spring/summer 2006, vol. 28 no. 3 · dents come with certain skills, and as they’re gaining...

‘World-Class’ Discovery

When I Grow Up

spring/summer 2006, Vol. 28 No. 3

The Magazine of

The University of Massachusetts Medical School

Making It Real

L., the plural of life

The name of this magazine encompasses the lives of those who make up the University of

Massachusetts Medical School community, for which it is published. They are students, faculty,

staff, alumni, volunteers, benefactors and others who aspire to help this campus achieve national

distinction in education, research and public service.

As you read about this dynamic community, you’ll frequently come across references to partners

and programs of UMass Medical School (UMMS), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ only

public medical school, educating physicians, scientists and advanced practice nurses to heal,

discover, teach and care, compassionately.

Commonwealth Medicine

UMass Medical School’s innovative public service initiative that assists state agencies to

enhance the value and quality of expenditures and improve access and delivery of care for

at-risk and uninsured populations.

The Research Enterprise

UMass Medical School’s world-class investigators, who make discoveries in basic

science and clinical research and attract over $175 million in funding annually.

UMass Memorial Foundation

The charitable entity that supports the academic and research enterprises of UMass Medical

School and the clinical initiatives of UMass Memorial Health Care by forming vital partnerships

between contributors and health care professionals, educators and researchers.

www.umassmed.edu/foundation

UMass Memorial Health Care

The clinical partner of UMass Medical School and the Central New England region’s top health

care provider and employer. www.umassmemorial.org

News and Notes 2

Features 7

Grants and Research 20

Alumni Report 22

The Last Word 28

Contents

‘World-Class’ Discovery 10

UMass Cancer Center Director Dario Altieri, MD, receives a unique federal awardto seamlessly guide a disease-killing compound from lab to clinic.

When I Grow Up 7

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences alumna Loree Griffin Burns,PhD ’98, moved from practicing science to writing about it—for kids.

Making It Real 14

At UMass Medical School, simulated patient experiences in medicaleducation enjoy a healthy history—and a technological tomorrow.

UMass Medical School repeated itsfourth place ranking in primary careeducation among the nation’s 125 ac-credited medical schools and 19 schoolsof osteopathic medicine in weekly newsmagazine U.S. News & World Report’sannual review, “America’s Best GraduateSchools.”

“Through unparalleled service andeducation, our outstanding facultyhas a lasting and profound impact onthe health of the Commonwealth andthe nation,” said Chancellor and DeanAaron Lazare. “It’s greatly rewarding to

see public affi rmation of our efforts toprovide high quality, primary careeducation to tomorrow’s physicians.”

In the U.S. News listing of top PhDprograms, UMMS ranked 51st, through itsGraduate School of BiomedicalSciences, and in the category of topresearch schools—48th. Beyond its coremission of distinction in health scienceseducation, the past decade has seenUMMS explode onto the national sceneas a major center for research.

“UMass has shown great successesin countless areas of public higher

education, thanks to the remarkablecontributions of scores of the Common-wealth’s most brilliant thinkers,” saidUniversity of Massachusetts PresidentJack M. Wilson. “The Medical Schoolis a vibrant and exciting institution thathas built a stellar reputation as a magnetfor the highest caliber leaders in medi-cine, research and public service. Weapplaud Dr. Lazare and his colleaguesfor setting the standard of quality inmedical education.”

UMMS Ranks Fourth in Nation in Primary

Care Education

While attempting to yield new data aboutreceptors that control the developmentof the body’s infection-fi ghting T-cells,researchers at UMass Medical Schooldeveloped a monoclonal antibody, DMF10, which they found is a likely treatmentfor lung cancer.

Created in the laboratory of Kenneth L.Rock, MD, professor and chair of pathol-ogy, DMF 10 destroys lung cancer cells bybinding to the surface of tumor cells andinitiating apoptosis, an internal cellular

mechanism that causes the cancer cells toself-destruct without affecting healthy tis-sue. The antibody also helps direct othernatural immune mechanisms to target andkill the tumor cells, and it is particularlyeffective against human lung cancer cells.

“Lung cancer is a devastating diseaseand we sorely need better, more effec-tive therapeutics for it,” Dr. Rock said.“While we still have some importantwork ahead of us, I believe this antibodyhas excellent prospects to be developed

as a new therapy for lung cancer andperhaps other tumors.”

To further the clinical development ofthe antibody, and to make the necessarymodifi cations that will allow for DMF 10to be tested in people, UMMS has part-nered with EvoGenix, a leading antibodytherapeutics company in Sydney, Austra-lia. EvoGenix has licensed the rights toDMF 10 and Rock will join the company’sscientifi c advisory board to help directfurther development of the antibody.

News and Notes

Antibody Shows Potential for Lung Cancer Therapy

“Magnifi cent 7” (left) is one of over 140 teams whose

members honor cancer survivors—as well as those lost

to the disease—at the annual Walk to Cure Cancer on the

UMMS campus. Thousands will join “The 7” to raise funds

for cancer research on September 10, 2006, at noon. For

information, visit www.walktocurecancer.com.2

3

The Graduate School of BiomedicalSciences and the Department of Can-cer Biology are prepared to take cancerresearch at UMass Medical School to anew level with the establishment of thePhD Program in Cancer Biology. Workingclosely with physicians beginning earlyin their doctoral education, Cancer Biol-ogy students will conduct translationalstudies—basic scientifi c research withdirect implications for improving clini-cal prevention, diagnosis and treatmentof human cancers. “Exposing the nextgeneration of cancer biologists to studyof the disease itself early in their careerswill lead to better scientifi c inquiries,”explained Arthur M. Mercurio, PhD,professor and vice chair of Cancer Biol-ogy and the new PhD program’s director.

The innovative curriculum features afi rst-year foundational course covering

tumor pathology, cancer medicine andcancer biology, followed by advancedcourses in these and other topics includ-ing biochemistry, genetics, and molecu-lar and cell biology. Monthly conferenceswill bring together scientists, physi-cians and students to explore commoninterests and identify mutual goals forresearch, clinical trials and patient care.

Dr. Mercurio was recruited to UMMSin 2004 from Harvard Medical Schooland brings more than 20 years of experi-ence in tumor cell biology to the newPhD program. His laboratory is currentlystudying the mechanisms that contrib-ute to the metastasis, or spread, of solidtumors like breast and colon cancers.Metastasis causes most of the morbidityand mortality associated with cancer andis thus a key target of Cancer Biology’stranslational research.

New Cancer Biology Program Offered to Students

Professor and Vice Chair of Cancer Biology Arthur Mercurio, PhD, is the new program’s director.

The University of Massachusetts Worces-ter awarded 160 degrees, including twohonorary degrees, at its 33rd Commence-ment Exercises held at Mechanics Hallin Worcester on June 4. Graduates of theinstitution’s three schools—the School

of Medicine, the Graduate School ofBiomedical Sciences and the GraduateSchool of Nursing—were inspired bykeynote speaker Catherine D. DeAngelis,MD, MPH, editor-in-chief of The Journalof the American Medical Association,whose own career has included roles as aregistered nurse, an early advocate of nursepractitioners, an epidemiological research-er, an academic and a practicing physician.

Dr. DeAngelis was recently recognizedby the National Library of Medicine in its“Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrat-ing America’s Women Physicians”exhibition—recently on display in the UMMSLamar Soutter library—that celebrates thelives and careers of some of America’sextraordinary women physicians from the

19th century to the present day. In hercurrent role as editor-in-chief of JAMA,DeAngelis has made an effort to publishsubstantive scientifi c articles on women’shealth issues.

Honorary degrees were awarded toBarbara R. Greenberg, a communityleader in Central Massachusetts whohas been a vital force for UMass MedicalSchool and UMass Memorial Health Careas chair of the UMass Memorial Foun-dation Board of Directors, and Paul LaCamera, general manager of WBUR, whobegan his relationship with UMMS in1993 when his son, Peter, was a fi rst-yearstudent; that year, he and his wife, Mimi,established the UMass Medical SchoolParents Association.

School of Medicine graduate Lara Antkowiak checks on her fellow graduate Tobin Abraham before ceremonies begin. Abraham was the SOM class speaker; Destin Heilman spoke for the GSBS and Patricia MacCulloch for the GSN.

Achievements in Medicine, Nursing and Science Celebrated

4

This year marks the tenth anniversaryof the Worcester Pipeline Collabora-tive (WPC), founded by UMass MedicalSchool and local educational, commu-nity and business partners to provideminority and economically disadvan-taged students the opportunity to gainthe scientifi c and mathematic literacynecessary to thrive as members of theworkforce, particularly in the health,science and biotechnology industries.

“This partnership serves as a nationalmodel of collaboration between lo-cal schools and an academic healthsciences center that prepares a morediverse health care workforce,” said

Associate Vice Chancellor for SchoolServices Deborah Harmon Hines, PhD.“It has been my privilege as well as mycharge to develop and nurture the WPCwith Dr. James Caradonio, the currentWorcester Public Schools superinten-dent, and Robert Layne, my colleagueat UMass Medical School and theprogram’s director.”

One of the most successful collabora-tions is the Post-baccalaureate Program;since its inception in 1989, 66 percentof participating students have beenadmitted to UMMS. Within recent years,six participants have received degreesfrom the School of Medicine: Kathy

Hamblett ’03, Ainex Baez ’04, JeanMarcelin ’05, Theo Matteos ’05, JackieNkrumah ’05 and Julie O’Brien ’05.Currently, another six of the program’sparticipants are enrolled at UMMS.

Other WPC programs have effectivelypiqued students’ interests in a healthcare or science career. UMMS graduateMiguel Rodriguez, MD ’01, and currentthird-year medical students Jose Abadand Rothsovann Yong participated inthe High School Health Careers Pro-gram, while Graduate School of Nursingstudent Joslyn Cortez and School ofMedicine students Tuan Nguyen’07, Luis Asbrishamian-Garcia ’08,

With results supported by the oldestmitochondrial genome sequencedetermined to date from the remainsof a mammoth that died approximately33,000 years ago, Evgeny I. Rogaev, PhD,a professor of psychiatry at UMass Med-ical School and professor of genetics atthe Russian Academy of Medical Sci-ences, and colleagues from the BrudnickNeuropsychiatric Research Institute,Russian Academy of Sciences, MoscowState University and the Universityof California-San Diego have weighedin on the debate over the genetic

relationships between wooly mammothsand elephants.

Dr. Rogaev and his collaboratorsreported the sequence of the completemitochondrial genome of a woollymammoth extracted from permafrost-preserved remains from the Pleistoceneepoch, a period of time usually datedfrom between 1.6–1.9 million to about10,000 years before present. Their studydemonstrates that the woolly mam-moth and the Asian elephant are a sisterspecies that diverged soon after theircommon ancestor split from the lineageof the African elephant.

DNA in the cell’s mitochondria offeredRogaev and colleagues valuable infor-mation on evolutionary development.Distinct from nuclear DNA, mitochon-

drial DNA possesses its own genomethat exists outside of the cell nucleusand is inherited only from the mother,allowing for the tracing of a more directgenetic line.

“The reconstruction of an animal’sevolutionary history based on completemitochondrial sequence analysis isa powerful method to determine therelationship between closely relatedextinct and extant species,” said Rogaev.“However, data from both mitochondrialand nuclear DNA may offer further in-formation on the development of a spe-cies. Given the unique quality of somespecimens from mammoths found inSiberia, nuclear DNA may potentially berecovered and used for further confi rma-tion of the results of this study.”

Scientists Report DNA Sequencing of

Extinct Mammoth

Evgeny Rogaev, PhD, and colleagues found that the wooly mammoth and Asian elephant, sister species, diverged soon after their common ancestor split from the African elephant lineage.

WPC Celebrates Ten Years of Opportunity

News and Notes

More than 19,000 cases of West Nile virushave been reported in the United Statessince the disease made its initial appear-ance in 1999, resulting in more than 750fatalities. With the threat of continuedepidemics looming, efforts to identify avaccine for the virus have accelerated.Now, collaborative research betweenUMass Medical School’s Center for Infec-tious Disease and Vaccine Research andleading vaccine developer Acambis Inc.reveals the promise of ChimeriVax-WestNile, a recombinant vaccine against theWest Nile virus.

ChimeriVax-West Nile was constructedwith Acambis’s ChimeriVax technology,which uses a live yellow fever vaccineto create viruses composed of geneticallydifferent tissues. In this case, specifi cgenes from the yellow fever virus that are

known to induce immunity in humanswere replaced with the correspondinggenes of the West Nile virus. The resultantimmune response from infection-fi ghtingwhite blood cells to the new vaccine wasdetermined by the UMMS team—led byCIDVR’s Sharone Green, MD, associateprofessor of medicine, and colleaguesFrancis A. Ennis, MD, professor ofmedicine and CIDVR director, and JeffKennedy, MD, assistant professor ofmedicine—and Acambis Chief Scientifi cOffi cer Thomas P. Monath, MD. Theresearch suggests that ChimeriVax-WestNile is a promising candidate that war-rants further evaluation to determine itssafety and immunogenicity; Acambis hasbegun a Phase II clinical trial of the newvaccine, testing ChimeriVax-West Nile inhealthy adult subjects.

and Miguel Concepcíon ’09, attendedthe WPC’s Summer Research Experiencefor Undergraduate Minority Students.

WPC’s decade of success has laid thegroundwork for the establishment ofadditional partnering initiatives, suchas the Graduate School of Nursing’sWorcester Nursing Pipeline Consortiumand the Carnegie Foundation-fundedSmall Learning Communities.

“Teaching students to set high academicstandards and expectations for them-selves is at the heart of what we do anddo well,” said WPC Director RobertLayne, MEd.

Ainex Baez, MD ’04, a WPC Post-baccalaureate Program and UMass Medical School graduate 5

“Teaching students to set

high academic standards

and expectations for

themselves is at the heart of

what we do and do well.”

– WPC Director Robert Layne, MEd

Sharone Green, MD, published the fi ndings with her collaborators in the Proceedings of the National Acad-

emy of Sciences; it represents the fi rst published report of a West Nile virus vaccine candidate in humans.

The Promise of a West Nile Virus Vaccine

6

Over the last year, the UMass Memorial Foundation and theinstitutions it supports through philanthropy—UMass MedicalSchool and UMass Memorial Health Care—mourned the passingof two dedicated benefactors who were also inspiring leaders.

Morton H. Sigel

Supporter of biomedicalresearch and honorary chairof the Worcester Foundationfor Biomedical Research, MortSigel lost his three-year battlewith Lou Gehrig’s disease inFebruary this year.

Mr. Sigel was driven by “anold-fashioned philosophy todo things for the community”and committed to the supportof basic biomedical research

at UMass Medical School through the Worcester Foundation.He assumed the role of Foundation chairman in 1996 afterserving as a trustee for nearly a decade, and one of his fi rstaccomplishments was assisting Chancellor and Dean AaronLazare in the facilitation of the successful 1997 merger ofthe Worcester Foundation with UMMS. Today, the Founda-tion retains its historic identity and legacy of achievementin developing a strong philanthropic foundation for UMMSresearch endeavors.

“Strategically brilliant but beautifully human, Mort was aman of uncommon generosity of spirit. He was an extra-ordinary man and friend to all of us and we are better peopletoday for having known him,” said Thoru Pederson, PhD, theVitold Arnett Professor and scientifi c director of the WorcesterFoundation for Biomedical Research.

Penelope Booth Rockwell

A native of Worcester, Penelope Booth Rockwell learned at anearly age the value of community involvement and volunteer-ism as well as the promise of basic biomedical research. Her

grandparents were friends of Dr.Hudson Hoagland, the Worces-ter Foundation’s co-founder,and she was a schoolmateof a daughter of Dr. GregoryPincus, Worcester Founda-tion scientist and co-inventorof the contraceptive pill. Mrs.Rockwell’s spirit of explorationproved a natural complementto the Worcester Foundation’sscientifi c investigations, andshe fi rst served as a trustee in

1990 and then as vice chair in 2003 and 2004. With her familydeeply affected by the loss of her young nephew to musculardystrophy, Mrs. Rockwell’s commitment to basic biomedicalresearch stemmed from the potential impact of such researchon virtually all human illness, and she credited recent discov-eries to the laboratory resources and collaborative environmentfortifi ed upon the 1997 merger of the Worcester Foundationwith UMMS.

In addition to the gifts Mrs. Rockwell and her husband SherburneRockwell, who preceded her in death, made to research, her com-mitment to UMMS continued when she led the Hudson HoaglandSociety from 1994 to 2000. Under her leadership, the societygenerated more than $1 million in unrestricted funds for biomedi-cal research, which assisted UMMS investigators as they pursuedpromising leads to uncover the causes of devastating illnesses.Mrs Rockwell died from liver cancer in November 2005.

A $1 million grant from The Kresge Foundation brings the UMass Memorial Foundation one

step closer to the fund-raising goal for the Emergency Care Campaign, which supports the

dramatic expansion of the hospital’s emergency department and other urgent care areas at

the University Campus.

The Kresge Foundation focuses on opportunities to strengthen leadership and giving

through challenge grants for capital projects. Through the foundation’s Capital Challenge

Grants program, the UMass Memorial Foundation must raise the campaign’s remaining

balance by January 1, 2007, to receive the grant.

News and Notes

A view of the main entrance to the UMass Memorial Medical Center—University Campus and the Lakeside Wing, accessed via the Remillard Family Pavilion.

In Memoriam

When I Grow Up Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences alumna Loree Griffin Burns, PhD ’98,

moved from practicing science to writing about it—for kids.

By Kelly A. Bishop

7

Photo: Betty Jenewin

From her earliest memory, Dr. Loree Griffi n Burns has been alover of words and of books. Refl ecting on her childhood, shefondly recalls the power that books had over her. “I devouredbooks and immersed myself in the stories. I thought I wasNancy Drew and even started my own detective agency.”With such natural curiosity and an engagement with learn-ing, it’s no surprise that Burns—inspired by James Micarelli,her infl uential Everett (Massachusetts)High School teacher who made adramatic impression in the class-room—was energized and excited byscience. “Mr. Micarelli was a remark-able teacher. He taught us the scientifi cmethod and encouraged us to take onreal research projects. With a nod toNancy Drew, I studied the relationshipof genetics and fi ngerprints.” WhileMr. Micarelli taught his student how tothink like a scientist, to ask questions,Burns knows that “most importantly,he made me feel like I was a good, de-cent kid with potential, and that gaveme such a huge boost of confi dence.”

Burns’ interest in science continuedbeyond high school and she completedher undergraduate degree in biology at Worcester PolytechnicInstitute, where she cultivated her interest in books and writ-ing, submitting stories and poems for the college’s publica-tions. “I never gave up my literary life.”

In 1991, Burns decided to pursue her doctoral degree and,attracted by the quality of the program and its location, chosethe UMMS Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Shecompleted her thesis work on transcriptional regulation inyeast in the laboratory of Craig L. Peterson, PhD, professor ofmolecular medicine and biochemistry & molecular pharma-cology, in 1997 and upon graduating in 1998 came to a cross-roads of sorts with the birth of her twins (a third child wouldfollow soon after). As she started to read with her children,

including those books that so captivated her as a youth, Burnsagain realized how much they enrich lives. She began to thinkabout writing children’s books—books about science.

Serendipitously, a July 2003 Associated Press article gaveBurns the inspiration for her fi rst book. The article recountedthe work of Curtis Ebbesmeyer, PhD, an oceanographer who

discovered that bathtub toys that fell from a container shipinto the sea more than a decade earlier could offer scientiststhe ideal opportunity to study ocean currents. Intrigued bythe science of currents and aware that those numerous color-ful, bobbing rubber duckies would surely pique the interestof children, Burns wrote Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam andthe Science of Ocean Motion. The book examines the work ofDr. Ebbesmeyer and his colleagues Jim Ingraham, who usedEbbesmeyer’s data to develop a computer modeling systemthat can accurately simulate ocean movement, and CaptainCharles Moore, a marine conservationist who has worked tire-lessly to quantify the extent of plastic pollution in the Pacifi cOcean. The book, written for middle school-aged children,

8

Once upon a time there was a little girl who absolutely,

positively loved books. Through books, she joined Nancy Drew

in the quest to solve The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk and

urged on young Alec in his effort to befriend The Black Stallion.

She explored distant lands—and not so distant ones ––as she

related to the plucky heroine who asked, Are You There God? It’s

Me, Margaret. Then one day, the not-so-little girl discovered that

she also absolutely, positively loved science. Through science,

she could ask questions about all sorts of things. She could look

through a microscope and explore cellular worlds and tiny crea-

tures; she was hooked. And so began the story, still unfolding,

of Loree Griffin Burns, PhD, the little girl who grew up to meld

her two passions into the perfect career.

“Books truly give

children experiences

beyond their lives.”

– Loree Griffin Burns, PhD


will be published as part of Houghton Miffl in Company’s“Scientists in the Field” series in spring 2007.

According to Burns, the process of writing the book was simi-lar to how she conducted her research studies at UMMS—much more than would be expected by those outside bothrealms. “Scientists, by nature, are curious, and that naturalcuriosity coupled with healthy skepticism, serves me well asa writer and in the research that I do. I want evidence. And,I’m always verifying information to be sure that my wordsare accurate as well as interesting.” Burns also learned at thegraduate school that fl exibility in the approach to researchis vital. “In science, if something’s not working you have toadjust your hypothesis and your methods. You have to do thesame in writing.”

Now that her fi rst book is in production, Burns looks forwardto working on additional projects that get children excitedabout science. “I want to write books that are honest, clearlywritten and, most importantly, that don’t talk down to kids.”The key, she says, to making science interesting to kids isexplaining complex ideas in such a way that is relatable. “InTracking Trash, for example, I have to describe the size ofsome drifting nets. Well, I can describe that in square feet, butthat’s diffi cult for a child to visualize. But if I say the net isthe size of a school bus, they get it and understand why sucha large net can be dangerous to fi sh and mammals.”

As she continues to pursue a career as an author, Burns re-mains awed by the infl uence of books. “Now that I am a moth-er, I see that books offer children the opportunity to see thatthere is a lot more to the world than their home and school.”She and her children are reading Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory and although the story has a happy ending,Burns says her children were disbelieving that a family couldbe as poor as Charlie’s. “It was an opportunity to talk to themabout poverty and hunger that wasn’t overwhelming. Bookstruly give children experiences beyond their lives.” Experi-ences that include tracking trash across a big, blue ocean.

For more information on Dr. Burns current and future proj-ects, visit http://www.loreegriffi nburns.com/.

“Scientists, by nature, are curious,

and that natural curiosity coupled with

healthy skepticism, serves me well as a

writer and in the research that I do.”

– Loree Griffin Burns, PhD

9

Below, she records fl otsam collected by a Washington State beachcomber named John Anderson.

Burns and Captain Charles Moore aboard the ORV Alguita, an oceanographic research vessel chartered by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. The Alguita collects debris samples for analysis of the presence of plastic and other pollutants.

Photo: Gerry Burns


On page 7, Burns interviews Oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer, PhD, on the beach at Ocean Shores, Wash. as part of the research she conducted for her book.

10

‘World-Class’ Discovery UMass Cancer Center Director Dario Altieri, MD, receives a unique federal

award to seamlessly guide a disease-killing compound from lab to clinic.

By Lynn C. Borella

Often uttered in hushed tones or associated withthe phrase “going to battle,” it’s a word that evokes fear in thehearts of most people. It identifi es a disease characterized by anuncontrollable spread of abnormal cells in any organ or tissueof the body and one that comes in varied forms and affects anyage, race or gender. No one is immune, and if surveyed, mostpeople could name at least one individual they’ve known whohas either survived or succumbed to the disease.

No doubt the word that springs to mind is “cancer.” Wouldn’tit be revolutionary if an anti-cancer agent could target anddestroy cancerous cells just as precisely as our minds canconjure this distinctive disease? But how far away is such acure? Investigators at the University of Massachusetts Medi-cal School are hoping to answer “sooner than you think.”

A novel molecule called “shepherdin,” which selectively killstumor cells while sparing normal cells nearby, was recentlydiscovered in the laboratory of UMMS Professor and Chair ofCancer Biology Dario Altieri, MD, the Eleanor Eustis Far-rington Chair in Cancer Research and the medical director ofthe UMass Cancer Center. For this breakthrough, which hasproven to have an impact on a wide variety of cancers, regard-less of their origin or genetic makeup, Dr. Altieri has receivedan exclusive award from the National Cancer Institute thatwill aid in moving this potential anti-cancer agent from benchto bedside for the benefi t of cancer patients worldwide.

The evolution of shepherdin starts with a protein that Altieri,a nationally renowned hematologist, discovered in 1997.Called “survivin,” this molecule was not only found to beoverabundant in tumor cells, but also helped to protect themfrom apoptosis, or programmed cell death, thereby allowingfor unchecked tumor growth, a hallmark of cancer. Giventhese protagonist attributes, survivin has since become atarget of choice for cancer researchers worldwide, includingAnthony W. Tolcher, MD, director of clinical research at SanAntonio’s Institute of Drug Development, Cancer TherapyResearch Center. “Dr. Altieri’s discovery of survivin hasplayed a world-class role in oncology,” he said. “There havebeen many discoveries in cancer research, but few have leadto target identifi cation, and fewer still to clinical studiesof inhibitors.”

Based on his work with survivin, coupled with studies of asecond protein called Hsp90 (Heat Shock Protein-90) that“chaperones” survivin to ensure its delivery into cells, Altierisought an antagonist that would interfere with the functionof both proteins. The result was shepherdin, which binds toHsp90 and blocks its ability to work with survivin.

11

“How we came across shepherdin was through a molecularscreening we had done to identify new compounds that couldblock survivin,” Altieri explained. “What we observed wasthat shepherdin had three properties that were very importantwhen thinking about development of a therapeutic: it was veryeffective in killing tumor cells; it was selective in killing onlythe cancerous cells, and it was effective in vivo [in the body],reducing tumor formation in both human tissue cancer cellcultures and animal models, while proving non-toxic to organsand normal tissue.”

Following publication of these fi ndings in the May 2005 editionof Cancer Cell, a high-impact scientifi c journal, Altieri’s nextquestion was, “Where do we go from here?” “Our laboratory iscommitted to continuing its investigations into the properties ofshepherdin as an antagonist to survivin, but we also are inter-ested in pushing promising compounds into the clinic,” he said.Altieri looked to the UMMS Offi ce of Technology Managementto identify potential commercial collaborators.

One possibility—and the answer for Altieri—came in the formof a valuable resource that is open only to academic institu-tions and other non-profi t research organizations—the NationalCancer Institute’s (NCI) Rapid Access to Interventional Develop-ment, or RAID award. This unique award, established

in 1998, aims to support the swift movement of novel anti-can-cer molecules and concepts like shepherdin from the laboratoryto the clinic for proof-of-principle clinical trials. The RAID ap-plication is submitted by a principal investigator who describesthe scientifi c rationale for the project, documents his or hereffi cacy results to date and requests that specifi c preclinicaltasks be performed. The application is peer-reviewed, and ifaccepted, the NCI handles project management with input fromthe principal investigator. No funding is awarded directly to theresearcher or his or her laboratory, as is typical with traditionalNational Institutes of Health grants; rather, the work is providedthrough the NCI’s contractor network, with the university own-ing all data generated. Testament to the potential of shepherdin,Altieri’s was the sole accepted proposal in this project cycle,chosen from some 40 applications.

“The RAID allows the NCI to select promising agents and devel-op them using their own facilities or alternative contractors withwhom they have a relationship,” said James P. McNamara, PhD,executive director of the Offi ce of Technology Management andan expert in drug development who aided Altieri in crafting hiswinning application. “In this way, they perform all of the tasksneeded for an IND, or Investigational New Drug, at no cost to theuniversity, saving UMass Medical School some $2 to $3 millionin development and manufacturing expenses.”

12

“It’s rare indeed to find an investigator who

not only identifies a key target for cancer but also

attempts to find a therapeutic to directly benefit

cancer patients. . . . given that few such

discoveries are funded by the RAID program

each year, it further confirms that Dr. Altieri’s

peers and the National Cancer Institute recognize

this discovery at the highest level of science.”

– Anthony Tolcher, MD, Institute of Drug Development,

Cancer Therapy Research Center, San Antonio

Dario Altieri, MD, in his UMass Cancer Center lab

1313

The ultimate conclusion of the RAID is a product, ready to bringinto the clinic through an application with the FDA to beginPhase 1 trials with human subjects. “When the RAID is conclud-ed, we hope to have something in hand that is safe, that complieswith FDA guidelines, that has gone through extensive toxicologytesting and is suitable for injection into humans,” Altieri said.

In the initial stages of the studies, RAID resources will be used toconduct analytical assays in the test tube that establish stabilityand formulation of the agent. “At some point, we need to putthis compound into a vial,” Altieri explained. “We’ll need todilute it as a powder into saline or some other injectable solutionto prepare it for dispensing.” The product, therefore, must notprecipitate in solution and be uniformly reproducible and effec-tive among all lots manufactured.

Next, the NCI or its contractors will analyze something calledpharmacokinetics. Simply put, this term describes how thebody distributes, absorbs, metabolizes and excretes a given drug;it also helps denote what concentration of the compound isneeded to have a therapeutic effect. Such fi ndings help deter-mine the set dosage and frequency of administration required fora pharmaceutical. Finally, toxicology screenings are conductedin two animal models to gauge any potential side effects of the

compound’s prolonged use on main organs and tissues. Once allthree steps are complete, Altieri should receive a product backthat is compliant with all rules and regulations of the FDA andcan be given to humans in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

The one drawback to the RAID program is that it may takeslightly longer to produce a viable compound for the clinic thanif licensed to a pharmaceutical company—about two years intotal. However, Altieri is content with his choice to pursue thefederal award. “You always have to balance your goals,” he said.“The RAID may take a little bit more time than what a drugcompany would need, but it permits the institution and theoriginating investigators to be involved in the process.”

Dr. McNamara added, “The RAID is a win-win in that it allowsus to further develop technology and affords the investigator anopportunity to be involved in drug development. More con-cretely, it increases the value of everything because we now havean investigational new drug, which we own, that is ready for theclinic and may spark more interest from investors.”

Shepherdin represents translational cancer research at its fi nest,and reinforces Altieri’s commitment to bring National CancerInstitute designation to the UMass Cancer Center. Currently,61 NCI-designated cancer centers across the nation receivesuch support that strengthens the integrative approach and theestablishment of core facilities and joint programs, while ensur-ing the most rigorous, safe and compliant standards for clinicaltrials. NCI designation helps ensure that the activity of a cancercenter runs the gamut, spanning all aspects of cancer diagnosis,therapy, prevention and control.

It’s this road from discovery to development about which Altieriis most passionate. “Shepherdin is a personal and profes-sional milestone in terms of achievement because, although it’sone thing to fi nd something interesting in the test tube and topublish your fi ndings in a journal, it’s another to develop a drugthat has considerable promise.” He noted that given his medicalbackground, he tends to look at basic science research broadly;instead of focusing just on the molecular process, he sees thepotential for the treatment of diseases as his greatest goal. “Ihope this fulfi lls that. Whether shepherdin becomes a drug ornot, who knows? But regardless, this next step toward the de-velopment of a very promising compound that came out of ourresearch lab is fantastic, and I’m thrilled with the prospects.”

Dr. Tolcher agreed: “It’s rare indeed to fi nd an investigator whonot only identifi es a key target for cancer but also attempts tofi nd a therapeutic to directly benefi t cancer patients. This rep-resents the highest form of discovery and translational research.And, given that few such discoveries are funded by the RAIDprogram each year, it further confi rms that Dr. Altieri’s peersand the National Cancer Institute recognize this discovery atthe highest level of science.”

OTM Executive Director James McNamara, PhD, and Licensing Offi cer Heather Steinman, PhD, assisted Dr. Altieri with the winning RAID application.

14

By Ellie Castano

Making It Real At UMass Medical School, simulated patient experiences in medical

education enjoy a healthy history—and a technological tomorrow.

14

1515

Watch any medical drama on TV and you’ll come away thinkingthat physicians in training have endlessopportunities for interaction with patientsexhibiting a range of illnesses and injuries.In any given episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,”“House” or “ER,” they might see an ac-cident victim with head trauma, a patientwith symptoms of a mysterious disease,and a child with a rare form of cancer.

But television rarely mirrors reality. Thetruth is that medical students see a smallrange of conditions in real patients dur-

ing their four years of medical school. Bythe time they graduate into their residen-cies, they’ve been exposed to a lot ofcommon illnesses like diabetes and heartdisease, but much less to uncommonailments. In the past, according to RobertBaldor, MD, UMMS professor of familymedicine & community health and co-chair of the Education Policy Committee,physicians in training could learn by fol-lowing a particular inpatient case for sev-eral days. But now, as a result of changesin how health care is managed, hospital

stays are shorter and the patients aren’tthere long term. More and more, healthcare is conducted in outpatient clinicsand community doctors’ offi ces, giv-ing students even fewer opportunitiesto practice basic procedures, let alonefollow the progress of a given patient.“Specialized teams, such as IV teams andphlebotomists, have developed, and asa result, many types of basic proceduresare no longer the responsibility of physi-cians in training. Yet, they still have toacquire those skills,” said Dr. Baldor.

16

So how does UMass Medical Schoolfulfi ll its mission of providing “a com-prehensive and personally rewardingmedical education of the highest qualitythat prepares graduates to be caring,competent, productive and self-fulfi lledphysicians”? And how does UMMSfoster in students the ability to commu-nicate effectively and empathically withpatients—a skill that patient surveysshow is an essential element of a goodmedical experience?

One answer is to make sure that medicalstudents have opportunities to develop

clinical skills outside the hospital set-ting. UMMS, like other medical schools,relies on clerkships, where third- andfourth-year medical students develop anarray of clinical skills in various commu-nity medical settings such as outpatientoffi ces, ambulatory care clinics, physi-cian’s offi ces and urgent care facilities.

Another answer, particularly for fi rst-and second-year (pre-clinical) students,is to build into the curriculum a core ofsimulated patient experiences that areprecise enough to mimic the real thing.As the School of Medicine undertakes a

comprehensive curriculum review, it’slooking toward incorporating state-of-the-art patient simulation technologyas one way of ensuring that graduatesmeet the six standards of competencythat are the cornerstone of the school’seducational objectives. By demonstrat-ing these six competencies—physicianas professional, scientist, communica-tor, clinical problem solver, patient andcommunity advocate and person—grad-uates will show that they possess theknowledge and skills to become caringand effective healers.

16

Practice makes perfect

UMMS has long used patient simula-tion as an essential component of itsacademic and clinical training. Since1982, the Standardized Patient Programhas offered highly trained individualsto create realistically staged clinicalencounters. As a result, students are

exposed to a broader range of patientconditions than are available to them ina hospital setting. Standardized patientsare actors who serve as stand-ins for realpatients by simulating not just medicalhistories, but emotional and physicalcharacteristics of medical problems.They offer themselves up as subjects forfl edgling medical and nursing students’

fi rst physical exams, fi rst history takingsand fi rst interviews.

Medical students are introduced tostandardized patients in the Patient,Physician and Society (PPS) course,designed to help pre-clinical studentsbuild their clinical skills from day one.During the two-year course, students

“Harvey,” the fi rst member of the UMass Medical School simulation mannequin family, is examined by Vice Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education Michele Pugnaire, MD (right), and medical students Alexandra Kazanovicz (center) and Amanda Malgari. Students also listening to Harvey’s heart sounds are (from left to right in foreground) Sarah Teasdale, Chris Tully, Nicola Sumorok and Joshua Pacheco.

17

“practice” in a clinical setting underthe supervision of their preceptor, aphysician whom they shadow andunder whose direction they hone newlyacquired skills. Standardized patientsplay an important role as students tackleincreasingly tougher tasks, as well assubjects that are not easy to talk about,such as dealing with anxious familymembers, obtaining sexual historiesand delivering bad news. In the SmallGroup section of PPS, students workwith standardized patients while beingobserved by their classmates. Not onlydo students build listening and speak-ing skills, but they also seek and receivefeedback from their classmates—muchas they will learn to do with fellow resi-dents and physicians—and thus becomebetter clinical decision makers.

While the real people in the Standard-ized Patient Program provide studentswith unique methods to hone their com-munications skills, they are limited inthe physical fi ndings they can present.On the other hand, non-human patientsimulators offer an entirely differentopportunity for students to build skillsand sharpen their decision making. Ac-cording to Vice Dean for UndergraduateMedical Education Michele Pugnaire,MD, “Simulation technology allowsstudents to practice, in the safety ofthe classroom, the clinical skills thatare essential for patient care in the real

world of hospital wards, clinics andoperating rooms.”

We’ve all seen the dummy used in CPRinstruction. “Annie,” as she is known, isa basic patient simulator. She’s low tech,but she gives learners the opportunity todevelop and practice new skills safelyand conveniently. The new computer-driven patient simulators being incorpo-rated into medical education worldwideare like Annie, only evolved. Today’spatient simulators come in all shapes andsizes and exhibit a range of physiologicresponses, diseases and physical fi nd-ings—just like people.

This spring “Harvey,” the fi rst memberof the UMMS simulation mannequinfamily, was introduced. Harvey is acardiopulmonary patient simulator,widely used in medical centers world-wide to train thousands of students,residents and medical professionalseach year. Recommended by the Ameri-can College of Cardiology Task Force onTeaching, he can realistically simulatenearly any cardiac disease through vary-ing blood pressure, breathing, pulse,heart sounds and murmurs. He can alsobe remotely operated by a standardizedpatient who delivers physical com-plaints in Harvey’s voice.

Harvey is already familiar to the fi rstclass of students in the Graduate Schoolof Nursing Graduate Entry Pathwayprogram. He made several appearances

this spring in the Advanced Health As-sessment course taught by GSN facultyJanet Hale, PhD, RN, CS, FNP, and JillTerrien, APRN-BC. “We utilized Harveyin three separate scenarios: a 16-year-old Caucasian male with chest pain; an18-year-old African American male whoneeded sports clearance for a newlydiagnosed heart murmur; and a 45-year-old Hispanic female with an evolvingmyocardial infarction,” said Terrien.“Student feedback was overwhelminglypositive. They found the experiencethought-provoking and reassuring forthe skill set they had been developing inthe course.”

UMMS is in the process of expandingits technology inventory through thepurchase of a full-body mannequin thatsimulates life-threatening conditionssuch as shock, heart attack, embolismand other emergency scenarios, as wellas a variety of task trainers that areanatomically equipped for practicingmedical procedures such as intubation,catheterization and IV access.

Recently a group of medical students vis-ited the Center for Medical Simulation inCambridge, Massachusetts to experiencefi rsthand what it’s like to use simula-tion technology for learning. They cameaway astonished by the realism of theexperience and excited at the prospect ofhaving this type of technology availableat UMMS. “You really feel like you’re

Chancellor and Dean Aaron Lazare (center), simulation technology’s champion at UMMS, listens to Robert Simon, EdD, CPE, education director at Cambridge’s Center for Medical Simulation, as he describes the capabilities of a simulator during a recent visit by UMMS faculty and students. To Dr. Lazare’s left are Chair of Surgery Demetrius Litwin, MD, and Robert Baldor, MD. In the foreground are Michele Pugnaire, MD (left), and Graduate School of Nursing Professor Janet Hale, PhD.

17

“I anticipate in the years to come that

simulation training will be a prerequisite

for quality medical education.”

– Chancellor and Dean Aaron Lazare

1818

Below, medical student Smita Sihag practices intubation techniques on a simulation mannequin at the Center for Medical Simulation in Cambridge. “Working through simulated scenarios really serves to foster the necessary teamwork in medicine,” said Sihag. At right, student Andrew Giese holds a baby simulator, just delivered by its mother, “Noelle.” Associate Professor Ted Peskin, MD, director of the UMMS Ob/Gyn clerkship, assists him.

walking into a surgical suite,” saidstudent Steven Beckman. “The man-nequins are essentially living, breathingbeings in the sense that they give youall the responses that a person would.”Other students commented that thetechnology illuminated the importanceof working as a team, particularly interms of communication.

With the renovation of a suite of roomsat the Medical School, the institution’sinitial simulation resources have a hometogether. This new space will houseHarvey, the full-body mannequin and thetask trainers, as well as computer work-stations with screen-based simulationprograms. A skilled coordinator serves asa resource for the learning community’seducators, who will be integrating thistechnology into coursework and clerk-ships. The fi rst orientation for facultyand staff was held in early May andgenerated enthusiastic feedback fromall who attended, as well as many ideasabout how this technology can be used toenhance educational experiences.

In addition to Harvey, beginning thissummer, clinical students in their Obstet-ric/Gynecology clerkship will meet “No-elle,” a maternal and neonatal birthingsimulator. Noelle simulates the birthingexperience, including the “delivery” of

a baby simulator, and will be used bymedical students to practice a procedurethey must master regardless of theirintended specialty. According to Edward“Ted” Peskin, MD, associate professor ofobstetrics & gynecology and director ofthe Ob/Gyn clerkship, medical educationis taking a cue from the airline industry,which saw a dramatic improvement insafety after simulation became a part ofpilot training. “Students quickly startthinking of the patient simulator as aliving person, much like a pilot in train-ing quickly forgets that he or she is in asimulated cockpit,” said Dr. Peskin.

A more advanced version of Noelle willbe available to practice complex deliver-ies that are less commonly seen in realpatients but that, nonetheless, need tobe mastered. This model can replicatecomplicated deliveries that might requireperforming a C-section, use of forceps orinvolve fetal distress. She also deliversa baby upon whom APGAR measurescan be performed and who can turn bluefrom lack of oxygen. The baby as wellas the mother exhibit heart and breathsounds and both can be intubated.

A circle of learning

The vision for a comprehensive edu-cational center at UMMS that features

state-of-the-art simulation technologyis designed to enhance the strengthsthat the Medical School has alreadymastered. Chancellor and Dean AaronLazare is the enthusiastic champion inthe drive to ensure that UMMS stays onthe forefront of medical education. “Cur-rently, we are in the fi rst phase of a majorinvestment in simulation technology.Over the next several years, we intend toacquire more sophisticated equipmentand become a leader in this fi eld. I antici-pate in the years to come that simulationtraining will be a prerequisite for qualitymedical education.”

This vision is well on its way to becom-ing a reality; later this year, construc-tion will begin on the new AdvancedEducational and Clinical Practice Center,which will house an advanced educa-tion center, home to patient simulationtechnology, the Standardized PatientProgram and the Graduate Entry PathwayProgram. In addition to a place whereall students can learn, the center will bea training ground for the array of medi-cal professionals from across the healthcare continuum, offering a full rangeof simulation experiences in a varietyof settings, including simulated ERs,operating suites and outpatient clinics,as well as the opportunity to gain furtherassessment and certifi cation.

1919

The Worcester Foundation for Experi-mental Biology was founded more than60 years ago on the premise of innovativescience, accelerated through patronage. Infact, Drs. Gregory Pincus and Min-ChuehChang, working diligently in the Founda-tion’s Shrewsbury Mass. labs in the mid-20th century, would not have been able tobring their revolutionary discovery of thebirth control pill to women worldwidewithout such support.

Continuing this legacy of advancementof potentially ground-breaking researchthrough philanthropy, the WorcesterFoundation for Biomedical Research(formerly the WFEB) allocated a por-tion of its endowment when it mergedwith UMass Medical School in 1997 tofund the Worcester Foundation ScholarsProgram. Select, newly recruited facultyare supported during their initial twoyears with UMMS through the program,promoting the philosophy, according toWorcester Foundation Director ThoruPederson, PhD, the Vitold Arnett Profes-sor, that recognizing exceptional promisein a young scientist can have a “dispro-portionate effect” on his or her researchendeavors. “Those chosen as scholarshave been singled out to receive thisunrestricted funding. In turn, we expectthem to be catalyzed by this vote of con-fi dence to quickly reach the full dimen-sion of their talent,” said Dr. Pederson.

Mark Alkema, PhD, assistant professor ofneurobiology (pictured, right), and SeanRyder, PhD (left), assistant professor ofbiochemistry & molecular pharmacol-ogy—both recruited to UMass MedicalSchool in 2005—are the latest Worces-ter Foundation Scholars. These youngscientists, who recently completed theirpostdoctoral research at prestigiousinstitutions, join a cadre of other newlyrecruited faculty who, over the past sixyears, have received $100,000 each overa two-year period to jump start theircareers at UMMS.

Dr. Alkema’s research of the roundwormled to the discovery of a neurotransmittercalled tyramine. Neurotransmitters arekey signaling molecules among neuronsin the nervous system that play an impor-tant role in the control of animal behavior.Alkema is studying the role of tyramine—also found in trace amounts in the mam-malian brain and implicated in humanneurological disorders—and is hoping toidentify new genes required for tyraminesignaling in the nervous system. Alkemaearned both his bachelor’s degree and hisPhD at the University of Amsterdam, TheNetherlands, and completed post-doctoraltraining at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology in the lab of Nobel LaureateH. Robert Horvitz, PhD.

Like Alkema, Dr. Ryder is also studyingaspects of human neurological disorders,specifi cally the link between a mutation ofa gene named Quaking—involved in regu-lating how nerve cells communicate—andincreased schizophrenia susceptibility.He is hoping to determine the regulatorytargets of Quaking and thus come closerto defi ning the genetic characteristicsof the mental illness. Ryder earned hisbachelor’s degree from the Universityof New Hampshire and his PhD at YaleUniversity. He performed post-doctoralresearch at The Scripps Research Institutein the lab of James R. Williamson, PhD.

As funding from research agenciesincluding the National Institutes ofHealth continues to tighten, investiga-tors in every fi eld will be competing forfederal grants. Researchers just startingout, however, are those most affected bythese funding reductions; the WorcesterFoundation Scholars Program, therefore,becomes even more critical for Alkemaand Ryder. Both scientists expressedgratitude at receiving their fi rst researchaward as UMMS faculty and remarkedon how fortunate they were to have thefunds to set up their labs, attract talentedpost-doctoral students and preparepreliminary data to make them morecompetitive in securing funding fromresearch agencies.

Promoting Potential

UMass Medical School,

through the philanthropic

Worcester Foundation for

Biomedical Research, gives

a boost to its promising

young researchers.

By Lynn C. Borella

Grants and Research

New and competitive renewal grants of $100,000 or more are listed here according to department or center and funding sources.

BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY

National Institutes of Health

Anthony Carruthers, PhD, professorand dean of the Graduate School ofBiomedical Sciences: Glucose TransporterStructure and Function, one year,$266,862; recommended for three moreyears, $679,977.

William R. Kobertz, PhD, assistantprofessor: K+ Channel ProteinComplexes in Auditory Biology, oneyear, $389,500; recommended for fourmore years, $1.5 million.

Mary Munson, PhD, assistant professor:Structure and Function of the ExocystComplex, one year, $307,800; recom-mended for four more years, $1.2 million.

National Science Foundation

Thoru Pederson, PhD, the Vitold ArnettProfessor: The Nucleolus and the SignalRecognition Particle, one year, $152,828;recommended for two more years,$406,019.

CANCER BIOLOGY

American Cancer Society

Leslie M. Shaw, PhD, assistantprofessor: Mechanism of alpha6/beta4Integrin-dependent Metastasis, threeyears, $540,000.

U.S. Army Medical Research and

Materiel Command

Lucia R. Languino, PhD, professor: InVitro and In Vivo Modulation of ProstateCancer Cell Proliferation by Integrinsand Type 1 Insulin-like Growth FactorReceptor, two years, $596,250.

CELL BIOLOGY


Peter J. A. McCaffery, PhD, associateprofessor of cell biology: Disruption ofOrganization of the Cerebral Cortex byRetinoic Acid, two years, $119,207.

CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND VACCINE RESEARCH


Daniel H. Libraty, MD, associate profes-sor of medicine: A Study of ProtectiveImmunity Against Dengue in Infants,one year, $431,883; recommended forfour more years, $2.1 million.

Alan Rothman, MD, professor of medi-cine: Virus Infections: Pathogenesisand Host Immune Responses, one year,$223,680; recommended for four moreyears, $896,719.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE


Edward W. Boyer, MD, PhD, associ-ate professor: Adulterants, Drugs,Coingestants and Associated HIV Risk,one year, $389,380; recommended forfour more years, $1.1 million.

Peter Whittaker, PhD, associate pro-fessor: Laser Acupuncture, one year,$202,500; recommended for one moreyear, $202,500.

FAMILY MEDICINE & COMMUNITY HEALTH

Department of Health and Human

Services

Robert A. Baldor, MD, professor: Resid-ency Training in General and PediatricDentistry, one year, $130,653; recom-

mended for two more years, $228,733.

Donna M. Gallagher, MSN, instructor:AIDS Education Training Centers, fiveyears, $1.8 million.

MEDICINE

Department of Health and Human

Services

Doreen T. Brettler, MD, professor:Region Comprehensive HemophiliaProgram, one year, $340,900; recom-mended for two more years, $728,703.

Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Natalia N. Singh, PhD, instructor:Characterization of Protein(s) thatContributes to SMN Exon 7 Skippingthrough a Novel Inhibitory Element, twoyears, $186,824.

Juvenile Diabetes Research

Foundation International

Dale L. Greiner, PhD, professor: ModelingType 1 Diabetes in Humanized MouseModels, one year, $506,000; recommendedfor two more years, $902,000.


Neil Aronin, MD, professor: SignalingMechanisms in Neuronal Degeneration,one year, $366,023; recommended forfour more years, $1.4 million.

James F. Carmody, PhD, assistant profes-sor: Mindfulness-based Stress Reductionfor Hot Flashes, one year, $198,904; rec-ommended for two more years, $446,875.

Mary E. Costanza, MD, professor: ANovel Decision Aid for Prostate CancerScreening, one year, $208,980; recom-mended for one more year, $174,688.

20

21

Douglas T. Golenbock, MD, professor: Mechanisms of TLR 9 Activation, one year, $309,825; recommended for four more years, $1.4 million.

Y. Tony Ip, PhD, associate professor: Molecular Mechanisms of Drosophila Immune Response, one year, $324,000; recommended for three more years, $975,000.

Wenjun Li, PhD, research assistant professor: Obesity and Neighborhood Characteristics, one year, $243,000; rec-ommended for one more year, $203,125.

Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, professor: Ethanol’s Role in Mediation of Monocyte Suppression, one year, $364,500; recom-mended for four more years, $1.5 million.

Marian Walhout, PhD, assistant pro-fessor: Transcription Networks in C. Elegans Organogenesis, one year, $301,844; recommended for four more years, $1.3 million.

Mapping Worm Fat Gene Networks, one year, $202,605; recommended for one more year, $243,750.

MOLECULAR GENETICS & MICROBIOLOGY


Paul R. Clapham, PhD, associate pro-fessor: Tropism and Transmissibility of HIC-1 Envelopes in Semen, one year, $287,653; recommended for four more years, $1.1 million.

Rachel M. Gerstein, PhD, associ-ate professor: Regulation of V (D) J Recombination of B cell Development,one year, $356,688.

Allan Jacobson, PhD, professor and chair: Messenger RNA Metabolism in Yeast, one year, $589,822; recommended for four more years, $2.5 million.

Janet M. Stavnezer, PhD, professor: Isotype Specific Regulation of Ig Class

Switching, one year, $324,000; recom-mended for one more year, $284,375.

Robert T. Woodland, PhD, associate professor: Immunodeficiencies thatImpair Lymphocyte Survival, one year, $344,250; recommended for four more years, $1.6 million.

MOLECULAR MEDICINE


Stephen J. Doxsey, PhD, professor: Centrosome Protein Function, one year, $382,709; recommended for three more years, $1.2 million.

Michael R. Green, MD, PhD, profes-sor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the Lambi and Sarah Adams Chair in Genetic Research: Mechanisms of Eukaryotic Transcriptional Activation, one year, $303,750; recom-mended for three more years, $900,000.

Splicing of mRNA Precursors, one year, $291,600; recommended for three more years, $877,500.

Mario Stevenson, PhD, the David J. Freelander Professor of AIDS Research: Function for VPR and VPX of Primate Lentiviruses, one year, $344,250; recom-mended for four more years, $1.6 million.

Fumihiko Urano, MD, assistant profes-sor: Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Diabetes, one year, $286,003; recom-mended for four more years, $1.2 million.

Lambertus van den Berg, PhD, assis-tant professor: Hydrophobics Transport Across the Outer Membrane, one year, $291,308; recommended for four more years, $1.2 million.

NEUROBIOLOGY


David R. Weaver, PhD, associate pro-fessor: Genetic Analysis of Circadian

Oscillator Hierarchy, one year, $187,313; recommended for one more year, $225,238.

PATHOLOGY


Francis K. Chan, PhD, assistant profes-sor: Role of Programmed Necrosis in Immune Responses, one year, $243,000; recommended for one more year, $203,125.

PHYSIOLOGY


Daniel L. Kilpatrick, PhD, associate pro-fessor: Transcriptional Determinants of Cell Differentiation, one year, $279,861; recommended for four more years, $1.1 million.

PSYCHIATRY


Schahram Akbarian, MD, PhD, associ-ate professor: Dopaminergic Signaling Modifies Stratial Histones, one year, $299,324; recommended for four more years, $1.3 million.

William J. McIlvane, PhD, professor: Interdisciplinary Research in Mental Retardation, one year, $834,804; recom-mended for four more years, $3.6 million.

RADIOLOGY


Stephen J. Glick, PhD, research associ-ate professor: Iterative Reconstruction for Breast Tomosynthesis, one year, $287,133; recommended for four more years, $1.3 million.

George Topulos, MD, recalls avibrant educational atmospherein the early years of the Schoolof Medicine, where faculty,when they weren’t teachingthemselves, sat in on otherfaculty’s classes to share and

learn from each other. Since those heady days, Dr. Topulos hasbrought the blend of academic rigor and educational invigorationhe experienced at UMMS to bear in his own fruitful and diversecareer as an educator, researcher and clinician. A champion oflifelong learning for practicing physicians throughout his career,Topulos was recently appointed Director of Educational Pro-

grams in the Department of Continuing Education at HarvardMedical School, the largest continuing medical education (CME)enterprise in the country. “I’m interested in keeping doctors up-to-date because most of what we learn, we learn after residency,while in practice,” he explained.

Topulos came to UMMS after earning his undergraduate degreeat Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, then completed twoyears of a residency in surgery at the University of Minnesota. Hereturned to Massachusetts in 1982 for an additional residency inanesthesia at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and has been thereever since. An associate professor of anesthesiology at HarvardMedical School, Topulos’s teaching focuses on respiratorysystem physiology and the role of basic science in understand-

David A. Guertin, PhD, GSBS ’02

Graduate School of BiomedicalSciences students are highlycoveted by research institu-tions throughout the countryupon graduation, and David A.Guertin, PhD, was no excep-tion. Now a postdoctoral fellow

at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Whitehead Insti-tute for Biomedical Research, Dr. Guertin works in the labora-tory of David Sabatini, MD/PhD, assistant professor of biology.“My gut feeling about the GSBS proved right, and it’s been asuccessful road since,” Guertin said.

Postdoctoral positions like Guertin’s, typically held for threeto fi ve years by individuals with newly earned PhDs, are anessential bridge for gaining greater knowledge and experience,making professional connections and building a name foroneself in research circles, all necessary to establish a scientifi ccareer. Having met Dr. Sabatini when Sabatini was still a post-doc himself, Guertin hopes to follow in his advisor’s footsteps,with the ultimate goal of becoming a faculty member headinghis own laboratory at an academic institution.

As a GSBS student in the laboratory of Dannel McCollum,PhD, associate professor of molecular genetics & microbiology,Guertin studied a signal transduction pathway in fi ssion yeastthat controls the timing of cell division. These investigations

led to his current interest in how “crosstalk” between multiplesignaling pathways regulates the basic mechanisms controllingmammalian cell growth and survival—activities that are oftenabnormal in diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Guertin cred-its the training and mentorship he received from Dr. McCollumfor paving the way to his Whitehead position.

Currently, Guertin is studying how the protein mTOR (mam-malian Target of Rapamycin) interacts with other proteins insignaling pathways responsible for cell growth, cell prolifera-tion and cell survival. This work has been funded in part bythe Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s FellowshipAward program. The competitive, three-year award was grantedto Guertin in 2003 following his arrival at the Whitehead Insti-tute, and he is grateful as well as honored to be a recipient inwhat has become a challenging funding environment for basicscientifi c research.

Guertin has already published several papers in major peer-re-viewed journals. A recent and notable paper appeared last yearin the journal Science, in which Guertin made key contribu-tions to elucidating the role for mTOR in a pathway aberrantlyactivated in cancers. While looking forward to establishing hisown laboratory, “I’m proud to be doing important work,” saidGuertin. “If you believe in your work, ask good questions, andare productive, your success will speak for itself.” –SLG

George Topulos, MD ’80

Alumni Report

22

Like many of her classmates,Vinetta Hussey is one of thoseenergetic people who looksfor ways to say “yes” in a busyworld where “no” is often theeasier answer. In addition to herfull-time job as a nurse prac-

titioner at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Hussey also holdsacademic appointments at both UMass Worcester and UMassLowell, precepts nursing students, and serves on the Nurse Prac-titioner Council, an organizational body she helped form to bringconsistency and clarity to the role of NPs at UMass Memorial.

Taking what she calls “the long route through nursing,” Husseyreceived her diploma in 1977 and her bachelor’s in 1991, aftermore than ten years of juggling courses while working full timeas a fl oor nurse and raising her two children. “It wasn’t but ashort time before I began to think about a master’s program, too,”she said, and enrolled in the Graduate School of Nursing whereshe felt students were “always reminded to utilize our nursingbackgrounds to be advocates for our patients.” For three yearsHussey worked 12-hour days to balance her own school sched-ule with that of her kids, using weekends for family homeworksessions; she earned her master’s degree as an adult ambulatorynurse practitioner in 1997.

As the role of nurse practitioners has evolved over the years—forexample, to meet hospital needs caused by regulatory changes inmedical residents’ work hours—Hussey saw an opportunity tohelp establish consistency across the departments and specialtiesin which NPs work. What began as an informal effort to bringfellow NPs together for monthly educational sessions blossomed,through the infl uence of Paulette Seymour Route, PhD ’01, cur-rently GSN Interim Dean, into the Nurse Practitioner Council, anelected 12-member volunteer group of like-minded profession-als helping to shape the role of, and formulate policy regarding,UMass Memorial’s 170 NPs.

To foster dedication to education and growth, the Councilestablished a program to recognize and reward NPs who teachcourses, publish studies or precept nursing students. Despitea schedule many would fi nd overwhelming, Hussey herselfprecepts students each year, an energizing experience. “The stu-dents come with certain skills, and as they’re gaining advancedclinical experience, they come up with great questions that reallymake you stop and think.”

Hussey feels that, philosophically, medicine hasn’t changedmuch since she earned her degrees, but technologically, it isalways evolving. “The nice thing about this institution is thatthere are always new people showing us different things. I can’timagine if I worked in a community that was stagnant.” –AMD

Vinetta M. Hussey, GSN ’97

ing clinical practice, as exemplifi ed by his combining both inhis own career: Board-certifi ed in anesthesiology, he performsclinical work one day a week, and spends one day a week in hislaboratory conducting investigations into respiratory physiology.“We are particularly interested in quantifying regional variationin lung function in health and in diseases such as acute lunginjury and chronic obstructive lung disease.”

Topulos was recruited to the continuing medical educationenterprise largely due to his success as the course director ofHarvard Medical School’s Anesthesia Review and Update, anannual, week-long CME course that attracts hundreds of anes-thesiologists from all over the world. Marking Topulos’s com-mitment to medical education, in 2004 he was named a Rabkin

Senior Fellow in Medical Education at Harvard Medical School’sShapiro Institute for Education and Research.

Continuing education for physicians is important for tworeasons, according to Topulos. “The fi rst is obvious: to improvepatient care. Second, as the practice of medicine changes rapidly,continuing education helps reinvigorate physicians and keepthem engaged in their careers.” To ensure these goals are met,Topulos is challenging himself and others to develop meaningfulevaluation tools for CME. “There are several useful educationaloutcomes, such as increase in knowledge and change in practice,but we don’t yet have good ways to measure them,” he noted. “Weneed to fi gure out if and how what we’re doing works.” –SLG

23

Class Notes

24

Robert A. Klugman, MD ’77, Andrew J. Miller, MD ’79, MaryR. Hawthorne, MD ’81, Joseph F. Daigneault, MD ’90, andStephen P. Griffey, MD ’92, were recently recognized by theirpeers at UMass Memorial Medical Center for their collegiality,dedication and passion for their work and commitment to pro-viding patients with quality care at the highest level of safety.

1984

Richard C. Antonelli, MD, has been named medical directorof the primary care practice at Connecticut Children’s Medi-cal Center. He is also chief of primary care and director of theDivision of General Pediatrics for the Faculty Practice Plan atCCMC. Dr. Antonelli, an assistant professor of pediatrics atUMMS, has focused his clinical research on measuring out-comes of care coordination for children and youth with specialhealth care needs, and his advocacy efforts include the “Medi-cal Home” method of providing comprehensive, culturallyattuned, family-centered care for pediatric patients and theirfamilies. Dr. Antonelli was previously lead physician at UMassMemorial Health Care affi liate Nashaway Pediatrics, which hefounded in 1987.

1985

Mitchell J. Gitkind, MD, clinical associate professor of medi-cine at UMMS, serves as medical director—with fellow alum-nus John J. Kelly, MD, ’92—of the UMass Memorial WeightCenter. The center offers a multidisciplinary approach; a teamof psychologists, nutritionists, exercise specialists and supportstaff assists patients in what is considered among experts in thefi eld as a state-of-the-art program.

1986

Timothy J. Babineau, MD, MBA, is senior vice president andchief medical offi cer for the University of Maryland Medi-cal Center. A surgeon, Dr. Babineau is also a member of theuniversity’s faculty. He had previously held several leadershippositions at Boston Medical Center, including vice chairmanof surgery, chief of gastrointestinal surgery and director of theCenter for Minimally Invasive Surgery, and served on the fac-ulty of Boston University School of Medicine. During his timeat Boston Medical Center, Dr. Babineau was surgeon-in-chief atQuincy Medical Center and executive vice president of BostonUniversity General Surgery Group. Previously, he served on thesurgical staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and as anassistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Seth D. Bilazarian, MD, a cardiologist in the Haverhill offi ceof Pentucket Medical Associates, successfully completed theRegistered Physician in Vascular Interpretation Exam. Theexam focuses on relevant anatomy, physiology, instrumenta-tion and physical principles and tests the knowledge and skillsphysicians use while working in a team in a vascular labora-tory. Upon completion of the exam, Dr. Bilazarian received thenew Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation credential,which is intended for practitioners of such specialties as cardi-ology, radiology, vascular surgery and vascular medicine.

1987

Mary P. McGowan, MD, a leading cholesterol specialist andmedical director of Concord Hospital’s Cholesterol TreatmentCenter, recently became the fi rst physician in New Hampshireto achieve board certifi cation in lipidology, the study of ef-

Members of the School of Medicine Class of 1979 got together at the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building on the UMass Medical School campus during their 25th Reunion. Front row, left to right: Alan Stefanini, Anne Sigsbee, Marina Florencia Rodriguez, Barbara Henick Bachow, Barbara Gibson Ciak, Theresa Caputo, Celestia (Tia) Higano, Robert Faucette. Back row: Eric Leskowitz, James Goldman, Carl Ciak, Edward Mascioli, Allen Bale, Christopher Linden, Brian Battista, Austin Thompson, Thomas Marks, Neil Goldstein, Irvin Heifetz, Paul Clark, Andrew Ober, Richard Grazer, Roger Garceau, Brent Fletcher, Richard Jacobs, John Patrick, Andrew Miller, Jonathan Wolf, Paul Williamson, Joseph Sabato, Donald MacDougall

fects of fat in the body. Dr. McGowan has written numerousbooks and articles on cholesterol, women and heart disease,and familial hypercholesterolemia. In addition, she has beenthe primary investigator for many national and internationalclinical trials of cholesterol-lowering medications, and lecturesfrequently for the American Heart Association and NationalLipid Association.

1989

Pamela L. Alix-Bloznalis, MD, is a member the pediatric staffat Tri-River Family Health Center in Uxbridge, Mass. Her inter-ests include adolescent medicine and gynecology, behavioralpediatrics, and international health and adoption.

Carol A. Burd, MD, and Douglas A. Burd, MD, of Westonand New Seabury, Mass. welcomed a new son to their family,Maxwell Frederick, on October 4, 2005. The Burds also have adaughter, Rachel.

Jeffrey A. Scott, MD, has joined the medical staff of Tri-CountyMedical Associates, Inc. in Hopedale, Mass. and serves on thestaff of Milford Regional Medical Center. Dr. Scott was mostrecently an assistant professor of medicine at Eastern VirginiaMedical School in Norfolk and chief of pulmonary and criticalcare medicine at its Health Services affi liate. He also servedas medical director of the Pulmonary Diagnostics Center atNorfolk General Hospital. While at EVMS, Dr. Scott receivedseveral honors, including a teaching award and an outstandingservice award.

1990

Robert V. Talanian, PhD, is the director of the Department ofMolecular Pharmacology at Worcester’s Abbott BioresearchCenter, which performs drug discovery research in immunol-ogy-based clinical indications. Dr. Talanian’s group is respon-sible for in vitro characterization of early drug candidate mol-

ecules in cellular and enzyme assays, and he says he conductsthe challenging research by frequently applying the lessons helearned while a UMMS student from faculty members GeorgeWright, PhD, and Neal Brown, PhD, among many others.

1992

Henry D’Angelo, MD, has been appointed chair of family medi-cine at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. On the staff since 1995, Dr.D’Angelo provides primary care for adults, children and adoles-cents at Newton-Wellesley Family Medicine in Walpole, Mass.He is also an assistant clinical professor of family medicine atTufts University School of Medicine and Brown Medical School.

1994

Nancy E. Hamel, MD, and physician assistant Lisa Mitchell haveestablished a new laser center in Walpole, Mass. —Medical LaserSolutions. They note that they conduct the procedures them-selves, while services at other centers are often under the direc-tion of a medical doctor, but typically performed by technicians.

Jill T. Lyons, RN, JD, has been named an associate of MorrisonMahoney LLP’s Health Care Practice Group in Springfi eld, Mass.She will focus on health law and defense of medical malpracticeclaims. Lyons’s prior roles included director of risk manage-ment and patient safety manager at Worcester Medical Centerand consultant and emergency department interim director forthe Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Mass. Lyons, whoresides in Jefferson, Mass., received her JD degree from the Mas-sachusetts School of Law in Andover. She also serves as chair ofthe legislative committee of the Central Massachusetts Offi ce ofEmergency Services Board of Directors.

1995

Rachel D. Harrison, MD, is a member of the medical staff atJordan Hospital in Plymouth, Mass. where she specializesin emergency medicine.

In Newton, Mass. on October 12, 2005, the following alumni joined Vice Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education Michele Pugnaire, MD (right), for an Alumni Break-fast: From left, Susan Auerbach-Ferdman, MD ’83, Daniel Silverstone, MD ’84, Salvatore Basta, MD ’76, Leslie Shaff, MD ’84, and Joshua Boyce, MD ’85.

25

Aqeel M. Siddiqui, MD, a vascular surgeon, has joined the medical staff at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Mass.

1996

Sarah Goff, MD, recently joined the UMass Memorial Chil-dren’s Medical Center Division of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Goff served a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship at Yale University.

Nathan R. MacDonald, MD, has been appointed chief of emer-gency medicine at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Mass. Dr. MacDonald previously served as assistant medical director of LGH’s emergency department.

1999

Henry Danis, MD, a specialist in gastroenterology, has joined the medical and dental staff of St. Francis Hospital and

Medical Center in Hartford, Conn.; he will practice as a member of Prime Healthcare.

William A. Heinser, MD, and two colleagues have established Groton Medical Associates in Groton, Mass. The new practice specializes in adult internal medicine, including preventive care.

Joan Karl, MD, recently joined Tri-County Medical Associ-ates, Inc., practicing with Primary Care Physicians in Milford, Mass., and is on staff at Milford Regional Medical Center. Dr.

Karl previously practiced internal medicine at Anchor Medical Associates in Warwick, Rhode Island. Before attending UMMS, she was a certifi ed public accountant and worked in that fi eld for several years.

2000

Michael J. Mitchell, MD, is an internal medicine physician with Hawthorn Medical Associates in Dartmouth, Mass.

2001

Lenna Finger, MD, has joined Revere Family Health Center in Revere, Mass. and Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett. Dr. Finger’s interests include adolescent medicine and eating disorders.

Elizabeth M. Gittinger, MD, practices at Winchester OB/GYN Associates in Winchester, Mass.

2002

Michael A. Dedekian, MD, former pediatrics chief resident and an instructor in pediatrics at UMMS, was the recipient of the inaugural Dr. Robert Thomas Teaching Award presented at the institution in November 2005. The award was established to honor the teaching legacy of Dr. Thomas, a Westborough resident who was a pediatrician at UMass Memorial Medi-cal Center and a UMMS assistant professor of pediatrics for

Class Notes

26

During an Alumni Breakfast at Worcester’s Beechwood Hotel on October 27, 2005, the following alumni gathered for a photograph: First row, from left: Jerry Gurwitz, MD ’83, Barbara Stewart, MD ’81, Madeleine Fay, MD ’78, Sheila Callahan-Butler, MD ’82. Second row: Joseph DiFranza, MD ’81, Marc Restuccia, MD ’84, Paul Ricciardi, MD ’79, Paul Sedgwick, MD ’84. Third row: Rod Miller, Vice Chancellor for National Research Advancement, Alan Farwell, MD ’84, Steven Rozak, MD ’83, Kevin DeLacey, MD ’81, Kathleen Cleary, MD ’84. Not pictured: Eleanor Duduch, MD ’84, Gerald Gleich, MD ’84, Gordon Saperia, MD ’77.

many years before his death in 2004. The award, which willbe presented annually to the resident who best exemplifi esDr. Thomas’s dedication and skills as a teacher, is unique atUMMS in that the recipient is chosen solely by fellow resi-dents. In accepting the award, Dr. Dedekian refl ectedthat although he hadn’t had the privilege of being a studentof Thomas’s, his teaching infl uence was palpable in thedepartment. Dr. Dedekian added that he was “overwhelmedand honored to receive the award.”

Katherine E. Frias, MD, has joined Southcoast Primary Carein Dartmouth, Mass. and is a member of the medical staff atSt. Luke’s Hospital. Dr. Frias’s interests include pediatricsafety and trauma issues and adolescent medicine. She is arecipient of several awards, including a New England Pediat-ric Society award, the Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achieve-ment citation from the American Medical Women’s Associa-tion, and a Community Access to Child Health grant from theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics for planning a pilot projectaimed at injury prevention at home.

Tessa Lafortune-Greenburg, MD, recently joined the pediatricdepartment of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center inLebanon, New Hampshire.

Paul R. Larson, MD, completed studies in Tropical Medi-cine & Hygiene at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicinein England, and is now practicing at Kapsowar Hospital inKenya as part of Africa Inland Mission International. Heresides in Kenya with his wife, Alysia, and daughters Juliana,4, and Chara, 2. Mail may be sent to Dr. Larson at 135 TylerRun Road, York, PA 17403. Mail received at this address willbe screened and sent once a month to Kenya. Mail may alsobe sent to A.I.C. Kapsowar Hospital, P.O. Box 68, Kapsowar,Kenya, 30705.

Bronson E. Terry, MD, recently joined the staff at the DayKimball Hospital Pediatric Centers in Putnam, Conn.

IN MEMORIAM

Thomas S. French, MD ’87, died from Lou Gehrig’s disease onSept. 8, 2005. Dr. French was an assistant professor at UMassMedical School and practiced plastic surgery. An enthusiasticmusician, Dr. French also authored—through the use of hiseyes and a special computer—Who’s Right (Whose Right?):Seeking Answers and Dignity in the Debate Over the Rightto Die. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline S. French, anddaughter, Lauren S. French, of Barnard, Vermont.

A New University of Massachusetts Tradition

The University of Massachusetts Club, founded in 2005,is located atop 225 Franklin Street in Boston, and alumni,faculty, staff and friends of the University are active at themember-supported club.

The club offers expansive views of the city and a spacious fl oorplan for hosting business meetings and social events. “We arecertain that our club will serve the University for many yearsto come and will be a hub for exchanging ideas, goals andachievements,” said General Manager Meredith Waites.

The staff of the University of Massachusetts Club invitesalumni, faculty, staff and friends of the University to attend acomplimentary continental breakfast any Tuesday, Wednesdayor Thursday, between 8 and 9 a.m. For reservations, contact theMembership Offi ce at (617) 287-3020 or [email protected]. For more information about theclub, visit www.umassclub.com.

Alumni of the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical

Sciences and the Graduate School of Nursing may send their latest

news to [email protected]

On October 21, 2005, alumni attended a breakfast in their honor in Newton, Mass. From left, Paula Lutz, MD ’85, George Topulos, MD ’80 (see a Profi le of Dr. Topulos on page 22), Melanie Brunt, MD ’81, Leonard Finn, MD ’74, Virginia Palazzo, MD ’85, Elizabeth Vinton, MD ’85, and Bernadette Leber, MD ’83.

27

The Last WordBy Aaron Lazare, Chancellor and Dean of the University of Massachusetts Medical School

28

Upon selection of a new Dean, I expectthat she or he will assume full respon-sibility for the academic direction andresource allocation within the School ofMedicine and the Graduate School of Bio-medical Sciences. The new Dean will beprimarily responsible for issues concern-ing our faculty and the academic relation-ship with UMass Memorial Health Care.I will concentrate my energies on mattersexternal to the School of Medicine, withprimary attention being given to relation-ships with the University Board, thecommunity, the legislature and the phil-anthropic community, while I continueto oversee the institutional infrastructuresuch as information services, facilitiesmaintenance, total campus fi nances and

human resources. In addition to theDeans of the School of Medicine and theGraduate School of Nursing, I anticipateI will have two entities directly reportingto me: the auxiliary enterprises that areCommonwealth Medicine and theMassachusetts Biologic Laboratories.

Because of the importance of the Worces-ter campus to the University of Massachu-setts system and of these new positionsto the campus’s future success, PresidentWilson has agreed to partner with methroughout this process, from search com-mittee selection to the fi nal appointmentof the new Dean, which is anticipatedto occur this fall. In April, he met withacademic department chairs, faculty, stu-dents, residents and the leadership teamof our clinical partner, UMass MemorialHealth Care, to learn more about ourneeds and aspirations and to demonstratehis commitment to this process.

The search committee, chaired by DavidC. Ayers, MD, the Arthur M. Pappas, MD,Chair in Orthopedics, includes leadershipfrom the Medical School’s departmentsof Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, FamilyMedicine & Community Health, Medi-cine, Molecular Medicine, Obstetrics &Gynecology and Surgery, as well as theoffi ces of Diversity and Equal Opportu-nity and Graduate Medical Education,the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories,UMass Memorial Health Care and thePresident’s Offi ce.

This spring Spencer Stuart, the fi rmretained as our search consultant, con-ducted a series of interviews and forumswith faculty and staff. Their purpose wasto garner an environmental assessment ofthe challenges unique to our campus cul-ture, the current character of our campus,and a representation of campus views asto the qualities we seek in the new Dean.Spencer Stuart, working closely with meand the search committee, have synthe-sized this information and developed aspecifi c candidate profi le.

I have always found great strength inthe involvement of our many importantconstituencies who bring excellence andnational distinction to our missions andprograms. Although not everyone can beindividually contacted, all have the oppor-tunity to be involved through a link on ourInternet home page (www.umassmed.edu)to “UMMS Medical School Dean Search.”

The history and trajectory of this institu-tion has been nothing short of spectacular.That has only been achieved through thecollective contributions of our faculty,staff and students. With their assistanceand support, the recruitment process willensure the selection of a new Dean whowill spearhead our continued accomplish-ment and growth—growth guaranteed toaccelerate in the decades ahead.

Aaron Lazare, MD

Since Dr. Aaron Lazare stepped into the role of Chancellor and Dean of the University of Massachusetts Medical School nearly 15 years

ago, the institution has experienced tremendous growth. During his tenure, the school has garnered a national reputation for its pri-

mary care educational program, with U.S.News & World Report consistently ranking UMMS among the top of the nation’s 125 medical

schools in primary care education—fourth again in April 2006. The school’s annual research funding has increased from $40 million

to $175 million, and the institution has grown from one to multiple campuses. To ensure such continued success and embrace future

growth, UMass President Jack M. Wilson accepted Dr. Lazare’s recommendation to split the Chancellor and Dean role into two positions:

Dr. Lazare will continue to hold the title of Chancellor, and a new Dean of the School of Medicine will be selected. Below, Dr. Lazare

describes the responsibilities of the future Dean, for whom a search is already underway, as well as his own role in the coming years.

Aaron Lazare, MD

Albert Sherman

Mark L. Shelton

Lanny Hilgar

Andrea L. Badrigian

Kelly A. BishopLynn C. BorellaEllie CastanoAlison M. DuffySandra L. GrayNicole L. Soucy

smith&jones

LaVigne Printing

Robert CarlinTony Maciag, UMMS MTG

Readers are invited to comment on the contents of the magazine via letters to the editor.Please address correspondence to:

Editor, VitaeOffice of Public Affairs & PublicationsUMass Medical School55 Lake Avenue NorthWorcester, MA 01655

Alumni of the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and theGraduate School of Nursing may send their latest news to [email protected]

www.umassmed.edu

The University of Massachusetts Medical School is firmly committed to its policy of equalopportunity through affirmative action and takes active measures against acts of discrimination,harassment and intolerance.

Chancellor and Dean:

Vice Chancellor for University Relations:

Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relationsand Managing Editor:

Director of Constituent Relations:

Editor:

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Photography:

the magazine of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of five campusesin the UMass system. The magazine is distributed three times a year to members,benefactors and friends of the UMMS community. Published by the Office of PublicAffairs & Publications and paid for out of non-state funds.

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Readers, because our mailing lists are supplied by several University departments, some of you may receive duplicate copies of this magazine. Thank you for passing them along to others who are interested in the Medical School.

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spring/summer 2006, vol. 28 no. 3 · dents come with certain skills, and as they’re gaining...

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