Medical Grand Rounds Season Kicks Off with Dean Flotte

On Thursday, September 8th, the 2022-2023 Medical Grand Rounds series kicked off, in-person and by Zoom, with a talk by Terence Flotte, MD, Dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, titled, “Clinical Gene Therapy for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff Diseases”. Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, Interim Director of Medical Grand Rounds, and David McManus, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine, both welcomed Dean Flotte and offered their thoughts and enthusiasm for this year’s Grand Rounds series line-up. 

"Dean Flotte was the perfect speaker to kick off Medical Grand Rounds in 2022-2023" remarked Dr. Pukkila-Worley. "He embodies excellence in clinical medicine, leadership, medical education, and, as we saw in his wonderful talk, translational research. His work to use gene therapy to treat genetic disorders in children is inspiring and incredibly impressive." 

We thank Dean Flotte for presenting and look forward to the season ahead. 

Chinmay Trivedi and Team's Work Published in JCI Insight

Congratulations to Chinmay Trivedi, MD, PhD, FAHA, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and his team, whose study, "Pathological MAPK activation–mediated lymphatic basement membrane disruption causes lymphangiectasia that is treatable with ravoxertinib," was recently published in JCI Insight as the cover story. Their paper discusses Lymphangiectasia, an abnormal dilation of lymphatic vessels, which is frequently associated with chylous effusion, respiratory failure, and high mortality in young patients, yet the underlying molecular pathogenesis and effective treatments remain elusive. Dr. Trivedi and his team identify an unexpected causal link between KRAS-Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) activation and defective development of the lymphatic basement membrane that drives lymphangiectasia in humans and mice. 

Dr. Trivedi’s studies demonstrate that oncogenic mutation KRAS-G12D and pathological activation of oncogenic MAPK signaling disrupt lymphatic basement membrane composition and assembly, causing dilation and increasing pore sizes of pulmonary lymphatic vessels, which in turn promotes chylous effusion in pleural spaces limiting gas exchange in alveoli and neonatal survival. His study also identifies Ravoxertinib, an orally bioavailable selective inhibitor of MAPK activity, as a novel therapeutic drug to treat thoracic lymphangiectasia and chylous effusion, thus improving neonatal survival. 

General Internal Medicine Welcomes Three New Faculty Members

The Division of General Internal Medicine is excited to welcome three new faculty members: Drs. Elizabeth Aherne, Stephanie Sison, and Christopher Driscoll. Please say hello and welcome them when you see them. We wish them the best as they begin their new chapter at UMMH! 

Register for the New England Immunology Conference 2022

This year's New England Immunology Conference will be held October 1 and 2, 2022, in Woods Hole, MA.

The deadline to sign up is September 15th. Learn more and register at the link below. 

UMass Chan Emerging Professionals Summer Internship Provides Health and Science Opportunities

The Emerging Professionals Summer Internship Program at UMass Chan Medical School recently wrapped up another season, providing undergraduate students and recent college graduates opportunities to explore careers related to an academic health sciences center.

This 10-week program, focused on students from groups historically marginalized in STEM, health sciences and medicine, allowed students to get hands-on experience and insight into a range of fields, such as diversity and inclusion, public safety, communications, and community and government relations.

Last Call for Family Fun Day Registration

Family Fun Day is on as scheduled for this Sunday, September 18th, from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Polar Park. 

If you haven't yet registered, please do so at the link below. We look forward to seeing you there!

You’re Invited to an Ice Cream Social  

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

With appreciation for your tireless commitment to our mission to  advance the health and wellness of our diverse communities throughout Massachusetts and across the world, the executive leadership of UMass Chan invites all staff, faculty, and students to an ice cream social. 

Locally owned and operated trucks full of cold treats will be at the University Campus during the following date and time: 

Wednesday, September 14th  

University Campus, on the plaza between the Medical School Building and the Sherman Center, near North Road and the library parking lot 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Funding Opportunities and Other Resources

Did you know that DoM Communications maintains a page of resources for researchers that includes internal and external funding opportunities?  

Please take a moment to explore this site that also contains important links and shortcuts to resources that are frequently needed by our researchers and bookmark it today!