 6th and 7th. Dr. McGuiness volunteered at the Gillette Stadium water stop, while also managing the start of the race in Sturbridge, MA. He was greeted by fellow faculty member, Deborah DeMarco, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, along with her husband, Joel Gore, MD, Professor Emeritus in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, who is a cancer survivor. This was Dr. DeMarco’s 12th year riding, Dr. Gore’s 6th year riding, and 6th year riding together with their team. They were among several members of the DoM who participated the PMC this year. We applaud them all for taking on this important challenge. Riders raised over $51 million this year.

2022-2023 Medical Grand Rounds Schedule has been Announced

We are thrilled to announce the Department of Medicine’s Grand Rounds schedule for the 2022-2023 academic year. This year’s Grand Rounds series has been organized around themes that we hope will excite and engage our diverse group of clinicians, educators, and researchers. View the full schedule at the link below.

Left to Right: Drs. Nagpal, Tanenbaum, and Sadaniantz

The Internal Medicine Residency Wellness Program Awarded CXO Wellness Grant 

The Internal Medicine (IM) Residency Wellness Program recently received a Clinical Experience Office (CXO) Wellness Grant from UMass Memorial Health, to support the mental health and well-being of IM residents.  

Led by Vandana Nagpal, MD, Associate Chief and Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Palliative Care, and Associate Program Director of the Palliative Medicine Fellowship, their study, “Creating Healthy Habits: A pilot study of opt-out counseling sessions for IM interns”, is an innovative project that aims to work with Tend Health to create opt out counseling sessions for all incoming interns and measure the operational efficacy and impact through surveys and other data collection.  

IM residents, Drs. Benjamin Tanenbaum and Katherine Sadaniantz worked closely with Dr. Nagpal and were instrumental in the development of this proposal, in addition to members of the IM Wellness Committee, Drs. Jason Yang, Divya Sudireddy, Julia Hyman, Julie Kolnik, Mary Bassaly and Chris MacGinnis.  

CXO Wellness Grants are awarded based on set criteria for research that identifies, implements, and evaluates strategies and tactics for establishing, enhancing, and expanding resilience, mental health, and wellness for clinicians. 

Congratulations to Dr. Nagpal and the entire team! 

Left to Right: Drs. Khan, LeMieux, Hattar, and Morley

Pulmonary Medicine Team Receives Gratitude

for Exceptional Patient Care

Congratulations to the Division of Pulmonary Medicine, who recently received a note of gratitude for exceptional care that was delivered to an elderly patient and their family. Faculty, medical students, and residents in the division were praised for their professionalism, kindness, and keen reasoning skills. 

A special thank you to Dr. Shahzad Khan, intern Michael LeMieux, Pulmonary fellow Laith Hattar, and resident Frank Morley, for providing the patient and family a positive experience. 

Left to Right: Dr. Medina and Lenka Drahoradova

Division of Geriatrics Earns Innovation Fund Grant

Congratulations to Anila Medina, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and fellow in the Division of Geriatrics and Lenka Drahoradova, an Advanced Practice Provider, for being awarded an Innovation Fund grant from UMMH, which will provide personal amplifiers to geriatric patients with hearing difficulties, so they may help participate in their own care. 

The Idea System Innovation Fund, known as simply the Innovation Fund, supports ideas that come through a care team's idea system and require additional funding to be implemented. 

Summer Learning Opportunity at UMass Chan Welcomes Students Underrepresented in Medicine

The Diversity for Health Care, Innovation and Medicine (Diversity for HIM) Summer Learning Opportunity welcomed 11 students from Morehouse School of Medicine and the CUNY School of Medicine in New York from June 19th to July 16th. Characterizing UMass Chan as a unique place of collegiality between students and instructors, Chancellor Michael F. Collins said, “When we take our oath to practice medicine, one of the things we commit to is to educate the next generation. You will find a real fidelity to that here.”

UMass Celebrates Designation as Center of Excellence in Pancreatic Cancer Care

According to the recent UMass Group Talk For Our Physicians communication, UMass Memorial Medical Center is one of 140 facilities nationwide designated as a National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) Center of Excellence in Pancreatic Cancer Care. To be named a Center of Excellence, medical centers undergo an audit process by the NPF and have specific expert physician specialties, such as gastroenterologists, pancreas surgeons, and interventional radiologists.

Immigration Services Update

The UMass Chan Immigration Services Office has recently provided important updates. We encourage you to take a moment to review these updates by clicking the link below.

For questions or concerns, please contact Vanessa Paulman, Director of Immigration Services.