Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan

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Commencement is this weekend 🎉🎉 We can't wait to see you there!

UMass Chan Medical School 49th Commencement on Sunday, June 5, will cap off celebratory week UMass Chan Medical School will celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2022 at a series of events leading up to the 49th Annual Commencement Exercises on Sunday, June 5.

Motor neuron toxin associated with ALS identified by UMass Chan investigators An international team of investigators has discovered that an inorganic polyphosphate released by nerve cells known as astrocytes in people with ALS and frontotemporal dementia contributes to the motor neuron death that is the signature of these diseases.

Dan and Diane Riccio, two UMass alumni, have pledged $15 million to UMass Chan Medical School to support advances in neuroscience research.

This gift is the third and largest donation by the Riccios to UMass Chan, and it includes $10 million for the Riccio ALS Accelerator Initiative and $5 million to expand and endow the Riccio Fund for Neuroscience. https://bit.ly/3LnWmvX

Dr. Katherine Fitzgerald has been named the 2022 recipient of the American Association of Immunologists - Thermo Fisher Meritorious Career Award. Congratulations, Dr. Fitzgerald!

The award recognizes a mid-career scientist for outstanding contributions to the field of immunology. Read more on Dr. Fitzgerald's pioneering work and the award: https://bit.ly/3r60ubz

Dr. Jason Shohet recently received a second Hyundai Hope on Wheels grant to continue his work in overcoming drug resistance in treatments for neuroblastoma.

In the original grant, Shohet and Dr. Joae Qiong Wu found that drugs targeting the enzyme protein methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) dramatically inhibited tumor growth and tumor metastasis. The new grant will fund work focusing on combining PRMT5 targeting with established treatments.

https://bit.ly/3nmxb2e

In a single-patient pilot study, research by Dr. Robert Brown and Dr. Jonathan Watts has shown the ability to suppress mutant forms of an ALS gene known as C9ORF72. “The results are very encouraging. It means this is a viable approach to suppressing the mutant C9ORF72 protein that causes most cases of familial ALS," said Dr. Brown

UMass Chan clinical trial shows antisense oligonucleotide safely suppresses mutant ALS gene in pilot human study Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, Jonathan Watts, PhD, and colleagues have shown the ability to suppress mutant forms of an ALS gene in a single-patient pilot study.

Communicating science: Brian Lewis discusses overcoming therapeutic resistance in pancreatic cancer Brian Lewis, PhD, is studying therapeutic resistance in pancreatic cancer cells, hoping to change the grim statistics for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.