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Dear School of Medicine Community,
As we get closer to the beginning of the new academic year, and the summer is coming to an end, I am hopeful that everyone is finding time to relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy time with friends and loved ones. I very much look forward to a rewarding and productive academic year ahead of us, as we engage and partner together and address our many opportunities and challenges in medical and scientific education, discovery, and patient care.
In order to strengthen our sense of community and to build bridges to our local communities and to enhance primary care networks across Maryland, we have recruited Esa Davis, MD, MPH, who joined our academic family this July 1. Dr. Davis is a nationally recognized leader in family and community medicine and population health who I have known for many years. She is an expert in implementation science and has led hospital-based clinical programs in smoking cessation and population health implementation clinical trials targeting hypertension in vulnerable pregnant women. As the inaugural Associate Vice President for Community Health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, who will also serve as Senior Associate Dean for Population and Community Medicine at the UMSOM, she will lead the implementation and ongoing operational performance of UMB's community health efforts across all seven schools. Dr. Davis is an excellent collaborator and communicator, and I firmly believe she is the right person to guide UMB’s mission to better serve the university’s local communities in West Baltimore and beyond.
With regards to community engagement, our strategic plan outreach will wrap up this month with two brainstorming sessions on community service. I encourage anyone involved in this part of our mission, or engaged in population science or community health research or education, to join us for one of these sessions: Thursday, August 3, 2-4 p.m. in the Executive Board Room on the first floor of HSF II or Wednesday, August 30, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (location TBD). Please RSVP to Wendy O’Donnell (odonnellwm@som.umaryland.edu).
As you see, we are always looking for opportunities to provide better connectivity, and there are several projects being led by the Dean’s Office that are focused on providing occasions for more connections and collaborations across our school. I have heard loud and clear from many of our faculty and staff—in person and via the strategic plan brainstorming sessions—that they simply do not know enough about all the amazing things going on within the School of Medicine. With that in mind, we are creating the Win-Win: Collaborate Investigate events. Three initial events will be held in the fall of 2023 at the UM BioPark, and will be moderated by Jason Rose, MD, MBA. As our new Associate Dean of Innovation & Physician Science Development, and the Director for Faculty Entrepreneurship in the Office of Research and Development, Dr. Rose has been engaging with BioPark leaders and tenants since he joined us last year. The purpose of the win-win events includes providing faculty with an opportunity to meet in person with potential collaborators in a semi-social setting. Stay tuned for signup details.
UMB’s second Annual Convocation will take place on Thursday, September 14 at 10 a.m., during which our entire campus will gather under the tent at 650 W. Lexington St. (Koester’s Lot) to welcome our outstanding faculty to the new academic year. Two out of the three faculty speakers are from the SOM, including Dr. Laundette Jones and Dr. Amal Mattu, and four out of eight of those being recognized as a Distinguished University Professor are from the SOM. Selection for each of these roles is highly competitive so please show up in support for our colleagues. I want to encourage everyone to make the time to attend, and stay for lunch and networking/socializing afterward. With such a significant level of representation from the SOM on stage, I’d like to see a competitive showing off stage as well. Registration info can be found here.
Finally, I want to remind everyone that there will be another opportunity coming soon for SOM faculty, staff, and students to come together: the 2023 State of the School Address on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. in Leadership Hall. After this one-hour interactive event, everyone is invited to the lobby of the Health Sciences Facility III to enjoy great food and drink, and celebrate the many successes of the past year—and the many more to come.
With enthusiasm and commitment,
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