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Dear School of Medicine Community,
Since my arrival at the University of Maryland School of Medicine I have so much appreciated your showcasing your departments, centers, institutes, and programs to me and Dr. Chris O’Donnell through our “mini retreats.” I’ve met with and toured over 30 academic units in just three months. I’ve been overwhelmingly impressed by your excellence, by our facilities, and by the resources we have available here at the School of Medicine. I’ve also been attending your research, education, and anniversary celebrations, and I can only begin to express what a thrill it is to be in the mix, participating in your achievements and brainstorming on what’s next for us as an institution.
Updates on new initiatives
We have a lot of exciting developments on the horizon, including moving forward with Dr. Reece’s vision for a brain institute; leveraging the $40 million in addiction research on campus for a new organized research center; establishing a partnership with the NIH for a physician-scientist program; and fostering a robust partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland College Park, and the University of Maryland Medical System for an artificial intelligence-clinical analytics-learning health care Institute. This new collaboration and institute will increase our access to data, change the way that we use it for population health care and clinical trials, and ultimately improve the patient experience and patient outcomes.
I’m attending many different board meetings, networking opportunities with our partners, and meetings with our donors, which is how a lot of these developments are gaining momentum. I talked about undertaking some fairly bold initiatives with our Board of Visitors, and I’m very encouraged by the support and energy from them. These efforts will offer more opportunities for faculty. They also require more space on and off campus, in the form of new buildings and renovations to existing buildings. We’re working with Wexford Science & Technology and UMB leadership to occupy an entire floor of the new BioPark IV building – that would give us 36,000 square feet dedicated to academic programming, research, and innovation, with a goal to be open for business by September 2024. We are actively recruiting more talent and forging stronger partnerships, including increasing our collaborative relationships with the Veterans Affairs leadership, to build upon what is already a truly remarkable institution.
We want to capitalize on our momentum and continue fostering an environment of creativity and problem-solving, while nurturing the next generation of scientists to faculty positions. We are making it a priority to support those biomedical professionals by offering 10 percent salary support, up to the NIH salary cap, to the PIs for all federally funded T32 training grant awards. While these awards require a lot of work, the UMSOM also offers a lot of resources to help, so I hope many more of our faculty will seriously consider applying.
Diversity in an academic medical center
Impressively, the Class of 2026 includes 62 percent students of color, 62 percent women, 30 percent students who are underrepresented in medicine, and 19 percent students who identify as LGBTQ. Thanks to the Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) five-year, $13.7 million grant we received from the NIH, for which Dr. James Kaper is the lead PI, we are only going to get better on this front. Diversity is absolutely critical to the success of an academic medical center, and we have an opportunity to become a magnet institution for the leaders focused on health care equity, social justice, and women’s health and reproductive rights.
I’m energized by the incredible work everyone is doing. There is a high concentration of accomplished talent blended with passion and diligence here. I’m looking forward to my continued listening tour of “mini retreats,” and to sharing more good news with you soon.
With enthusiasm and commitment,
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