 |  | In more faculty and leadership success related news, Jason Rose, MD, MBA was just awarded a $4 million four-year U01 to create a new NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) program that will serve as a development engine to build the life science economy in West Baltimore and surrounding communities and to train diverse biomedical and entrepreneurial workforces. The University of Maryland Baltimore Life Science Discovery Accelerator (UM-BILD) will include a partnership between our campus and school, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland College Park, Morgan State University, and the Maryland Innovation Initiative. UM-BILD will be awarding more than 40 pilot research commercialization grants to UMB and regional life science projects over the next four years. The accelerator will directly address the need for increased biomedical and startup workforce diversity leveraging existing, successful initiatives and offering novel entrepreneurship training opportunities to our faculty and staff.
Our campus and school are becoming a significant destination for physician-scientist entrepreneurs. Another vital effort underway is the new 4MLK building that will include about 38,000 square feet — an entire floor — of laboratory modules, with supporting shared office and amenity spaces. This Connect Labs space is designed to accommodate rapid start-up growth and ease the transition from research to commercialization. It will feature over 20 individual labs of varying sizes and offer programming, mentorship, and a collaborative environment. UMB will have direct access across the street from campus to locate our start-up companies in this premier facility. Connect Labs is anticipated to open by October 1, 2024.
Another distinctive grant I want to share news about is from Erika Davies, PhD, who just received a $3.5 million award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to determine the dose response of radiation to calculate lethal doses. This is an impressive award!
With the SOM’s commitment to supporting our women in leadership, I want to highlight a couple of outstanding honors. Irina Burd, MD, PhD was selected by Drexel University College of Medicine’s Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program as a 2023-2024 fellow. In a similar vein, Jill RachBeisel, MD was selected by Drexel University College of Medicine’s Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) program as a 2023-2024 fellow. Congratulations to them both – I look forward to their continued leadership and the enhancements they will bring back to the SOM from these fellowships! Previous fellows from the SOM include Mimi Blitzer, PhD and Donna Parker, MD in ELAM and Liz Nichols, MD in ELH.
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