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News & Announcements
Save the Date: Virtual GUMC Community Meeting Wednesday, December 9
Plan to join us for a virtual GUMC Community Meeting on Wednesday, December 9 at 2:00 p.m. Watch your email and GUMC Update for more information. 
GUMC Stories
In lieu of the annual anatomical donor Mass, members of the School of Medicine Class of 2023 and faculty created a tribute video to honor their anatomical donors. 
Focused on gut health, the latest issue of Georgetown Health magazine includes features on the gut-brain relationship, the microbiome of the mouth, research on probiotics, gastrointestinal cancers and more. Read more here.
The new issue of Georgetown Magazine covers reflections on the pandemic and struggle for racial justice from alumni and campus community members, stories about the staff members who keep campus running, a tribute to the late Coach John Thompson Jr. and more. Read more here.
Press Releases
Immune-system T cells have been reprogrammed into regenerative stem cell-like memory (TSCM) cells that are long-lived, highly active “super immune cells” with strong antitumor activity, according to new research from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Studies of both mice and humans who have traveled into space reveal that critical parts of a cell’s energy production machinery, the mitochondria, can be made dysfunctional due to changes in gravity, radiation exposure and other factors. The findings appeared in Cell and are part of a larger compendium of research into health aspects of space travel that appears concurrently in Cell, Cell Reports, Cell Systems, Patterns, and iScience.
NIH researchers and collaborators including Georgetown’s Radhakrishnan Padmanabhan, Ph.D., professor of microbiology & immunology, used a variety of advanced drug screening techniques to test out over 10,000 compounds in search of a cure for Zika. They were surprised by their findings.
More Announcements
Medvedev Awarded BRAIN Initiative Grant
Andrei Medvedev, PhD, associate professor of neurology and a part of the Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging and collaborator, Gholam Motamedi, MD, professor of neurology, were awarded a grant through the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative, part of a large effort to develop more effective therapies for neurological disorders.
“We will use the AI methods (deep learning) to analyze electrical signals of the brain in people with epilepsy,” Medvedev says. “The goal is to better understand how brain rhythms interact to effectively process information in memory tasks and why memory fails us sometimes, as well as whether aberrant interaction of brain rhythms may lead to seizure activity.”
COVID-19 Faculty Resources – In One Place
The Faculty Relations website now hosts COVID-19 Resources for Faculty Members, a centralized, searchable University-wide resource and information portal. Topics include related policies, research and teaching, well-being, information for care-givers, and other general information.
Testing Over Winter Holidays
Those approved to be on campus during the winter holidays are expected to continue receiving COVID-19 tests. Please stay tuned for more information on the hours and locations of COVID-19 testing during the break.
The President’s Awards for Distinguished Scholar-Teachers are annual awards celebrating the accomplishments of our faculty in their research and their teaching. All members of the Georgetown community are invited to submit nominations for any full-time faculty member. Learn more about the awards here and submit nominations here by Tuesday, December 1.
MCGSO Food Drive to Benefit Capital Area Food Bank
The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee of the Medical Center Graduate Student Organization (MCGSO) is collecting monetary donations for the Capital Area Food Bank. Those interested in donating can contribute via Venmo to @gumcgso-edi-food-drive through December 4.
GUMC In The News
Calendar of Events
Tuesday, December 1
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Via Zoom

Learn how to upload your CV, add your personal website information, upload a syllabus, publications and more. Register.
Wednesday, December 2
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom

An examination of Physicians for a National Health Program, a “single issue” organization of physicians who advocate for a “Single Payer, Improved Medicare for All” program of financing health care in the U.S. Sponsored by the Health and the Public Interest (HAPI) program. Register.
Wednesday, December 2
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Live via Facebook

Three panelists share their perspectives on the challenging questions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine and provide insight into what safe, rapid and equitable vaccine distribution could look like. Co-sponsored by the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative. RSVP.
Thursday, December 3
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Featuring Kandice Tanner, PhD, senior investigator with the Laboratory of Cell Biology at the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research. Via Zoom.
Friday, December 4
12:00 - 1 p.m.
Via Zoom

Shimae Fitzgibbons, MD, associate program director, MGUH general surgery residency program; director, School of Medicine surgical clerkship; assistant professor, Department of Surgery; attending general surgeon; and director of Surgical Simulation and Education, MGUH, presents “Teaching Procedural Skills.” Register.
Friday, December 4
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom

Hear an overview of key demographic trends, and learn about areas in which technology is playing a pivotal role in meeting the needs of older adults and examples of how the Federal Government is helping to support R&D innovation to improve quality of life and functional independence of older Americans. Hosted by the Master of Science in Aging & Health. To register, email aging@georgetown.edu.
Wednesday, December 9
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Hani Goodarzi, PhD, assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco, presents “The RNA Structural Code Underlying Pathological Regulation of RNA Splicing in Metastasis.” Join via Zoom.
Thursday, December 10
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Featuring Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD, chief of gastroenterology and hepatology, professor of medicine, University of Arizona Tucson. Via Zoom.
Thursday, December 10
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Online

Featuring presentations from Sean Carey, PhD candidate; Chaz Hinzman, PhD candidate; and Sarra Djemil, PhD. Email Emily Bujold, TL1 Program Administrator, to register.
Support for Virtual Instruction
See the Instructional Continuity @GU website for information about office hours, web resources, training webinars and other forms of assistance.
Earlier this Fall,, the Office of Assessment and Decision Support collaborated with CNDLS and the Office of the Provost to survey all main campus enrolled students.
The results might be helpful to our medical center colleagues, as well.

Students reported feeling overwhelmed, increased Zoom fatigue, anxiety about the world and burdened by heavy course loads. CNDLS offers the following advice:

1. Limit screen time for you and your students. You might:
·     Hold audio only office hours
·     Create assignments that encourage students to work with people in person at home
·     Encourage students to read print materials where available
·     Reduce synchronous class meeting time or the number of synchronous class meetings
·     Take multiple breaks in synchronous class sessions
·     Assign independent work days
·     Create alternatives for asynchronous class participation (discussion, group work, in class activities)

2. Respect the demands on everyone’s time (yours and your students). Please:
·     End class on time
·     Do not assign work during breaks
·     Consider adjusting the amount of time you ask of students outside of synchronous meeting times

3. Adapt assessments to the online learning environment making them more manageable for you and your students:
·     Consider alternatives to timed synchronous assessments
·     Avoid proctored exams and quizzes
·     Do not weigh any one assignment too heavily
·     Rethink the number of assessments
·     Create low-stakes assessments that encourage student engagement and participation
Monday - Friday,
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.;
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

CETS is offering individual Zoom assistance. Meet with a member of the CETS staff via Zoom (meeting ID: 995-332-8350).
CNDLS Instructional Continuity Virtual Office Hours
Monday - Thursday,
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.;
Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

CNDLS holds instructional continuity office hours virtually in this Zoom room. Please stop by if you need help or dial 646-558-8656
(meeting ID: 386 980 1070).
After hours, email cndls@georgetown.edu.
Thursday, December 3, 10 or 17
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Via Zoom

Online office hours with UIS EdTech provide faculty and staff with assistance and answers to Canvas questions and assistance with all Canvas needs. Register 12/3, 12/10 or 12/17.
Friday, December 4, 11 or 18
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Online office hours with UIS EdTech provide faculty and staff with assistance and answers to questions about instructional continuity tools: Panopto, Zoom, Voicethread and Canvas. Register 12/4, 12/11, or 12/18.
Tuesday, December 8 - Thursday, December 10
11:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Via Zoom

Each day begins with an hour-long plenary session covering lessons learned from the Fall semester and planning for the Spring. Afternoons feature 45-minute concurrent workshops on balancing the use of digital tools with the pedagogical needs of students. Each workshop is offered twice. Co-sponsored by CNDLS, UIS, ARC, and the GU Library. Register.
Webinar Recordings
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