@umasschan magazine winter 2022

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Securing the future The promise of a transformational gift Story on page 14

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New VA clinic opens on UMass Chan campus

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BaccMD program evolution marks 10th year

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Meyers Institute expands focus at 25

UMass Chan Medical School is the commonwealth’s first and only public academic health sciences center, home to three graduate schools. Our mission is to advance the health and wellness of our diverse communities throughout Massachusetts and across the world by leading and innovating in education, research, health care delivery and public service.

With the Winter 2022 issue, the magazine has a new name!

Reflecting the transformational gift from The Morningside Foundation that led to the Medical School being renamed UMass Chan Medical School, the magazine is now called @umasschan magazine. Read more about the gift on page 14.

@umasschan

contents

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Features At Convocation, Chancellor Collins outlines vision for a new era

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New VA clinic opens on UMass Chan campus

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Profiles Ché Anderson envisions UMass Chan as the ‘most community-engaged’ school in Worcester

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Mireli Fino’s path to leading MassBiologics

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COVER PHOTO BY JOHN GILLOOLY/PEI

BaccMD program illuminates path for students underrepresented in medicine

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Securing the future: the promise of a transformational gift The ‘why’ behind the Chan gift

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Meyers Institute turns 25

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Last Word

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ROB CARLIN PHOTOGRAPHY

At Convocation, Chancellor Collins outlines vision for new era

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ays after announcing a $175 million gift from The Morningside Foundation, Chancellor Michael F. Collins gave his annual Convocation address, focusing on the “transformational moment” for the institution and, especially, its three graduate schools, renamed as a consequence of the gift.

He called for collective efforts to shape the future of UMass Chan Medical School.

The centerpiece of Chancellor Collins’ address was a vision for a bold new era.

“How wonderful it is, as we begin the second 50 years of the Medical School’s journey, that we are afforded this opportunity, by virtue of this gift from The Morningside Foundation, to transform our institution and to take our rightful place among the finest institutions in the world that are committed to health care education, research and service to others,” Collins said. “Through the generosity of others, we shall 2 | WINTER 2022

now be poised to attract, educate and mentor outstanding students; recruit and retain committed faculty; develop innovative and cuttingedge programs; and encourage all our students, faculty and staff to redouble our commitment to serve others.”

Collins recalled being inspired in 2016 by Gerald Chan’s speech, “The Research University in Today’s Society,” which Chan had presented earlier that year at University College, London. Chan made the case that great universities become so when they can benefit from publicprivate partnerships.

The unrestricted gift from The Morningside Foundation nearly doubles the Medical School’s endowment. (Read more about the transformational gift on page 14.)

At Convocation, four faculty members were honored with Chancellor’s Medals, including a posthumous Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service to the

late Robert W. Finberg, MD, chair emeritus and distinguished professor of medicine, who died unexpectedly on Aug. 30. Dr. Finberg’s wife of 50 years, Joyce D. Fingeroth, MD, professor of medicine, accepted the medal on his behalf.

“Each year, one individual in our community is recognized for a career-long dedication to our institution and their profession,” said Collins, introducing the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service.

“The medal for distinguished service recalls extraordinary commitment; it relates sincere appreciation for outstanding contributions; and it respects one among us who is singular in dedication to our medical school.”

Collins continued: “An outstanding educator, an accomplished investigator and a committed clinician defines the essence of a distinguished career in academic medicine. Throughout our history and recently, challenged by the

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Through the generosity of others, we shall now be poised to attract, educate and mentor outstanding students; recruit and retain committed faculty; develop innovative and cutting-edge programs; and encourage all our students, faculty and staff to redouble our commitment to serve others.

pandemic, we have needed the best of medicine to serve the needs of our learners, to investigate novel therapeutics and to care for those afflicted with this novel virus. This year’s medal for distinguished service recognizes one who has taught, discovered and treated, but most importantly, appreciates one who helped us through the most challenging of times through dedicated service.”

“It is with profound sadness that I present this medal, posthumously, to Dr. Robert Finberg,” Collins said.

“Throughout this past year, we needed him more than ever,” he said. “When coronavirus entered our midst, he entered our everyday lives, helping us to understand this virus, its clinical manifestations, and the therapeutic options that might work and those that wouldn’t. Week in and week out he became the face of our medical school, speaking to the public about the disease and its progression and prevention.”

Pang-Yen Fan, MD, professor of medicine, received the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching; Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, the Remondi Family Chair in Biomedical Research and professor of RNA therapeutics, was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Scholarship; and Janice F. Lalikos, MD, professor of surgery, received the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Clinical Excellence.

Following Convocation, nine named professors were invested.

Douglas Golenbock, MD, professor of medicine, was honored as the Neil and Margery Blacklow Chair in Infectious Diseases and Immunology; Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, professor of RNA therapeutics, was invested as the Remondi Family Chair in Biomedical Research; Brian Lewis, PhD, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology, was named as the second George F. Booth Chair in the Basic Sciences; David McManus, MD, chair and professor of medicine, became the Richard M. Haidack Professor in Medicine; Jennifer Reidy, MD, associate professor of family medicine & community health and chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine, was named the Joy McCann Professor for Women in Medicine; Milagros Rosal, PhD, professor of population & quantitative health sciences, was named the Imoigele P. Aisiku, MD’97 Chair in Health Equity and Diversity; Erik Sontheimer, PhD, professor of RNA therapeutics, became the newest holder of the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research; Gregory A. Volturo, MD, chair and professor of emergency medicine, was named the Richard V. Aghababian, MD’74 Chair in Emergency Medicine; and Kimberly Yonkers, MD, chair and professor of psychiatry, became the first Katz Family Chair in Psychiatry. ■

JOHN GILLOOLY/PEI

CHANCELLOR M I C H A E L F. CO L L I N S

Opposite page: Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, speaking at Investiture.

Top: Robert W. Finberg, MD, was posthumously awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service. Joyce D. Fingeroth, MD, his wife of 50 years, accepted the medal on his behalf.

Bottom: Brian Lewis, PhD, who was endowed as the second George F. Booth Chair in the Basic Sciences, shakes hands with George F. Booth II.

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New VA clinic opens on UMass Chan campus

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he VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System and UMass Chan Medical School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in November to celebrate the opening of a new 48,000-square-foot communitybased outpatient clinic for veterans located on the Medical School’s campus in Worcester.

The clinic will provide veterans with access to primary and specialty health care in a new space designed for patient-aligned care teams. It augments services provided at the VA’s Plantation Street clinic and folds in services that had been provided at

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the Lincoln Street and Lake Avenue clinics in Worcester. The new site is equipped to serve 16,800 enrolled veterans in Worcester County and opened to patients in December.

U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough traveled from Washington, D.C., to celebrate the opening of the new clinic.

“President Biden often says that our most sacred obligation is to prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home,” said McDonough.

“Opening this extraordinary new facility helps us do just that. It is the

most recent improvement in the long evolution of the way in which we care for veterans.”

McDonough was joined by UMass Chan Medical School Chancellor Michael F. Collins, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Jim McGovern, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Massachusetts VA Secretary Cheryl Lussier Poppe, regional VA Healthcare leaders Ryan Lilly and Duane Gill, and Kristin Mattocks, PhD, MPH, professor of population & quantitative health sciences and associate dean for veterans affairs, along with state lawmakers, city leaders, local veterans and distinguished guests. ■

Clockwise from above: Sec. McDonough and Chancellor Collins share a proud moment at the ribbon cutting. The fruition of this project is the result of a long and trusting partnership between the Medical School and Veterans Affairs.

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Rep. McGovern, in partnership with Chancellor Collins, championed the near decade-long effort to locate a clinic for veterans on the Medical School campus, consolidating services previously scattered across the region and ensuring that the next generation of health care providers are trained to provide outstanding care to veterans.

During a tour of the new VA building, Sec. McDonough points out a feature of the space to Sen. Warren.

Dr. Mattocks announced at the speaking program that a new fund to support research and education related to veterans health has been established at UMass Chan Medical School.

The clinic occupies 48,000 square feet on the first two levels of the fourstory building and includes 65 exam, consultation and procedure rooms.

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Working for equity and community uplift

Ché Anderson aims to be part of the change

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vibrant academic health sciences center undergoing transformative growth.

An energetic and accomplished community development leader.

UMass Chan Medical School and Ché Anderson, assistant vice chancellor for city and community relations, are a perfect match.

“The synergy of being part of an acclaimed institution with great access to resources that could benefit the city, combined with the opportunity to stay connected to the city and continue providing benefit to the community, seemed like a match made in heaven,” said

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Anderson, who joined UMass Chan in January 2021 after seven years in the Office of the City Manager of Worcester. “Finding new ways to engage with our city and give back to it also gives community members opportunities to better understand what we do, how we do it and why we do it.”

Anderson’s vision is for UMass Chan to be the most communityengaged institution of higher education in Worcester. “I want us to be at the top of people’s minds when they think of opportunities in partnership, whether with the schools or the city or nonprofit

entities. I want to make sure that we’re actively present when it comes to working for equity and community uplift.”

Anderson has already made a lasting mark on the local community, most visibly with the POW! WOW! Worcester murals public art project that can be seen on walls across the city. Beginning with his undergraduate years at the College of the Holy Cross, through two years as director of student services at the Worcester campus of MCPHS and seven years of increasingly responsible roles in the Office of Worcester City

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Manager Ed Augustus, Anderson has cultivated connections and gotten things done, practices he continues at UMass Chan.

While he has been sought from across the country and around the globe for his expertise in organizing and executing complex, creative projects like POW! WOW! Worcester, Anderson is committed to his adopted city. The Manhattan native is quick to answer the question, “Why Worcester?”

Anderson cites the Japanese concept of “Gemba,” used in business parlance to describe the most important place where the real work to achieve continuous improvement happens; he appreciates Worcester as a place where individuals can effect real change.

“Anyone can go to a big city and be part of the hustle and bustle without having an impact.

But not everybody can go to a midsized working people’s city that’s developing and really be part of that development,” he explained. “To be able to roll your sleeves up, get your hands dirty and actually move something is exciting.”

Anderson’s primary charges as assistant vice chancellor for city and community relations for UMass Chan are to build alliances, organize community events and encourage volunteerism. The first thing Anderson did on the job was familiarize himself with the UMass Chan IMPACT 2025 Strategic Plan to align his still-evolving action plan with the goals of the institution.

Having gained an understanding of the scope of the Medical School’s engagement with the local community, Anderson continues

to meet one-on-one with many campus members and community partners. He is learning what’s been done, what has and hasn’t worked, and what can be improved upon. He gladly makes time in his schedule to speak to anyone with an interest in community engagement.

“Finding new ways to engage with our city and give back to it also gives community members opportunities to better understand what we do, how we do it and why we do it.”

CHÉ ANDERSON Partnerships now under his purview include UMass Chan’s North Quadrant Support Services initiative, which supports Worcester Public School students in some of the district’s most economically challenged neighborhoods; he is also helping connect UMass Chan students to community service opportunities. He is a board member of several local organizations, including the United Way of Central Massachusetts, the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the Worcester Historical Museum, and was recently appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker as a member of the Governing Council of the Mass Cultural Council.

Anderson also serves on the Rose Kennedy Greenway Public Art Advisory Group and Food and Convo, an online platform that explores the intersectionality of public art, the

creative culinary industry, music and shared human-centered experience.

Anderson was part of the Worcester Business Journal Power 50 list in 2019 and was named to its 40 Under 40 list in 2018 and was Worcester Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2016.

He credits his passion for his work to the many mentors who have guided and inspired him.

The earliest and most influential was his mother, who instilled in her children the importance of being a positive force in their community, whether by cleaning it up or staying out of trouble and focusing on education. And he is grateful for support and tutelage from everyone at UMass Chan as he becomes a key player in its intensified focus on diversity, inclusion and health equity.

“I appreciate that everyone has been very open to new ideas,” he said. “Our institution truly has the ability to move the needle with new collaborations, new partnerships and new coalition building.”

In one such new endeavor, Anderson is honored to serve as program co-chair for Worcester Homecoming, a collaboration bringing together business, government, health care, education and arts leaders to showcase Worcester’s emerging businesses, culture and people. UMass Chan Medical School is a sponsor, with Chancellor Michael F. Collins serving as finance co-chair. Planning is underway for an inaugural two-day event in June. ■

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“For the betterment of community”

Mireli Fino’s path to leading MassBiologics

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ireli Fino grew up in Calvillo, a small town in Aguascalientes in Central Mexico. Her family highly valued giving back to the community, which contributed to her father and his four siblings all becoming doctors. It’s also why Fino’s professional life has centered on the development of vaccines that improve the lives of millions of people. And ultimately, it’s what led her, after a 30-year career in pharmaceutical manufacturing, to the role of executive vice chancellor for MassBiologics of UMass Chan Medical School in July.

“My dad was one of just a few doctors in our small town,” said Fino. “Growing up, both he and my grandfather taught us it was a responsibility to do something with your life for the betterment of community, something that would contribute to the greater

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public good. That certainty, that you should always give back, has guided me throughout my career.

MassBiologics’ mission to improve health on a global scale is what drew me here.”

In addition to being a town physician, Fino’s father was an organizer in their community, helping local farmers pool resources to pay for a well-water system that allowed them to begin growing cash crops. The extra money brought in from these new crops significantly improved the lives of many local families.

“My dad is really an entrepreneur,” said Fino. “I’d go with him to these massive drilling sites, with all these big machines, and I was fascinated.

I was mesmerized by all the huge, complex engines.”

In some ways, Fino turned her father’s interest in farming into a career. “When I went off to college,

I knew I wanted to do something on a large scale with my life that involved those big projects. I wanted to help more than one patient at a time. I wanted to do something big.

But I also wanted to be in the public sector, giving back to and improving people’s lives.”

Armed with a degree in biochemical engineering, Fino has spent most of her career doing just that: working out the intricacies of manufacturing large volumes of vaccines so millions of people could receive lifesaving medicines.

The first product Fino worked on at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and later Pfizer, Inc., was a pneumococcal vaccine for children that protects against 13 different serotypes of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. In 2005, the World Health Organization estimated that pneumococcal infections were responsible for the death of 1.6 million children worldwide.

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“That vaccine has made a difference to so many lives,” said Fino. “Taking that work across the finish line, to a product that could help children, was a real milestone.”

Now, Fino sees her arrival at MassBiologics as the perfect alignment of her commitment to doing work that contributes to community and her love for accomplishing tasks on a large scale.

“We’re striving to improve the lives of millions of people globally through science and health,” she said.

Fino believes MassBiologics is poised to have a growing role in the biosciences industry in the coming years by capitalizing on its unique commercial experience, its nonprofit and government relations, and its affiliation with the Medical School’s groundbreaking research enterprise. A division of UMass Chan Medical School, MassBiologics is the nation’s only nonprofit FDA-licensed manufacturer of vaccines and biologics in the country. MassBiologics’ leading manufactured biologic is TDVAX, which immunizes against tetanus and diphtheria. Roughly 5 million doses of the vaccine are made at MassBiologics every year, which makes TDVAX the largest part of MassBiologics’ manufacturing business.

Fino also sees a bright horizon for MassBiologics’ strategic partnerships and fee-for-service business, which she believes are positioned to capitalize on recent technological and scientific changes in the pharmaceutical industry that have been accelerating as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By serving as a partner and as a contract development and manufacturing organization to other pharmaceutical companies, MassBiologics can move promising therapies through Phase I and Phase II development toward

commercial launch. Pharmaceutical companies can focus on drug discovery, distribution and marketing instead.

In fact, that’s how Fino first became acquainted with MassBiologics. Protein Sciences, a Sanofi company in Connecticut where Fino was senior vice president for manufacturing operations, approached MassBiologics about manufacturing an influenza vaccine the company was bringing to market. Protein Sciences was focused on launching its approved product and MassBiologics came on board and performed the mixing of the various ingredients of the vaccine so it could be filled in vials and distributed to health care providers.

products and aseptic preparation of small volumes of liquid at the MassBiologics facility in Fall River.

MassBiologics was also certified to perform quality control testing of gene therapy products at its Mattapan site.

Having an EMA GMP certificate allows MassBiologics to contract with companies intending to sell pharmaceuticals in Europe. “This opens up a whole new market for us,” said Fino, who earned her MBA from MIT in 2018. “One of the biggest values we can add to the industry is our knowledge of and experience with Good Manufacturing Practices for biologics.”

Ultimately, revenue generated from manufacturing and contractfor-service business will support MassBiologics’ internal pipeline of biologics and vaccines, which includes a pre-exposure prophylaxis for Lyme disease, currently in Phase I clinical trials, and an oral, preventative treatment for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, a leading cause of death for children in developing nations.

“MassBiologics occupies a unique position among the public sector, academic science and industry that nobody else does,” said Fino. “I don’t think there’s any question that MassBiologics can fulfill a very important role in the industry. The question for us to resolve is where in the ecosystem we can make the biggest impact and improve the most lives. We have some ideas where that niche is and I’m excited to be able to play a part in the continuing success of this 125-year-old institution dedicated to protecting public health.” ■

“I don’t think there’s any question that MassBiologics can fulfill a very important role in the industry. The question for us to resolve is where in the ecosystem we can make the biggest impact and improve the most lives.”

MIRELI FINO Fino sees ample opportunities at MassBiologics for partnerships and fee-for-service offerings in the gene therapy and siRNA biologics space. She noted that because these segments often aren’t as advanced in their manufacturing protocols as some other segments, MassBiologics can fill an important niche providing commercial manufacturing expertise and scale.

As part of this effort, MassBiologics recently received a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) to manufacture gene therapy

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UMass Lowell Medical Scholar Karen Ghobrial, T.H. Chan School of Medicine student Kassandra Jean-Marie, and Beth Israel Deaconess resident Anthony Tran, MD’19.

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ROB CARLIN PHOTOGRAPHY

Illuminating the path BaccMD program facilitates access for students underrepresented in medicine

By Colleen Locke

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econd-year medical student Kassandra Jean-Marie was a freshman at UMass Amherst before she saw a doctor who looked like her.

Now she is studying to become a doctor, thanks in part to a program launched 10 years ago for students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds who hope to help meet the health care needs of diverse patient populations in Massachusetts. The UMass Baccalaureate MD Pathway Program (BaccMD) helps prepare these students for successful matriculation to medical school.

“As women in STEM, we have these really big dreams when we’re younger. But as we get older, a lot of times we feel like we can’t do it, because we don’t see a lot of women in STEM careers,” said Jean-Marie, a Massachusetts native with Haitian-born parents.

The program is currently open to students at the undergraduate UMass campuses who are from racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine nationally and in Massachusetts; who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds; or who are first-generation college graduates.

Paul Charles is the project coordinator for the T.H. Chan School of Medicine’s Office of Admissions and co-director of the BaccMD program, along with Mariann Manno, MD, professor of pediatrics and former associate dean for admissions, who continues her role in this program. Charles was part of the creation of the program in 2012 and has seen its growth from a 12-student cohort then to a 25-student cohort today. Of the 118 students accepted into the program as secondyear college students since its inception, 78 have earned their undergraduate degrees, with 19 matriculating to UMass Chan and four to other medical schools.

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JOHN GILLOOLY/PEI

Second-year medical student Kassandra Jean-Marie celebrates at the Class of 2024 White Coat Ceremony, delayed a year because of the pandemic.

“We’ve had students who’ve gone on to pursue careers in dentistry, physical therapy—even a student who went on to become a lawyer.

Making sure that students figure out what their correct path is and helping them get there is, I think, a success for the program,” Charles said.

Interested UMass sophomores apply to the BaccMD program after their fall semester. Then in the summer between their sophomore and junior years, admitted students, deemed “Medical Scholars,” learn

about careers in medicine and the medical school admissions process; take a practice Medical College Admissions Test; and meet with UMass Chan faculty, students and staff during the four-week residential Summer Enrichment Program.

During their junior year, students participate in their first mock admission interviews and have the opportunity to apply for provisional acceptance to UMass Chan. They are also encouraged to take part in monthly book club meetings.

“Many students think all you have to do is have good grades to get into medical school,” Charles said. “One of the things that we’ve noticed doing these outreach programs is students don’t necessarily read for fun. The MCAT that came out in 2015 has a critical analysis reasoning section. That tends to be a really tough section for our firstgeneration college students. So it’s important that we promote reading and building their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.”

In the summer, rising seniors take part in the Summer Clinical Immersion Experience. Students spend two days a week in clinical settings at UMass Memorial Medical Center or health centers in Worcester. Jean-Marie, for example, visited health centers in Worcester and interacted with the refugee population that she hopes to serve as a physician.

“UMass Chan felt like home before I had even taken my MCAT because the classes we took were here,” Jean-Marie said.

Anthony Tran, MD’19, was in the BaccMD program’s first cohort.

The BaccMD experience

Undergraduate Medical Scholars

Students at UMass Chan

Resident physicians

Interested UMass students can apply as sophomores; admitted students are deemed Medical Scholars.

When UMass BaccMD grads arrive at UMass Chan, many already feel at home because of the campus immersion while in the pipeline program.

There are currently seven BaccMD/UMass Chan alums completing their residencies.

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“We’ve had students who’ve gone on to pursue careers in dentistry, physical therapy—even a student who went on to become a lawyer.

Making sure that students figure out what their correct path is and helping them get there is, I think, a success for the program.”

PAU L C H A R L E S CO - D I R E C T O R , B ACC M D P R O G R A M

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“It didn’t feel like a dream come true until you actually stepped foot on campus,” said Dr. Tran, a firstgeneration college graduate and the son of Vietnamese immigrants who didn’t complete middle school.

“Spending that first summer and second summer at the Medical School—it really made you feel like you were part of something achievable.”

The Dorchester native enrolled at the Medical School after graduating from UMass Boston with a degree in biochemistry in 2015. Tran, who is in the adult neurology residency program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is one of seven BaccMD and UMass Chan graduates who are currently in residency programs.

BaccMD students can apply to UMass Chan during their senior year, but in many cases, Charles says, he recommends students take a gap year.

“The worst thing that they can do is come to medical school and become burned out, or feel like they’re unprepared,” Charles said,

pointing to a 2019 survey from the Association of American Medical Colleges that found 44 percent of 2019 medical students chose to take a gap year or two between completing their undergraduate degrees and matriculating into medical school.

As the BaccMD program has grown over the past decade, it has also evolved. Students no longer need to apply early decision to UMass Chan. Also, Charles has created a gap year plan for students who need to spend more time studying for the MCAT or bolstering their applications. Charles has worked to schedule regular MCAT tutoring sessions for undergraduates as well as students in their gap years.

Another big enhancement came from the Medical Scholars themselves. Nisarg Chhaya, MD’18, developed a mentorship program matching Medical Scholars with second-year medical students for his capstone project. Five years in, this aspect of the program is now one of its cornerstones.

Karen Ghobrial, a Medical Scholar and a senior at UMass Lowell, said she had texts waiting for her from her three UMass Chan student mentors when she finished taking the MCAT. Ghobrial was born in Egypt and is the first person in her family to show an interest in the medical field.

“I don’t really have a role model to look up to or ask questions. So that’s where the BaccMD program comes in. I can easily shoot them an email and say, ‘Hey, I have a question on this. How do I do this? Or do you have any advice on this?’”

Ghobrial said.

Ghobrial has applied to UMass Chan and is hoping to join JeanMarie and the other BaccMD alumni on campus in the fall. ■

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Above: Chancellor Collins welcomes Gerald Chan to the podium at the campus celebration of the gift from The Morningside Foundation.

Top right: UMass Trustee Chioma Okwara, MD’17, spoke about the power of public education at a press conference following the gift announcement.

Middle right: Gerald and Beryl Chan with Maryellen and Michael Collins.

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Lower right: In the days following the announcement of the gift, first- and second-year medical students celebrated at their White Coat ceremonies. Pictured here are Class of 2025 members Lydia Maxwell Brainard and Racquel Bitar.

Securing the future

The promise of a transformational gift

By Susan E.W. Spencer

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ROB CARLIN PHOTOGRAPHY

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he academic year had just ended in June 2015 and UMass Medical School was at an inflection point. The state’s only public medical school, already home to 2006 Nobel Laureate Craig Mello, PhD, had seen one of its most accomplished research faculty win a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences; a new executive vice chancellor had been appointed to focus on business development and the licensing of research discoveries; the School of Medicine’s class of 2015 had been featured prominently on Boston’s WCVB-TV news magazine “Chronicle”; and the institution had been aggressively building its research capacity in a number of areas, including gene therapy, RNA therapeutics and neurodegenerative diseases, along with investments in the research facilities to support them. It was poised to do more.

Chancellor Michael F. Collins had read a profile in the Boston Globe’s Sunday magazine of “Boston’s invisible billionaire,” Gerald Chan, a Hong Kong-born investment magnate and scientist with a passion for novel cancer treatments, who had recently made the largest-ever donation to Harvard School of Public Health.

“Every institution has a ‘moment’ that, if properly leveraged, can fundamentally alter its trajectory,” wrote Chancellor Collins in a letter to Chan that would prove providential. “UMass Medical School, a relatively young institution that graduated its first class of medical students in 1974, is in such a moment, and I am bullish about our prospects for changing the course of the history of disease.”

The two-page letter, highlighting the Medical School’s collaborative orientation that encourages “innovative, dynamic, interdisciplinary research,” piqued Chan’s interest sufficiently to encourage him to pay a visit to Worcester from his Morningside investment group office in Newton. @UMASSCHAN MAGAZINE | 15

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On Sept. 7, 2021, Chan’s deepening relationship with the Medical School came to fruition with the announcement of a “transformational” $175 million gift from his family business’ charitable arm, The Morningside Foundation, the largest in the history of UMass.

The unrestricted donation will ultimately increase the Medical School’s endowment to nearly $500 million.

In recognition of the monumental gift and of the deep commitment to education, research and health care by the Chan family, UMass Medical School was renamed the UMass Chan Medical School. Its three graduate schools were renamed: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, in honor of the father of Gerald Chan and his brother, Ronnie; the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, in honor of their mother; and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

The relationship between the Medical School and Gerald Chan and his family developed gradually yet deliberately over the years since the initial letter was sent, nurtured by Medical School leaders as well as by Collins and his wife, Maryellen.

Collins remembers getting a call from Chan one late summer day in 2015.

“He’s an investor and he invests in science,” Collins said. “And so, he was very impressed with the level of the science here and the kind of work that was being done.”

A few months later a one-hour meeting was set up in Worcester, and a month after that, in December 2015, Chan brought his team and spent the day with Medical School leaders and faculty on campus.

“I was extremely impressed with him and the quality of questions he asked,” said Collins. “He was always probing: What are your dreams for the school? Tell me about some of the students.”

Top: Gov. Charlie Baker expressed gratitude to The Morningside Foundation and the Chan family for their incredible generosity.

Bottom: Gerald and Beryl Chan, with Maryellen and Michael Collins, are joined by staff from The Morningside Foundation.

Visits and correspondence grew more frequent, including dinners in Cambridge with science thought leaders, and Chan and his wife, Beryl, hosting Collins and Maryellen just before the COVID-19 global pandemic struck in March 2020.

Discussions quieted as the pandemic raged, but by summer 2021, with vaccinations taking place, talk about hopes and dreams turned to more concrete plans.

Making a gift to the institution’s endowment, to grow with its investments and provide income for all three graduate schools, was important to Chan. “The most important point he made was he wanted all of the schools to benefit.

He said he didn’t want to pick winners,” said Collins.

Collins’ overture to Chan, which highlighted the depth of promising research and education taking place across the Medical School’s graduate schools, aligned with Chan’s philanthropic record of commitment to eradicating disease and spoke to Morningside’s strategic investment interest.

Chan praised the wisdom of UMass Medical School’s founders that it should consist of a school of science, a medical school and a school of nursing.

“The three schools exist separately, but also cross-fertilize each other,” said Chan, in his remarks to the Medical School community in Worcester following the announcement of the gift at a UMass Board of Trustees special meeting

in Boston. “This is a comprehensive training ground that develops talents for the health care of today and the health care of tomorrow.”

He added, “The world needs to look beyond Route 128 to see what a great educational and research institution has been built on the shores of Lake Quinsigamond.”

The interconnection between the Medical School’s graduate programs and MassBiologics, its enterprise that is the only nonprofit FDA-approved developer and manufacture of biologics in the nation, was also hailed by Chan in his remarks.

But it wasn’t just stateof-the-art technology and groundbreaking research that were impressive, Chan said.

What made UMass Medical School stand out was “the kind of people it takes in,” following an admission practice that “attends to both quality and inclusion.”

He noted that public education is particularly important to new immigrants, which recently published Census data show are the fastest growing demographic in Massachusetts.

Chan, who became a U.S. citizen in the 1970s, said, “The immigrant story is a story of people taking risks in order to create a better life for their families. . . . Quality public education is the best way to harness the energy brought to our country by new immigrants.”

The Morningside Foundation’s contribution was lauded by Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and UMass leadership.

“They invest in institutions that are literally going to transform people’s lives, and that is what you do day in and day out as a medical school,” said UMass President Marty Meehan.

UMass trustee and alumna Noreen “Chioma” Okwara, MD’17, highlighted what she called the “transformational power of public education.”

“The extraordinary gift that The Morningside Foundation and the Chan family are making today will go a long way toward changing lives, creating opportunities for countless people, and, most importantly, allowing people from all walks of life to entertain dreams that will remain impactful for generations to come,” Dr. Okwara said.

“The extraordinary gift that The Morningside Foundation and the Chan family are making today will go a long way toward changing lives, creating opportunities for countless people, and, most importantly, allowing people from all walks of life to entertain dreams that will remain impactful for generations to come.”

Noreen “Chioma” Okwara, MD’17 The conversation that began in 2015 with a letter and an invitation to learn more resulted in resources that will support UMass Chan’s ability “to attract, educate and mentor outstanding students; recruit and retain committed faculty; develop innovative and cutting-edge programs; and to encourage all students, faculty and staff to redouble our commitment, in the legacy of the Chan family, to serve others,” said Collins in his Convocation address in September.

“The Medical School had been launching in an ambitious direction in 2015,” Collins said.

“This endowment gift will propel it to greatness.” ■

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“This gift is a powerful statement about the stature—and the potential— of our medical school, a very special place. The confidence this historic gift conveys about our medical school is breathtaking.”

Chancellor Michael F. Collins

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Behind the historic gift: Gerald Chan’s remarks to the UMass Chan Medical School community On behalf of The Morningside Foundation, Gerald Chan addresses the Sept. 7 campus celebration Editor’s note: The following are the remarks made by Gerald Chan, on behalf of The Morningside Foundation, on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, during the campus celebration recognizing the $175 million gift from The Morningside Foundation.

It gives me great pleasure in representing The Morningside Foundation to join in the celebration today. Terrible restrictions from the pandemic have prevented my family members from being here and leaving me as the sole representative of the family.

What I’d like to do is offer a few remarks to give some color to this gift.

By renaming the school as UMass Chan Medical School, this institution is now inextricably linked to the Chan family.

I want this linkage to be meaningful to you beyond a transaction by which The Morningside Foundation provided some financial support to the school. Too much of modern life has become merely transactional. Scarce are the reflections in search of meaning.

The persons this naming are to honor are Mr. and Mrs. T.H. Chan, the parents of my brothers and me.

My father passed away 35 years ago at an age younger than mine now. He was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, had a botched surgery done by an over confident

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surgeon, and died within nine months from initial diagnosis. My mother, on the other hand, is 101 and still going.

She keeps an active social calendar, eats out with friends and family regularly and enjoys her food, especially dessert, which is a must-have as the conclusion to a proper meal. I’m fortunate that she passed on to me her mitochondria genome. It would be wonderful if the mitochondria in my cells can keep making ATP for as long as hers.

There are many things that I can say about my parents, but I feel that mere facts and chronology are of limited import. In as much as we all hated the study of history that was a mere recitation of dates and events, I would not want to tell you about my parents in such a format. History should be living, imagined and reimagined so as to be impactful on the present. The past gives us roots, not so much in the sense of connecting us to bygone times, but in anchoring us in values that are timeless.

The life of my father gave form to the values he passed on to me. His life inspires me to live similarly; and his life ennobles mine.

The gift to UMass today has its roots in the life of giving that my parents lived. I will give you one vignette of my late father. When the elevator repair man who had worked for him for some years fell ill and needed a blood transfusion, my father gave that man his own blood. In those days in

Hong Kong, blood banks were as yet underdeveloped. There would be a band of people standing outside the back door of the hospital waiting to sell blood. My father, who was by then a well-to-do man, could have paid anyone of those men for their blood. Instead, he gave the elevator man his own blood.

In that one act of giving which cuts through layers of socioeconomic strata, he affirmed the common humanity he had with the repair man. His giving taught me that financial giving is but a surrogate that affirms a common humanity. I would like that this gift not be a mere conveyance of financial resources, but a continuation of the humanity that my father lived by.

Since this gift is to a medical school, I will provide a further sketch of my father by sharing a bit of his medical history. From my aunts, I learned that my father was a rambunctious boy in his childhood. He had a good mind and was especially good with numbers, but he was not a good student. It would be years later when my son was diagnosed with ADHD, and my younger brother pointing out to me that I had all the hallmarks of ADHD, that I realized my father in all likelihood suffered from ADHD. But in those old days, a kid with ADHD was simply a bad kid.

Under the prevailing Chinese culture, any deviation from social norms was judged as errant, and therefore bad.

My dad was therefore thought to be

“I wish that this gift will serve as the spotlight on the UMass Chan Medical School.

The world needs to look beyond Route 128 to see what a great educational and research institution has been built on the shores of Lake Quinsigamond.” not a good kid in school. He never went to university. I don’t even know if he finished high school. He never talked about his childhood, and I never thought to ask. By the time I wanted to know more, he was no longer around.

My father overcame his genetic predisposition by hard work and perseverance, by being entrepreneurial and by taking risk to seize opportunities.

He came of age in a tumultuous period of world history, buffeted by perilous developments in world affairs and beset by his own doubts about his ability to succeed in life. I was too young to know his trials when I was growing up. Decades later, I read some of his letters to my aunt that gave me a glimpse into his struggles. One thing I do know is how determined he was to succeed. Eventually, he did succeed as a businessman. He did so with sheer grit, all along never compromising his exacting integrity nor losing the warmth of his humanity.

Now before I am found guilty of indulging in filial hagiography about my father, let me turn now to say a few words about my mother. When she graduated from secondary school, she

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could have gone on to study medicine.

Instead, she chose to study nursing. In her own words, “Who would care for those sick patients?” It was therefore with compassion and a spirit of service to others that she chose a career in nursing. She was trained in a British hospital in Northern China and worked as a registered nurse during my childhood. She worked in the Chest Clinic in Hong Kong at a time when tuberculosis was rampant. She also worked as a surgical nurse where her skills were highly regarded. It is therefore most fitting that a school of nursing should bear her name.

The COVID pandemic today has shown us in startling clarity how critical nurses are at the front line of health care delivery. The traditional role of nurses only providing supportive care has given way to a model where nurses and nurse practitioners bear a large load in the health care system. This is all the more

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“It is with gratitude to the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with loving thoughts for my parents, and with tribute to you all, who are working every day to make UMass Chan Medical School a very special place, I am here today to celebrate this gift with you.” so as the prevalent disease burden in the world shifts from acute to chronic diseases. It is my hope that the nursing school, hereafter the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, would grow in scale and train many more who will play a leadership role in the future of health care.

As to Morningside, the name that will hereafter be attached to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, it is the name used by the investment arm of the Chan family for many years.

Many of its investments in recent years have been in biotechnology, which is at the convergence of science, medicine and business. For centuries, medicine progressed by observations. This was

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true even as late as the time of William Osler who is widely regarded as the seminal figure in modern medicine.

Today, medicine has evolved to be firmly grounded in science. In other words, science is now the engine for progress in medicine.

Biotechnology, in turn, is the business of turning science into medicine. That journey from a laboratory discovery to an approved therapeutic, from bench to bedside, is tightly regulated and highly risky, but without a commitment to discovery science and skillful execution of translational science, the progress of medicine will stall. Biomedical science today is an expensive enterprise.

It is the price tag for progress. If the

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Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is to continue its track record of doing top-notch science, as evidenced by a homegrown Nobel laureate, a Breakthrough Prize and much of the foundational work that underpinned the first gene therapy approved by the FDA, it must have the resources to recruit and support the most talented scientists.

The competition in the world today is a competition for power. Some call this competition an arms race. If that were the case, we simply need more arms to win the race.

It is sapient of the founders of the UMass Medical School that it should consist of a school of science, a medical school and a school of nursing. The three schools exist separately, but also cross-fertilize each other. This is a comprehensive training ground that develops talents for the health care of

Congress which created the land-grant universities, of which UMass is one of two in this state, laid the foundation for the rise of the United States to be a world power. Similarly, the GI Bill contributed immeasurably to the postWorld War II prosperity this country enjoyed. Both attest to the enormous returns to society from the public sector investing in public higher education.

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today and the health care of tomorrow.

I wish that this gift will serve as the spotlight on the UMass Chan Medical School. The world needs to look beyond Route 128 to see what a great educational and research institution has been built on the shores of Lake Quinsigamond. When I finally did so after many Boston-bound years, I was stunned. I promptly found outstanding intellectual properties with which Morningside started two biotech companies.

Any school will ultimately be defined by its graduates. The kinds of graduates a school turns out has a lot to do with the kinds of people it takes in. In getting to know the School of Medicine hereafter the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, I was particularly impressed by its admission practice, which attends to both quality and inclusion. Chancellor Collins has told me innumerable stories of UMass Medical students here who came from unsure beginnings and rose to become distinguished leaders in medicine. My father would be very pleased to have the family name associated with a school that opens doors for those from humble backgrounds to the study of medicine.

In choosing to support UMass Medical School, The Morningside Foundation also wants to recognize the importance of public-private education.

Blessed with many outstanding private universities, it is all too easy for us in Massachusetts to lose sight that it is the state universities that bear the bulk of the burden of educating the young people of this country. The prominence of our private universities should not obfuscate the importance of the public universities. These two play very overlapping, but also complementary roles in preparing the talents needed for a healthy, functioning and culturally rich society.

The Morrill Act of 1862, an act of

a source of new energy for their adopted country. Whether the new immigrants are themselves educated or not, they want their children to be educated.

I dare say this is the one universal aspiration of immigrants and a strong reason why upward social mobility is still evident among immigrant groups in this country today. Quality public education is the best way to harness the energy brought to our country by new immigrants. I therefore call on the leaders of the commonwealth to redouble the state’s support for all the campuses of the University of Massachusetts. The gift that we are celebrating today is not meant to replace state support, but to augment it in order that UMass Medical School can reach even greater heights.

It will soon be half a century since I first moved to Massachusetts. It was here that I found life-changing education and insanely abundant

“I consider it an honor that my family’s name will be associated with this distinguished public institution of learning, research and patient care.”

One group for whom public higher education is especially important is the new immigrants. The census data published two weeks ago showed that immigrants are the fastest growing demographic in Massachusetts.

My parents were also transplanted immigrants in their younger days.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts began with the Pilgrims coming as immigrants. As then and now, the immigrant story is a story of people taking risk in order to create a better life for their families. It is not surprising that people who dared to be uprooted from their homeland eventually become

opportunities to flourish in my work.

It is with gratitude to the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with loving thoughts for my parents, and with tribute to you all, who are working every day to make UMass Chan Medical School a very special place, I am here today to celebrate this gift with you. I consider it an honor that my family’s name will be associated with this distinguished public institution of learning, research and patient care.

Thank you very much. c

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The Meyers Institute was named in memory of John Meyers, MD, who was a physician leader, a clinician, a scholar—and an accomplished artist. Jerry Gurwitz, MD, is seen here in the Lamar Soutter Library with a sculpture by Dr. Meyers of H. Brownell Wheeler, MD, founding chair of surgery at the Medical School.

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Meyers Institute turns 25 New name, new executive director will lead into next 25 years

By Susan E.W. Spencer

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quarter century ago, medical education, research and health care systems embraced the vision of primary care. Comprehensive, coordinated care was recognized as a key to healthier communities. The 1990s was also a time of innovative collaboration among health care providers, researchers, business leaders and insurers in Worcester.

In that setting, in July 1996, the Meyers Primary Care Institute was born, a unique joint endeavor among what is now UMass Chan Medical School, Fallon Health and Reliant Medical Group.

Committed to population-based research across the lifespan, the multidisciplinary institute honors the memory of John Meyers, MD, who served as president of Fallon Clinic (now Reliant Medical Group) from 1966 to 1982 and president of Fallon Community Health Plan (now Fallon Health) from 1976 to 1985. Dr. Meyers was highly regarded as a physician leader, a caring clinician, a well-respected scholar—and an accomplished artist.

The Meyers Primary Care Institute turned 25 in July, and along with this milestone, announced that its name would change at the start of 2022 to the Meyers Health Care Institute.

Another big change coming soon: Jerry Gurwitz, MD, the Dr. John Meyers Professor of Primary Care Medicine, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, will step down on May 1, 2022, after more than 25 years as founding executive director of the institute.

“The delivery of health care exists in a continuum, encompassing the community and a range of clinical settings, and extends well beyond what existed 25 years ago,” Dr. Gurwitz said. “Our investigators at the Meyers Health Care Institute focus on ways to improve the health and health care provided to individuals and populations. That involves research efforts that are not singularly focused on primary care. Our new name reflects this expanded, more contemporary focus.”

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The Meyers Primary Care Institute turned 25 in July, and along with this milestone, announced that its name would change to the Meyers Health Care Institute in 2022.

Meyers Institute Associate Director Kathleen Mazor, EdD, is co-leading a research project tracking COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and testing the impact of different messages from health care providers.

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While the institute’s scope has expanded, its foundation remains firm. “The same principles hold today: that the health of the community and the health of populations are improved when people have access to high quality primary care,” said Gurwitz.

And while the board of directors has a lot to plan for as it selects a new executive director and outlines a vision for the future, there is plenty to celebrate about the institute's first 25 years.

“There are no other research centers across the entire country that bring together a medical school, a health plan and a medical group in a formal way and with a common mission. UMass Chan Medical School has partnered to create this unique entity with the goal of improving how health care is delivered.

That is truly something to be proud of,” he said.

Gurwitz pointed to some of the institute’s research that continues to have an impact on major public health concerns. For example, the institute was involved in the largest clinical trial ever undertaken to

determine how to reduce fall-related injuries in older adults, and there are ongoing efforts to address vaccine hesitancy at both the community and national level.

Meyers researchers have performed many studies related to medication safety in populations, including nursing home residents and pregnant women.

“Our efforts to study health care in real-world clinical sites, and being able to study very large populations, often in collaboration with other research entities across the United States, have been phenomenal,” Gurwitz said.

“Under the guidance of Jerry Gurwitz, Meyers has been the vehicle for collaborative research on how medical care impacts people of all ages. This has been enabled by the unique partnership among UMass Chan Medical School, Fallon Health and Reliant Medical Group,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine.

“In the coming years, we anticipate that the work of Meyers will become even more significant, as the aging demographics and increasing diversity of our population create the need for rapid adaptations in health care delivery.”

For Meyers’ researchers, the institute has enhanced their opportunities to learn, grow and make a difference.

“It’s a unique place in terms of connecting with other organizations around the country,” said Kathleen Mazor, EdD, professor of medicine and associate director of the Meyers Health Care Institute. Dr. Mazor and Kimberly Fisher, MD, associate professor of medicine, have been tracking vaccine acceptance since April 2020 and are testing the impact of different messages from health care providers to encourage those who were hesitant to become more willing to be vaccinated.

Mazor said Meyers has added “a whole different level of understanding of health care delivery research and the kind of questions one could ask and answer.”

Meyers has also become an incubator for new researchers, according to Dr. Fisher, a clinician who was interested in doing more research when she teamed up with Mazor and the institute eight years ago.

“I think there are a lot of things that Meyers does that just makes it much more accessible and possible,” Fisher said. “You get connected to networks of people beyond UMass, which is really crucial in doing impactful research. You have this pooled resource of shared expertise.”

Robert Yood, MD, has been affiliated with Meyers Institute since its founding. Dr. Yood serves as treasurer on the board of directors and is medical director of the Research Department at Reliant Medical Group.

“The faculty at Meyers Primary Care Institute contributes to its ongoing success,” said Yood. “And it has turned out to be a lasting memorial to Jack Meyers, who was not only a visionary but a Renaissance man—a sculptor, musician and physician who brought managed care to Central Massachusetts. Fallon Community Health Plan was the first senior Medicare Advantage plan in the country. He made a difference.”

Yood noted the importance of Meyers Institute research, saying it has been “really helpful to organizations like ours, in trying to make sure that we’re providing quality health care with good preventive services.”

One study, which looked at adverse drug events in an ambulatory setting and how they might be prevented, was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and has

been cited more than 2,000 times in medical literature. “So that has become a pivotal study in understanding how to improve drug safety for the entire nation,” Yood said.

Yood credited Meyers Primary Care Institute’s success in research and education, in no small part, to Gurwitz’s 25 years at the helm.

“He has contributed to UMass through the Meyers Institute and also to geriatrics at Reliant Medical Group through his seeing patients as a geriatrician and, through the studies that he’s done, contributed to the prominence of Fallon Health nationally.”

social determinants of health, and the connection between the patient, caregiver and provider,” he said. “I think the organization is very well positioned to contribute scholarly research to those current topics.”

Tarek Elsawy, MD, president and CEO of Reliant Medical Group and president of the Northeast and Midwest regions of Optum, a national network of medical groups and ambulatory care systems, said that the concept of clinical research was “foundational,” but Meyers Health Care Institute goes beyond what others do through its unique model of collaboration.

“Our efforts to study health care in real-world clinical sites, and being able to study very large populations, often in collaboration with other research entities across the United States, have been phenomenal.”

Jerry Gurwitz, MD “The fact that you have a medical school, a provider group and a health plan—very different organizations— working together with unwavering commitment to the work of Meyers is a real testament, not only to Jerry and the whole team for building something that has sustainability, but it also speaks to the kind of community we are,” said Fallon Health President and CEO Richard Burke.

“I think Meyers is kind of a symbol,” he continued. “Worcester is a great community, and you sometimes have rival organizations saying, you know, we need to work together, because it’s the right thing for the community.”

The institute’s name change reflects Meyers’ broader focus on challenges of population health and integration of care, according to Burke. “Everyone talks today about

“I think it really shows that health care is best done in partnership,” Dr. Elsawy said.

Elsawy said he would love to see Meyers’ power of partnering harness greater technology avenues— looking at broader sets of data and artificial intelligence, for example, beyond what might be available within its host institutions.

But, Elsawy summed up, “My favorite thing about Meyers is the fact that it has continued. And I just love the spirit of cooperation that has continued. That, to me, is a wonderful sort of acknowledgment of the richness of the institution.” ■

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Michael F. Collins, MD Chancellor and Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences

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s the commonwealth’s first and only public medical school looks ahead to our next 50 years of transformation, we have reason to be optimistic about our future and our ability to positively impact the health and well-being of the diverse communities of Massachusetts and the world.

Undeterred by the pandemic’s ongoing disruptions, undaunted by rising expectations and unafraid to aspire to greatness, we are a medical school on the move.

Our special public mission underscores what we are about. Our steadfast commitment to change the course of the history of disease informs all that we do.

Our collaborative culture shapes how we go about doing just that.

Support for our learners—tomorrow’s medical, nursing and scientific leaders—is unwavering as we continue to direct considerable resources toward strengthening the academic mission and nurturing a more inclusive, diverse and welcoming learning environment. Our worldclass research enterprise is experiencing impressive growth and now totals more than $400 million in research grants and contracts, from cutting-edge basic science inquiry to novel translational projects focused, for example, on developing new COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

The dynamism of our institution is palpable, and signs of our rapid transformation are everywhere. Our everexpanding campus footprint in Worcester is one such sign. This past November, it was wonderful to mark the completion of the state-of-the-art VA community-based outpatient clinic we built on behalf of area veterans and our VA partners. This winter, steel beams will begin to rise from another active construction site, signaling an exciting phase in an ambitious project to construct a gleaming nine-story education and research building in the heart of the campus.

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Perhaps a more compelling and poignant sign underscoring our institutional momentum occurred on Sept. 7, when we announced a historic $175 million gift commitment from The Morningside Foundation and the Chan family. This philanthropic investment has been a game-changer. As the gift’s impact will be transformational, so, too, must be our efforts and actions in creating a new future for UMass Chan Medical School—one that positions us as a leader in re-imagining health sciences education and research, advancing health equity and the diversity of our health care and research workforce, and establishing new models of engaging and partnering with community and industry stakeholders.

While our IMPACT 2025 Strategic Plan continues to guide our general direction and priorities, I have asked Executive Deputy Chancellor, Provost and Dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Terry Flotte to convene leaders from across our academic, research, educational and operational enterprise to define a bold future that is fully aligned with our current strategic plan but distinguished by ideas worthy of this uniquely transformational moment in our history.

Undeterred by the pandemic’s ongoing disruptions, undaunted by rising expectations, and unafraid to aspire to greatness, we are a medical school on the move.

We have shown that there are no limits to the adaptability, ingenuity and resourcefulness of our faculty, staff and students, and we shall depend upon their insights, contributions and expertise to propel us to even greater heights in the years ahead.

As we make the most of the opportunity before us, we recognize the need to be more adaptive and responsive to the constantly changing world around us and the pressing and complex global challenges confronting us. It will require us to recalibrate the methods we use to optimally prepare our students to thrive and make a real-world impact following graduation. As we embark on this essential work, we will make UMass Chan Medical School’s presence known and impact felt— in Central Massachusetts, across the commonwealth and throughout the world. ■

@umasschan @umasschan is the magazine of UMass Chan Medical School, one of five campuses of the UMass system. The magazine is distributed periodically to members, benefactors and friends of the UMass Chan community. It is published by the Office of Communications.

Readers are invited to comment on the contents of the magazine, via email to UMassChanCommunications@umassmed.edu; please include “@umasschan magazine” in the subject line.

Chancellor and Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences: Michael F. Collins, MD Executive Deputy Chancellor and Provost, Dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine: Terence R. Flotte, MD Vice Chancellor for Communications: Jennifer Berryman Editor: Mark L. Shelton Managing editor: Ellie Castano Staff contributors: Ellie Castano, Jim Fessenden, Bryan Goodchild, Sandra Gray, Lisa Larson, Colleen Locke, Mark L. Shelton, Susan E.W. Spencer Design: Dan Lambert

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On the cover: Eve S. Takazawa (left) and Samantha Lee are all smiles following their White Coat ceremony in September. The medical students took part in the tradition that welcomes them into the medical profession at the beginning of their first year. The celebration was

particularly sweet as it came just days after the announcement of the $175 million gift from The Morningside Foundation, a gift that invests in the future of students in all three schools and in the promise of students to come.

Readers, because our mailing lists are supplied by several departments, some of you may receive more than one copy of this magazine. Thank you for passing extras along to others who are interested in UMass Chan Medical School.