University of Massachusetts Medical School
Encyclopedia
The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) is one of five campuses of the University of Massachusetts (UMass)
system and is home to three schools: the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Graduate School of Nursing; a biomedical research enterprise; and a range of public service initiatives throughout the state. One of the fastest-growing academic health centers in the country, UMMS is located in Worcester, Mass., while the other UMass sites are located in Amherst
, Boston
, Dartmouth
and Lowell
. UMMS can alternately be referred to as UMass Worcester.
UMMS is ranked eighth in primary care education and ranked 53rd in research among the nation’s 125 medical schools in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report
annual guide, “America’s Best Graduate Schools”. UMMS is also a major center for research. In the past four decades, UMMS researchers have made advances in a broad range of disease families, from HIV and infectious diseases, to cancer and genetic disorders, to diabetes and immune disease. UMMS faculty discovered the link between the immune system and type 1 diabetes, found the genetic cause that underlies the third most common form of the muscular dystrophies, established the fundamental difference between HIV and other retroviruses and co-discovered RNA interference (RNAi), a naturally occurring gene-silencing process that has become a vital tool in research focused on such areas as diabetes, HIV/AIDS and cancer. Currently, UMMS scientists are making strides in collaborative efforts to develop vaccines for the avian flu, HIV and West Nile virus and rabies.
The School of Medicine accepted its first class of 16 students in 1970. Six years later, a 371-bed hospital opened on campus, and today, the UMMS campus is home to three schools: the School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, opened in 1979, and the Graduate School of Nursing, opened in 1986.
institution where researchers developed the combined oral contraceptive pill in the early 1960s.
In 1998, the UMMS system of hospitals and clinics merged with Memorial Health Care to form UMass Memorial Health Care
, the largest health care provider in Central Massachusetts
and the clinical partner of UMMS.
, the school grants the MD
degree to its graduates. With the exception of MD/PhD students, matriculants are required to be Massachusetts residents. Approximately 125 students enroll annually, and more than 2,700 students have received medical degrees from UMMS. The School of Medicine has garnered a national reputation for its primary care program and consistently ranks in the top ten percent in the annual U.S.News & World Report
guide, "America’s Best Graduate Schools". Well more than half of each graduating class enters into primary care residencies, a trend that underscores the school’s founding mission. In addition, a high number of graduates practice throughout the state.
Through educational planning, development, innovation and resources, students learn the core knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that serve as the foundation for physician training at UMMS, according to the School of Medicine Web Site SOM Web site. The institution attributes its success in training primary care physicians in part to a curriculum that emphasizes early exposure to community practice, beginning in the first year of medical school. Third-year students are required to complete an innovative clerkship rotation program in which they spend six weeks at a time with community-based physicians. The curriculum's learning objectives are targeted at developing the foundational competencies required of all physicians today, including competency in communication, scientific, and patient and community advocacy skills.
Reflective of the success of these learning objectives are the results of the annual Match Day at UMMS, when students discover where they will begin their careers as doctors. In 2010, National Resident Matching Program results showed that members of the UMMS class were accepted into some of the most competitive residency programs in the country, with 71 percent of graduates entering primary care including obstetrics & gynecology and pediatrics.
Since the first class of seven students enrolled in 1979, more than 300 students have earned PhDs from the GSBS. The program, which continues to grow and evolve as new frontiers in science are discovered and explored, is gaining national and international recognition for excellence.
s, nurse scientists and educators as leaders in nursing and health care delivery to diverse populations through education, research, practice and service, according to the GSN Web site. The theoretical foundations of nursing, research process and design, societal influences on nursing, advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment and specialty content are the basis of study at the GSN. Advanced practice nurses receive professional education and training to become adult acute/critical care nurse practitioners, adult ambulatory/community care nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurse educators. The GSN also offers subspecialty professional education and training in selected areas.
, an investigator of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and his colleague Andrew Fire, then of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, discovered RNA interference (RNAi). Drs. Mello and Fire demonstrated that small pieces of double-stranded RNA had interfered with the expression of a gene whose coding sequence of DNA was similar to that of the RNA they tested. Since the discovery of RNAi, researchers at UMMS and around the world have taken advantage of its technology to speed investigation into a variety of diseases. Craig C. Mello, PhD, and his colleague Andrew Fire, PhD, of Stanford University, received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries related to RNA interference.
UMMS scientists also pioneered the fundamental elements of DNA-based flu vaccines in the 1990s. Today, UMMS Professor of Medicine Shan Lu, leader of the UMMS DNA vaccine efforts, and his colleagues have partnered with PowerMed, a British immunotherapeutics company, to advance the development of a potential avian flu vaccine. Dr. Lu’s team has also been recognized for its work in the creation of an HIV vaccine, which, in Phase I testing, was found to generate antibody and T-cell responses in otherwise healthy people not infected with HIV.
The institution’s strong commitment to its research mission is reflected in its ranking of second among 10 public medical schools in the Northeast in the amount of funds awarded by the National Institutes of Health. Federal and private research grants and contracts at UMMS rose from about $2 million in 1977 to more than $255 million in 2010, putting UMMS in the top third of all research medical schools, public or private. UMMS currently supports more than 260 investigators working on advancements in the treatment of disease and injury.
The UMMS portfolio of commercial ventures and intellectual property continues to reap great dividends for the institution and the University of Massachusetts
system. Catapulted by the success of UMMS licenses and patents, including high profile intellectual property related to RNAi gene-silencing technology and drug and vaccine development, UMass ranked eighth in the nation in generating income from the licensing of faculty-derived discoveries and products and generated $70,553,428 in technology transfer income in FY 2009, executing 50 technology licenses and options and creating one startup company according to the Fiscal Year 2009 report released by the Association of University Technology Managers.
research is the Quality Assurance Review Center
(QARC). Located off campus in Lincoln, Rhode Island
, thousands of radiotherapy (RT) reviews per year are conducted at QARC according to various governmental and pharmaceutical protocols
. Supported by the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) and the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), QARC receives radiotherapy data from around one-thousand hospitals in both the United States
and abroad. Over forty-thousand cases have been reviewed at QARC since its official inception in 1980.
campuses in south Boston, MBL is administered under the umbrella of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. MBL remains committed to its mission of discovery, development, and production of vaccine and biologic medicines, and the clinical research underpinning their use.
Over the years, the MBL has introduced into general use vaccines to prevent pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, and other diseases. The lab’s scientists have also pioneered plasma products to protect infants and toddlers from serious infectious diseases. In recent years, the MBL has been called upon to respond to the threat of such emerging public health issues as SARS, avian flu and rabies. During the past two decades, the MBL has also been an active participant in the national effort to develop and produce “orphan products,” which are those drugs intended for limited populations (less than 200,000 patients per year). Many of these are critical, life-saving products for those affected by a rare disease. Despite their importance, commercial manufacturers are often reluctant to invest the resources required to bring these products to market. The MBL, however, has developed or collaborated on five such products in the past 20 years. To continue such efforts, in 2005 the MBL opened a new $80 million facility for monoclonal antibody production. Its state of the art filling suite allows MBL to continue to fill its own products as well as offer this limited resource for both private and public needs. Currently, as MassBiologics, MBL continues to market it's FDA licenced Td (tetanus and diphtheria) vaccine, providing a substantial proportion of the total US requirements for this key vaccine. In addition, recent years have seen MBL develop expertise and capability in the discovery, production and clinical testing of monoclonal antibodies, including antibodies to Clostridium difficile.
As a complement to its education, research and public service mission, the hospital and clinical components of UMMS are part of UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC). UMass Memorial is a $1.2 billion health care delivery system with acute care hospitals, ambulatory clinics and a network of primary care
physicians and specialists throughout Central Massachusetts
. With approximately 13,000 employees, including 1,500 physicians, UMMHC is the largest health care provider in both Central and Western Massachusetts
. Its flagship hospital, UMass Memorial Medical Center, straddles two campuses along Route 9
in Worcester, Massachusetts
, and it is designated by the American College of Surgeons
as a Level I Trauma Center.
UMMHC maintains four community hospitals in addition to its flagship hospital. The four community hospitals include:
Roger J. Bulger
H. Maurice Goodman
Robert E. Tranquada
James E. Dalen
James B. Hanshaw
Leonard Laster
Aaron Lazare
Michael F. Collins
R. W. Butcher
Roger J. Bulger
H. Maurice Goodman
Robert E. Tranquada
James B. Hanshaw
Aaron Lazare
Terence R. Flotte
Trudy G. Morrison
Anthony Carruthers
Lillian R. Goodman
Doreen Harper
Paulette Seymour
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
system and is home to three schools: the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Graduate School of Nursing; a biomedical research enterprise; and a range of public service initiatives throughout the state. One of the fastest-growing academic health centers in the country, UMMS is located in Worcester, Mass., while the other UMass sites are located in Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
, Boston
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
, Dartmouth
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is one of five campuses and operating subdivisions of the University of Massachusetts . It is located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States, in the center of the South Coast region, between the cities of New Bedford to the east and Fall River...
and Lowell
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public university in Lowell, Massachusetts, and part of the University of Massachusetts system...
. UMMS can alternately be referred to as UMass Worcester.
UMMS is ranked eighth in primary care education and ranked 53rd in research among the nation’s 125 medical schools in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
annual guide, “America’s Best Graduate Schools”. UMMS is also a major center for research. In the past four decades, UMMS researchers have made advances in a broad range of disease families, from HIV and infectious diseases, to cancer and genetic disorders, to diabetes and immune disease. UMMS faculty discovered the link between the immune system and type 1 diabetes, found the genetic cause that underlies the third most common form of the muscular dystrophies, established the fundamental difference between HIV and other retroviruses and co-discovered RNA interference (RNAi), a naturally occurring gene-silencing process that has become a vital tool in research focused on such areas as diabetes, HIV/AIDS and cancer. Currently, UMMS scientists are making strides in collaborative efforts to develop vaccines for the avian flu, HIV and West Nile virus and rabies.
History
UMMS was established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1962 to provide residents of the Commonwealth an opportunity to study medicine at an affordable cost and to increase the number of primary care physicians practicing in the Commonwealth’s underserved areas.The School of Medicine accepted its first class of 16 students in 1970. Six years later, a 371-bed hospital opened on campus, and today, the UMMS campus is home to three schools: the School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, opened in 1979, and the Graduate School of Nursing, opened in 1986.
Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research
The research mission at UMMS was boosted in 1997 with the acquisition of the financially ailing Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, the Shrewsbury, MassachusettsShrewsbury, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 31,640 people, 12,366 households, and 8,693 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 12,696 housing units at an average density of...
institution where researchers developed the combined oral contraceptive pill in the early 1960s.
In 1998, the UMMS system of hospitals and clinics merged with Memorial Health Care to form UMass Memorial Health Care
UMass Memorial Health Care
UMass Memorial Health Care is a not-for-profit health care network affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, that operates 5 hospitals and a number of health clinics in the Central Massachusetts area...
, the largest health care provider in Central Massachusetts
Central Massachusetts
Central Massachusetts is the geographically central region of Massachusetts. Though definitions vary, most include all of Worcester County and the northwest corner of Middlesex County. Worcester, the largest city in the area and the seat of Worcester County, is often considered the cultural capital...
and the clinical partner of UMMS.
School of Medicine
The School of Medicine accepted its first class in 1970. Accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical EducationLiaison Committee on Medical Education
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME accredits only the schools that grant a doctor of medicine degree; osteopathic medical schools are accredited by the Commission on...
, the school grants the MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
degree to its graduates. With the exception of MD/PhD students, matriculants are required to be Massachusetts residents. Approximately 125 students enroll annually, and more than 2,700 students have received medical degrees from UMMS. The School of Medicine has garnered a national reputation for its primary care program and consistently ranks in the top ten percent in the annual U.S.News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
guide, "America’s Best Graduate Schools". Well more than half of each graduating class enters into primary care residencies, a trend that underscores the school’s founding mission. In addition, a high number of graduates practice throughout the state.
Through educational planning, development, innovation and resources, students learn the core knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that serve as the foundation for physician training at UMMS, according to the School of Medicine Web Site SOM Web site. The institution attributes its success in training primary care physicians in part to a curriculum that emphasizes early exposure to community practice, beginning in the first year of medical school. Third-year students are required to complete an innovative clerkship rotation program in which they spend six weeks at a time with community-based physicians. The curriculum's learning objectives are targeted at developing the foundational competencies required of all physicians today, including competency in communication, scientific, and patient and community advocacy skills.
Reflective of the success of these learning objectives are the results of the annual Match Day at UMMS, when students discover where they will begin their careers as doctors. In 2010, National Resident Matching Program results showed that members of the UMMS class were accepted into some of the most competitive residency programs in the country, with 71 percent of graduates entering primary care including obstetrics & gynecology and pediatrics.
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
A faculty-initiated PhD program, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) trains scientists in a specialty area with a broad background in the basic medical sciences in preparation for conducting research with direct relevance to human disease. According to the GSBS Web site, the GSBS offers students a multidisciplinary program of study in which they have freedom of choice in curriculum and in the selection of mentors for their graduate thesis research—an approach that is matched by very few graduate programs in the nation.Since the first class of seven students enrolled in 1979, more than 300 students have earned PhDs from the GSBS. The program, which continues to grow and evolve as new frontiers in science are discovered and explored, is gaining national and international recognition for excellence.
Graduate School of Nursing
Since the opening of the Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) in 1986, more than 600 students have obtained a nursing master’s, post-master’s or doctoral degree from the school. The GSN prepares professional and advanced practice nurseAdvanced practice nurse
An advanced practice registered nurse is a nurse with advanced didactic and clinical education, knowledge, skills, and scope of practice in nursing....
s, nurse scientists and educators as leaders in nursing and health care delivery to diverse populations through education, research, practice and service, according to the GSN Web site. The theoretical foundations of nursing, research process and design, societal influences on nursing, advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment and specialty content are the basis of study at the GSN. Advanced practice nurses receive professional education and training to become adult acute/critical care nurse practitioners, adult ambulatory/community care nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurse educators. The GSN also offers subspecialty professional education and training in selected areas.
Research
Over the past decade, UMMS has emerged on the national scene as a major center for research. In 1998, UMMS researcher Craig MelloCraig Mello
Craig Cameron Mello is a Portuguese-American biologist and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Andrew Z. Fire, for the discovery of RNA interference...
, an investigator of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and his colleague Andrew Fire, then of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, discovered RNA interference (RNAi). Drs. Mello and Fire demonstrated that small pieces of double-stranded RNA had interfered with the expression of a gene whose coding sequence of DNA was similar to that of the RNA they tested. Since the discovery of RNAi, researchers at UMMS and around the world have taken advantage of its technology to speed investigation into a variety of diseases. Craig C. Mello, PhD, and his colleague Andrew Fire, PhD, of Stanford University, received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries related to RNA interference.
UMMS scientists also pioneered the fundamental elements of DNA-based flu vaccines in the 1990s. Today, UMMS Professor of Medicine Shan Lu, leader of the UMMS DNA vaccine efforts, and his colleagues have partnered with PowerMed, a British immunotherapeutics company, to advance the development of a potential avian flu vaccine. Dr. Lu’s team has also been recognized for its work in the creation of an HIV vaccine, which, in Phase I testing, was found to generate antibody and T-cell responses in otherwise healthy people not infected with HIV.
The institution’s strong commitment to its research mission is reflected in its ranking of second among 10 public medical schools in the Northeast in the amount of funds awarded by the National Institutes of Health. Federal and private research grants and contracts at UMMS rose from about $2 million in 1977 to more than $255 million in 2010, putting UMMS in the top third of all research medical schools, public or private. UMMS currently supports more than 260 investigators working on advancements in the treatment of disease and injury.
The UMMS portfolio of commercial ventures and intellectual property continues to reap great dividends for the institution and the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
system. Catapulted by the success of UMMS licenses and patents, including high profile intellectual property related to RNAi gene-silencing technology and drug and vaccine development, UMass ranked eighth in the nation in generating income from the licensing of faculty-derived discoveries and products and generated $70,553,428 in technology transfer income in FY 2009, executing 50 technology licenses and options and creating one startup company according to the Fiscal Year 2009 report released by the Association of University Technology Managers.
Grants
The UMass Medical School has strategic affiliations with various healthcare organizations and research programs. Its largest publicly funded affiliate in the field of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
research is the Quality Assurance Review Center
Quality Assurance Review Center
The Quality Assurance Review Center is a research program within the University of Massachusetts Medical School that provides radiotherapy quality assurance , diagnostic imaging data management, and clinical research support...
(QARC). Located off campus in Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 21,105 at the 2010 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence....
, thousands of radiotherapy (RT) reviews per year are conducted at QARC according to various governmental and pharmaceutical protocols
Protocol (natural sciences)
In the natural sciences a protocol is a predefined written procedural method in the design and implementation of experiments. Protocols are written whenever it is desirable to standardize a laboratory method to ensure successful replication of results by others in the same laboratory or by other...
. Supported by the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
(NCI) and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
(NIH), QARC receives radiotherapy data from around one-thousand hospitals in both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad. Over forty-thousand cases have been reviewed at QARC since its official inception in 1980.
Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories
The University of Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (commonly referred to as MBL) is the only publicly owned, non-profit FDA-licensed manufacturer of vaccine and other biologic products in the United States. Established in 1894 by the state Board of Health to produce diphtheria antitoxin, the operations of the MBL were conducted under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Public Health until 1997. The University of Massachusetts Biologic Laboratory was re-established by the Massachusetts legislature to operate with an executive director and an advisory board constituted with membership representing senior leaders from the Department of Public Health, the University of Massachusetts medical programs, as well as additional members appointed by the President of University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. Although operating independently on its Jamaica Plain and Mattapancampuses in south Boston, MBL is administered under the umbrella of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. MBL remains committed to its mission of discovery, development, and production of vaccine and biologic medicines, and the clinical research underpinning their use.
Over the years, the MBL has introduced into general use vaccines to prevent pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, and other diseases. The lab’s scientists have also pioneered plasma products to protect infants and toddlers from serious infectious diseases. In recent years, the MBL has been called upon to respond to the threat of such emerging public health issues as SARS, avian flu and rabies. During the past two decades, the MBL has also been an active participant in the national effort to develop and produce “orphan products,” which are those drugs intended for limited populations (less than 200,000 patients per year). Many of these are critical, life-saving products for those affected by a rare disease. Despite their importance, commercial manufacturers are often reluctant to invest the resources required to bring these products to market. The MBL, however, has developed or collaborated on five such products in the past 20 years. To continue such efforts, in 2005 the MBL opened a new $80 million facility for monoclonal antibody production. Its state of the art filling suite allows MBL to continue to fill its own products as well as offer this limited resource for both private and public needs. Currently, as MassBiologics, MBL continues to market it's FDA licenced Td (tetanus and diphtheria) vaccine, providing a substantial proportion of the total US requirements for this key vaccine. In addition, recent years have seen MBL develop expertise and capability in the discovery, production and clinical testing of monoclonal antibodies, including antibodies to Clostridium difficile.
Public service
UMMS is extending its mission of public service through its innovative Commonwealth Medicine initiative. Commonwealth Medicine provides partnership opportunities for dozens of state and local agencies to increase the value and quality of publicly funded health expenditures and to improve access and delivery of care to at-risk and uninsured populations. Through Commonwealth Medicine, public agencies can leverage the academic, research, management and clinical resources of UMMS to optimize efficiency and effectiveness.Faculty
UMMS faculty members are internationally recognized authorities on AIDS, cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases, pain control, arteriosclerosis, thyroid function, hypertension, joint replacement, organ transplantation, minimally invasive surgery, arthritis, senility and depression, among other areas. Distinguished faculty members include:- Craig C. Mello, Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine: Co-discoverer of RNA Interference, recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research, the Wiley PrizeWiley PrizeThe Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is intended to recognize breakthrough research in pure or applied life science research that is distinguished by its excellence, originality and impact on our understanding of biological systems and processes...
in the Biomedical Sciences, the Gairdner International Award, the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, the Warren Triennial Prize and the Massry Prize; - Michael Czech. PhD, Chair of the Program in Molecular Medicine: American Diabetes Association Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement (2000);
- Victor Ambros, PhD, 2008 Lasker prize winner, pioneer of microRNAs (miRNA);
- Phillip Zamore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, leader in the field of RNA Interference mechanism, W. M. Keck Foundation's Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research Program, a co-founder of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of small RNA molecules as therapies for human disease, 2009 recipient of Schering-Plough Institute Award.
- Melissa Moore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, co-director of the UMMS RNA Therapeutics Institute
- Roger Davis, PhD,Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; fellow of the Royal Society; H. Arthur Smith Chair in Cancer Research; featured on Biochemistry & Biology and Molecular Biology & Genetics ISIHighlyCited.com
- Michael Green, MD, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; Searle Scholar Award; Presidential Young Investigators Award; McKnight Neuroscience Award; Harvey Lecture in 1993; Fox Chase Distinguished Lecture in Cancer Research in 2010; featured on Biochemistry & Biology and Genetics and Cell Biology ISIHighlyCited.com
- Robert Brown, Jr., MD, DPhil, Chair of Neurology; identified genetic mutations related to familial ALS; expert in neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases
- Judith Ockene, PhD, the Barbara Helen Smith Chair in Preventive and Behavioral Medicine; women’s health issues (menopause, hormone replacement therapy), health behaviors (alcohol abuse, smoking) quality of life issues for diverse populations.
- Catarina Kiefe, MD, PhD, Chair of Quantitative health Sciences; senior scientist in health care quality measurement and outcomes research
Teaching Affiliates and Clinical Partners
- Main Article UMass Memorial Health CareUMass Memorial Health CareUMass Memorial Health Care is a not-for-profit health care network affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, that operates 5 hospitals and a number of health clinics in the Central Massachusetts area...
As a complement to its education, research and public service mission, the hospital and clinical components of UMMS are part of UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC). UMass Memorial is a $1.2 billion health care delivery system with acute care hospitals, ambulatory clinics and a network of primary care
Primary care
Primary care is the term for the health services by providers who act as the principal point of consultation for patients within a health care system...
physicians and specialists throughout Central Massachusetts
Central Massachusetts
Central Massachusetts is the geographically central region of Massachusetts. Though definitions vary, most include all of Worcester County and the northwest corner of Middlesex County. Worcester, the largest city in the area and the seat of Worcester County, is often considered the cultural capital...
. With approximately 13,000 employees, including 1,500 physicians, UMMHC is the largest health care provider in both Central and Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
. Its flagship hospital, UMass Memorial Medical Center, straddles two campuses along Route 9
Route 9 (Massachusetts)
Route 9 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20, Route 2 and the Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 9 is one of the major east-west routes of Massachusetts, and like the others its eastern terminus is in Boston...
in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, and it is designated by the American College of Surgeons
American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:...
as a Level I Trauma Center.
UMMHC maintains four community hospitals in addition to its flagship hospital. The four community hospitals include:
- Clinton Hospital in Clinton, MassachusettsClinton, MassachusettsClinton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,606 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Clinton, please see the article Clinton , Massachusetts....
- HealthAlliance Hospital in FitchburgFitchburg, MassachusettsFitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...
and Leominster, MassachusettsLeominster, MassachusettsLeominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,... - Marlborough Hospital in Marlborough, MassachusettsMarlborough, MassachusettsMarlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
- Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer, MassachusettsPalmer, MassachusettsThe Town of Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
Campus
Lamar Soutter Library
Named in honor of Dr. Lamar Soutter, founding Dean School of Medicine, the Lamar Soutter Library at UMMS contains more than 288,000 volumes and is the state's leading source of biomedical information via inter‑library loan. The only public medical library in the state, it is the Regional Medical Library for New England and one of only eight such regional libraries that comprise the National Library of Medicine.Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building
To support the more than 260 investigators working on advancements in the treatment of disease and injury, the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building, a 360000 square feet (33,445.1 m²), state-of-the-art research facility, opened in October 2001. The ten-story structure, which is named for the chancellor emeritus, expanded upon the Medical School’s existing 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) in on-campus buildings and 83000 square feet (7,711 m²) in the adjacent Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park.Extended Campus
The UMMS extended campus includes the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, and labs and offices within the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park in Worcester; sites in Shrewsbury and Auburn; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center in Waltham; and the New England Newborn Screening Program and Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories in Jamaica Plain and Mattapan.Campus Chancellors
Lamar SoutterLamar Soutter
Lamar Soutter, MD was born March 9, 1909 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Helen Elizabeth Whiteside and Robert Soutter, a noted Boston orthopaedic surgeon. He graduated from Harvard college in 1931, with an AB in History, and from Harvard Medical School in 1935. He served residencies...
- Chancellor, February 6, 1974 – April 5, 1975
Roger J. Bulger
- Chancellor, January 29, 1976 - November 30, 1978
H. Maurice Goodman
- Acting Chancellor, November 15, 1978 - June 30, 1979
Robert E. Tranquada
- Chancellor, July 1, 1979 – August 31, 1986
James E. Dalen
- Acting Chancellor, August 15, 1986 – August 31, 1987
James B. Hanshaw
- Acting Chancellor, September 1, 1987 - October 31, 1987
Leonard Laster
- Chancellor, November 1, 1987 - August 31, 1990
Aaron Lazare
Aaron Lazare
Aaron Lazare was the Chancellor and Dean of University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts from May 15, 1991 to March 15, 2007.-Education:...
- Chancellor ad interim, September 4, 1990
- Chancellor, May 15, 1991 – March 15, 2007
Michael F. Collins
- Interim Chancellor, July 1, 2007 - September 26, 2008
- Chancellor September 26, 2008 - present
Deans of the School of Medicine
Lamar Soutter- Dean, February 24, 1964 - April 5, 1975
R. W. Butcher
- Acting Dean, February 21, 1975 – January 28, 1976
Roger J. Bulger
- Dean, January 29, 1976 - November 30, 1978
H. Maurice Goodman
- Acting Dean, November 15, 1978 - June 30, 1979
Robert E. Tranquada
- Dean, July 1, 1979 – June 4, 1986
James B. Hanshaw
- Dean/Provost, June 4, 1986 - September 30, 1989
Aaron Lazare
Aaron Lazare
Aaron Lazare was the Chancellor and Dean of University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts from May 15, 1991 to March 15, 2007.-Education:...
- Dean ad interim, October 1, 1989
- Dean, July 25, 1990 – March 15, 2007
Terence R. Flotte
- Dean, May 15, 2007–present
- Executive Deputy Chancellor of UMass Medical School, May 15, 2007–present
Deans of the Program in Biomedical Sciences
George E. Wright- Acting Dean, Fall 1979 – June 1980
- Dean, June 1981 – June 1984
Trudy G. Morrison
- Acting Dean, June 1980 – June 1981
Deans of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Thomas B. Miller, Jr.- Dean, June 1984 – June 2002
Anthony Carruthers
- Dean, December 2002 – present
Deans of the Graduate School of Nursing
Kathleen M. Dirschel- Dean, June 1985
Lillian R. Goodman
- Dean, September 1991 – November 1999
Doreen Harper
- Dean, July 1, 2000 – November 1, 2005
Paulette Seymour
- Interim Dean, November 1, 2005 – September 5, 2006
- Dean, September 5, 2006 – present