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Dear School of Medicine Community,
As everyone has likely heard by now, the patient with terminal heart disease who received the world’s second genetically modified pig heart transplant, Mr. Lawrence Faucette, passed away Monday evening. This is very sad news and I’m thinking about his family and friends who are going through this difficult loss right now. We are all extremely grateful to Mr. Faucette and his family for their heroic dedication to the advancement of xenotransplantation. As you all know, this was his only hope for survival, having been turned down for human heart transplantation by multiple centers of excellence. Our teams will evaluate all the critically important medical and scientific data that was gathered during this process to better understand what happened and to advance the still developing field of xenotransplantation. Thanks to everyone who has been involved in this effort – I am very proud of your work and dedication.
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I also want to congratulate Kirsten Lyke, MD for being elected as a new member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). NAM only elected 90 members out of the entire country, and 10 international members this year. Dr. Lyke’s election recognizes her pivotal research in emerging infections and human vaccine challenge models that have informed and shaped global vaccine and public health policy. She is one of four members in the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health to be elected to NAM, including Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, Myron Levine, MD, and Samba Sow, MD. This is a major honor, and I commend Dr. Lyke for all her success!
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I am pleased to announce two new significant additions to the SOM staff team. We have hired our first-ever Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – JP Pierre. With 23 years of experience in steering organizations and teams toward greater inclusivity and organizational success, she maintains a stellar track record in her expertise of equity and inclusion programming in health and education organizations. Ms. Pierre joins us from the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York, where she served as Chief Officer for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. A few weeks ago, we held a special event to formally launch this new office, and I’m looking forward to Ms. Pierre’s leadership and the plans she has for the office.
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 |  | I am also very enthusiastic to announce our new Associate Dean for Development – Kim Morton, JD. As a part of my senior leadership team, Ms. Morton will report to Chief Philanthropy Officer Heather Culp, and she will work to create opportunities for major giving. She will also help to build a collaborative culture of philanthropy in the UMSOM, through the recent alignment of the UMSOM and UMMC Development Offices under Ms. Culp’s leadership of the combined entity, University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy. Ms. Morton joins us from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where she served as Senior Associate Vice President for Advancement. Prior to this, she served in development leadership roles at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), The Bryn Mawr School, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Her 15-year tenure at JHU included serving as Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations for the School of Advanced International Studies, Senior Director of Development for the Wilmer Eye Institute, and Senior Director of Development for the JHU School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology. Ms. Morton will join us in mid-December.
| I hope you take some time today to read President Jarrell’s message from 10/24 if you haven’t already. The key message is that hate has no place at UMB. In the weeks since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, leadership has heard from students and employees about their thoughts and concerns, and takes very seriously reports from members of our UMB community feeling unsafe or unwelcome. UMB remains committed to building a more inclusive, just, and peaceful community and society. I hope that you will join me in doing everything you can to make each other feel welcome and respected. | Finally, I want to share an opportunity to serve that I understand has become a long-standing tradition here – 34 years now, in fact! You are invited to donate or volunteer at the UMSOM’s Project Feast, a Thanksgiving meal provided for the Baltimore community at Booker T. Washington Middle School on November 23 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. You can find more details in the flyer below. Last year, 175 volunteers showed up and served about 400 guests. Let’s see if we can beat those numbers this year! | |
Thanks for everything this community is doing to work collaboratively and be successful. Keep it up!
With enthusiasm and commitment,
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Mark T. Gladwin, MD (He/him/his)
Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore
John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean
655 West Baltimore Street, 14-029
Baltimore, MD 21201-1509
410.706.7410 (Office) 410.706.0235 (Fax)
umsomdean@som.umaryland.edu
www.medschool.umaryland.edu
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