UMass Chan Medical School

With federal research funding uncertain, states debate new science initiatives A handful of states are considering initiatives to increase funding for scientific research as uncertainty around federal dollars has grown.

Chancellor Michael F. Collins and Nobel laureate Victor R. Ambros, PhD, spoke to STAT about how UMass Chan Medical School is affected by the NIH’s transition to multiyear funding and how state funding could help: direc.to/oWeg

#NIHFunding #ResearchFunding @statnews.com @aniloza.bsky.social

Nobel laureates warn federal funding cuts threaten Mass. research jobs - Boston Business Journal Two Nobel laureates warn that delayed federal grants are forcing layoffs and halting research at Massachusetts' only public medical school.

Important OpEd by 2 Nobel laureates @umasschan.bsky.social Drs. Ambros and Mello
www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/...

Alumna of the PREP program makes a point in class

The 12-month, NIH-funded Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at UMass Chan Medical School prepares applicants for an MD/PhD or PhD in the biomedical sciences through research experiences and mentorship. Apply to PREP by Feb. 28: direc.to/oVBS

#PrePhD #PhDSky #BiomedicalSciences

Defining JNKs: Targets for drug discovery Roger Davis will receive the Bert and Natalie Vallee Award in Biomedical Science at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, March 7–10, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Meet #ASBMB2026 speaker Roger Davis! The @umasschan.bsky.social professor — and ASBMB Vallee Award honoree — transformed our understanding of JNK signaling, showing it’s not a single protein but a family encoded by three genes & diversified by alternative splicing.

Rare Diseases, Real Stories Rare Diseases, Real Stories

February is Rare Disease Month. The Rare Diseases, Real Stories podcast series spotlights families affected by rare diseases. Listen here: direc.to/oUKe

#RareDiseaseMonth #RareDisease #RareDiseases #RareDiseasesRealStories #podcast #GeneTherapy @courageousparentsnetwork.org @uofmass.bsky.social 🎧

UMass Chan licenses gene therapy for rare genetic disorder to Raiden Science Foundation UMass Chan has licensed an adeno-associated virus gene therapy to the Raiden Science Foundation to develop a clinical treatment for UBA5 disorder.

UMass Chan and the Raiden Science Foundation have partnered on a technology license for a gene therapy product targeting the ultra-rare disease UBA5: direc.to/oUPW

The foundation is named after 5-year-old Raiden Pham, diagnosed with UBA5 disorder in 2021. #GeneTherapy #RareDisease #RareDiseaseMonth

Boston built a global biotech empire. Now the talent is quietly drifting away. - The Boston Globe In a first-of-its-kind survey, the Globe asked hundreds of scientists about the impact of federal funding cuts.

The Boston Globe surveyed researchers in Massachusetts who receive NIH funding and heard from 370, including Rachael Sirianni, PhD, a pediatric brain cancer researcher at UMass Chan: direc.to/oUwc

“I’m holding my breath,” Dr. Sirianni said.

#NIHFunding @docsirianni.bsky.social @bostonglobe.com

Philanthropist Gerald Chan to deliver UMass Chan Commencement address May 31 Gerald Chan, philanthropist and founder of The Morningside Foundation, will deliver the Commencement address on May 31.

Philanthropist Gerald Chan; Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, incoming president of the National Academy of Medicine; and Robert A. Harrington, MD, dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, will be honored during Commencement alongside 300+ grads: direc.to/oU5y #UMassChan2026 @uofmass.bsky.social @nam.edu

Chancellor Collins speaks out on threat to biomedical research Chancellor Michael F. Collins says changes to NIH funding mechanisms threaten the nation’s biomedical research infrastructure and undermine clinical advances.

“To suggest that it’s simple to take the money and distribute it on geographic balance doesn’t recognize the importance of the investment that has been made over six or seven decades.”

#ICYMI: Chancellor Michael F. Collins was featured on @politico.com & @bostonglobe.com: direc.to/oUU6 #NIHfunding

Two UMass Chan medical students match into their top choice program at Walter Reed Two UMass Chan medical students in the Class of 2026 have successfully matched into their top choice military residency programs at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Suhas Suddala and Colin Stoll have matched into their top choice military residency programs at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center: direc.to/oTCG

Stoll has matched in internal medicine, while Suddala, an MD/MBA student, will do his residency training in anesthesia.

#MilitaryMatch

Targeted nerve blocks sharply reduce pain, opioid use for children with severe leg fractures, UMass Chan study finds A UMass Chan-led study found that ultrasound-guided nerve blocks provide significantly better pain relief for children with severe leg fractures while reducing opioid use by nearly 75 percent, without...

A UMass Chan-led study found that ultrasound-guided nerve blocks provide significantly better pain relief for children with severe leg fractures while reducing opioid use by nearly 75 percent, without added risk. direc.to/oTCa

#pediatrics #opiod #POCUS #EM #PEM @aem-journal.bsky.social

Losing PhD students means losing the future - The Boston Globe Trump’s budget cuts could harm the pipeline for research and industry jobs — and send talented students to other countries.

If the PhD admissions cuts in 2025 "prove to be a harbinger of things to come," the Boston Globe Editorial Board wrote, "it would be a grave crisis": direc.to/oTFK

"Closing off opportunities for young researchers means many of them will take their ambitions elsewhere." - @globeopinion.bsky.social

U.S. Flu Cases Are Rising Again

This year’s flu season has been particularly severe for young children. Zachary Binder, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School, told The New York Times that many of the patients he saw during the December wave developed serious symptoms: direc.to/oTyk

#flu @nytimes.com

Democrats just handed RFK Jr. billions more than he asked for. It was a big risk. Lawmakers rejected huge health cuts President Donald Trump requested. Kennedy’s diverting the funds to pet projects and red states.

Chancellor Michael F. Collins spoke to POLITICO about NIH director Jay Bhattacharya’s plans for a more widespread distribution of research funds: direc.to/oT1y

“Cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, does not have a red or blue component,” Collins said.

#NIHfunding #ResearchFunding @politico.com

UMass Chan study examines mindfulness as nonpharmacological approach to chronic low back pain UMass Chan Medical School is leading a multisite study using mindfulness and AI-driven insights to improve movement, sleep, and daily functioning for people with chronic low back pain.

UMass Chan Medical School is leading a multi-site study using mindfulness and AI-driven insights to improve movement, sleep and daily functioning for people with chronic low back pain: direc.to/oT7K

#BackPain #mindfulness #AI @uofmass.bsky.social

Two students in the Population Health Sciences Pathway chatting over a laptop

Focus on epidemiology, biostatistics and health services research while earning a PhD in biomedical sciences through the Population Health Sciences Pathway at UMass Chan. Register for the virtual info session on Feb. 11: direc.to/oTeK

#PhD #PhDSky #epidemiology #biostatistics #PopulationHealth

What makes a good medical school teacher? Award-winning instructors and their students reflect on building relationships and trust, maintaining standards, and making adjustments.

Melissa Fischer, MD, MEd, one of the recipients of the 2025 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Awards, spoke to AAMC about what makes someone a good teacher and educational innovator and how we learn from medical errors: direc.to/oSVc

#MedEd #MedSchool #MedicalSchool @aamc.org

Science for Living: How digital health tools strengthen care when patients are the core focus Daniel Amante, PhD, MPH, discusses how digital health tools are most effective when they’re designed with patients at the center.

From patient portals to text messages and wearables, digital health can improve outcomes, but only when it’s built around patient needs. Daniel Amante, PhD, MPH, shows how patient-centered design keeps technology human and care effective: direc.to/oS3V

#AI #DigitalHealth #ScienceForLiving

UMass Chan nursing faculty working with UMass Chan nursing students in the Nursing Skills Lab

The early admission deadline for most UMass Chan nursing programs is Sunday, Feb. 1. Reserve your spot in our Doctor of Nursing Practice, PhD, MS in Nursing and Interprofessional Leadership and Post Graduate Certificate programs: direc.to/oRRH

#nursing #nurse #NursingPhD #leadership

UMass Chan’s 38th MLK tribute emphasizes acts of service to community The event featured the presentation of the inaugural Chancellor’s Award for Mission-Aligned Community Impact.

Jennifer Bradford, MD, was the keynote speaker for UMass Chan Medical School’s tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Read about the recipients of the inaugural Chancellor’s Award for Mission-Aligned Community Impact and the Student Service Recognition Awards: direc.to/oRpx

#MLK #MLKawards

Making sure AI works: UMass Chan’s new AI Assurance Lab tests developing healthcare tech, so it functions properly in the real world By deploying and studying the impacts of AI tools across different healthcare providers and patient subgroups, the AI Assurance lab is working to add the human back into artificial intelligence.

The Worcester Business Journal profiled UMass Chan’s AI Assurance Lab, an initiative established in April to test the ethical use of AI in health care. Read about how the lab’s focus has shifted in its first nine months of operation: direc.to/oRem

@umassmedicine.bsky.social @wbjournal.bsky.social

UMass Chan rural health scholars lead culinary workshops at local senior center The students are leading “Cultivating Connections,” a monthly, hands-on culinary workshop for area residents at the Barre/Hardwick senior center.

UMass Chan medical students are leading a monthly culinary workshop at the Barre-Hardwick Senior Center to teach hands-on cooking skills tailored to common senior dietary needs. Watch the video: direc.to/oRbL

#community #MedSchool @chronicle5.bsky.social @wbur.org @nbcboston.com

UMass Chan ophthalmology chair participates in surgical training project in Nepal UMass Chan ophthalmology chair Christopher Teng, MD, MBA, led a free surgical outreach and hands-on training mission in Nepal in December.

Christopher Teng, MD, MBA, was part of a team that delivered free, complex eye care and hands-on surgical training in Nepal last month, advancing health equity and empowering local physicians to restore sight even though the mission has ended: direc.to/oQLJ

#GlobalHealth #HealthEquity #RestoreSight

Graphic says Learn to lead—at your own pace. Master of Science: Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership. Now accepting applications for fall 2026

“I have recognized that by improving a system or patient care process, I can impact and improve the care for many more.” - Sarah Pierce, RN, BSN

Apply by Feb. 1 to save your spot in the master's program in nursing and interprofessional leadership at UMass Chan: direc.to/oQL_

#nurse #leadership

Graphic says AMWA presents the 2026 Larry Zaroff Man of Good Conscience Award to Terence R. Flotte, MR, dean, provost, executive deputy chancellor and professor of genetics & cellular medicine and pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School

UMass Chan Executive Deputy Chancellor and Provost Terence R. Flotte is being recognized as a champion and supporter of women in medicine by the American Medical Women's Association: direc.to/oQqZ

#WomenInMedicine #PhysicianAward #MedicalExcellence @amwadoctors.bsky.social

UMass Chan licenses siRNA therapy to PLaN Therapeutics Technology developed at UMass Chan Medical School has been licensed by PLaN Therapeutics, a nonprofit biotechnology company owned by the PLN Foundation.

Technology developed by chemists Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, and Hassan Fakih, PhD, of UMass Chan has been licensed by nonprofit biotech company PLaN Therapeutics to develop a therapeutic for a rare, inherited heart disease, PLN-R14del cardiomyopathy: direc.to/oQwA

#RNA @rti-umasschan.bsky.social

New variant of the flu virus is driving surge of cases across the U.S. and Canada Zachary Binder, MD, wrote an article for The Conversation about the new flu variant driving a rise in flu cases and leading to high hospitalization rates.

Zachary Binder, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School, wrote about the “superflu" for @theconversation.com. Read why Dr. Binder says this season is different from others and why he believes in most cases, home testing for flu is not especially useful: direc.to/oQk8 #flu

At a roundtable with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Beth McCormick, PhD, said that instability in federal funding leads to low morale and smaller cohorts of researchers and more challenges for early-career investigators looking to pursue science research.

#ResearchFunding

UMass Chan study highlights effect of Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia on subcortical brain structures The study found that Alzheimer’s disease and FTD MRI scans both showed degeneration very early in subcortical regions of the brain.

A UMass Chan study found that the decline in the brain’s subcortical regions was more rapid in FTD patients than Alzheimer’s patients: direc.to/opbM

The study is led by Manojkumar Saranathan, PhD, and Arit Banerjee, a PhD candidate at @umassamherst.bsky.social.

#FTD #alzheimers #dementia

After outcry, Trump administration reverses course on $1.9 billion in cuts to mental health and addiction grants - The Boston Globe Massachusetts providers on Thursday said they remained confused about the status of their funding.

“The patient populations for which it’s privileged for us to care and to find better treatments is again threatened.”- Chancellor Michael F. Collins, commenting to @bostonglobe.com about uncertainty around mental health grants: direc.to/oosD

#MentalHealth #ResearchFunding