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Dear colleagues,
As this year draws to a close, we are so thankful for your hard work during this tumultuous time in our country. From our front line workers, to our faculty and staff, to all of our students, donors and community partners, each one of you play an important part in supporting our mission and ensuring our collective success.
Despite the many challenges this year has presented, we have many things to celebrate! First off, I want to congratulate two of our colleagues who were nominated and won ARIISE awards: Carl Smith, assistant dean of administrative operations, who led the Gillespie Strong SOM team which was recognized in the team category, and Gregory Vervoort, MBA, clinical operations director for the School of Medicine, who received an award in the category of innovation.
And, speaking of awards, several members of our SOM faculty, including Kevin Beier, Phil Felgner, and Lisa Flanagan, were competing for various UCI Innovator Awards this year. I’m proud to say Phil Felgner came out victorious and was awarded the COVID-19 Response Award for demonstrating an innovative and entrepreneurial drive in response to the global pandemic with his microarray technologies that allow for sensitive testing of proteins and antibodies to detect and monitor the course of infection. Congratulations goes to Phil and to all the nominees.
Other faculty members have been honored with grants and research awards this season, including Cholsoon Jang, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry, who was awarded an Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation Grant. Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, assistant professor in the Departments of Physiology & Biophysics and Ophthalmology, and the newest addition to the UCI Center for Translational Vision Research, who was selected for funding from the The Edward N. & Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation Awards Program in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Research for her research titled, “Aging, Lipid, Metabolism and Vision.” In addition, Elizabeth Head and Mark Mapstone, who are part of the Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Consortium – Down Syndrome (ABC-DS), a multi-institution research team, were part of an unprecedented five-year, $109 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to expand research on the biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome. The National Institutes of Health also awarded Xiangmin Xu, PhD and his team, a five-year, $3 million grant for a project titled, “Single-Cell Analysis of Aging-Associated 4D Nucleome in the Human Hippocampus.” Research wasn't the only area where we have reason to celebrate. I am also pleased to announce the relaunching of the UCI School of Medicine Strategic Plan. The Mission, Vision and Goals that were developed as part of the existing plan were recently reaffirmed to guide our path for 2020 – 2025. More than 200 stakeholders from the School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, main campus and external organizations participated in the original establishment of these directional statements. Take a look at our updated goals for 2020 – 2025.
Lastly, I'm proud to share that the 2020 UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge, which was held virtually with participants across the country biking, walking, and running, raised more than $735,000, which will go toward funding grants to support research. Last year's funding supported a total of 15 projects.
As you read this edition of the UCI School of Medicine News & Events, please remember to share your ideas and stories with us at SOMNews@uci.edu.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Sincerely,
Michael J. Stamos, MD Dean, UCI School of Medicine
Discover. Teach. Heal.
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