UMass Chan Medical School celebrated the $5 million gift of UMass Lowell alumni Donna and Robert Manning in a special inauguration ceremony on June 22. Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chairs in neuroscience, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing and biomedical sciences.
Speaking of the accomplished scholars being honored, UMass president Marty Meehan said, “We’re so lucky to be in the Medical School, the achievements of innovation leaders who are committed to educating others.”
President Meehan said Mannings’ generous gift inspires others to “deliver transformative tangible support across all five of our campuses, but especially here at the Medical School. They are sending a strong message that the University of Massachusetts is not only worthy of this support, but that this support is essential.”
“Our renowned faculty is committed to transforming the future of science, nursing and medicine. The support, investment and involvement of our benefactors, exemplified by Donna and Robert Manning, enable our faculty to do that and more,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins.
Joan M. Vitello-Cicciu, PhD, professor of nursing and dean of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, was invested as the inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair of Nursing†
“As the nursing profession evolves rapidly to meet the needs of a transformed healthcare landscape, you are embracing new ways to train advanced practice nurses, clinicians, leaders, educators and scientists to meet those needs,” Chancellor Collins said.
Dean Vitello-Cicciu described her professional life as a nurse first, a leader second, and always an apprentice. She committed to use the endowed funds to co-create a center or institute for interprofessional leadership.
“I envision that this center will engage in focused education and research to foster transformational healthcare leaders,” said Vitello-Cicciu. “Such leaders working in teams will identify evidence-based practice, resulting in optimal contribution to patient care.”
Collins highlighted the stellar career, “from the lab bench to the lecture hall to the leadership suite” of Mary Ellen Lane, PhDprofessor of neurobiology and dean of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, who was invested as the inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Biomedical Sciences†
When he joined UMass Chan in the Department of Neurobiology in 2011, Collins said Dean Lane earned “a national reputation for developing, implementing and innovating curricula in education and developing the next generation of biomedical scientists.”
The grant is “a recognition of the excellence of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the importance of our mission to develop scientific leaders,” Lane said. “As UMass Chan continues to grow, its faculty diversify and transform into existing and new areas of research, and bring a new generation of leaders with a new leadership vision, we are poised to take full advantage of the breadth of educational opportunities created by this new vision .”
Collins expressed his gratitude for his services to the country and to UMass Chan at Michael P. Stauff, MDassociate professor of Orthopedics & Physical Rehabilitation and Vice Chair for Clinical Practice in the Department of Orthopedics & Physical Rehabilitation, as he was invested as the inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair of Orthopedics.
dr. Stauff, who joined the faculty in 2013, was an active-duty orthopedic surgeon with the rank of major at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
“You have been entrusted with the lives and limbs of those who, like you, chose to selflessly serve our country,” Collins said. “Your willingness to serve continued as you began a career in academic medicine at UMass Chan, where you served as co-director of the multidisciplinary Center for Spine Health and associate director of our internationally renowned residency training program in orthopedics and physical revalidation.”
Stauff said the endowed funds will help support the workforce needed to grow and maintain a multi-institutional database that prospective medical students, residents and researchers can use to answer important clinical questions about the best options for cervical and lumbar spine surgery. , based on perioperative factors and imaging features.
For her role as a maternal and child health champion and advocate for advancing women in leadership in medicine, Tiffany A. Moore Simas, MD, MPHchair and professor of obstetrics & gynecology and professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and population and quantitative health sciences, was invested as the inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology† dr. Moore Simas is also a proud UMass Boston alumna and first-generation graduate.
Collins highlighted examples of Moore Simas’ “expanding the medical profession and expanding access to families in need,” including as founder and medical director of Lifeline4Moms and developing the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Moms, now a national model for increasing the capacity of primary care providers to address perinatal mental health and substance use disorders.
“This donation will be used to advance women’s holistic health and women’s leadership in academic medicine, and as such will promote the health and well-being of our local, national and global community,” said Moore Simas. “Some say that women’s health, especially maternal health, is a measure of the health of our communities. We have some work to do.”
Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MDprofessor of neurology and director of the Neurotherapeutics Institute, was hailed by Collins as a “beacon of hope for ALS patients and families around the world” as he was invested as the inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair of Neuroscience†
dr. Brown was a leading member of the team that identified the first genetic link to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1993. In 2008, he joined UMass Chan to “utilize the power of the world-class expertise in RNA biology and gene therapy here,” Collins said. At UMass Chan, Brown initiated three first-in-human proof-of-concept trials of gene modulation therapy, which promise to “support all those who want to better understand and cure not only the inherited form of ALS, but also the sporadic or non-familial form of ALS.” of ALS cases that make up 90 percent of ALS diagnoses.”
Brown’s nomination for the honor reflected “the achievements of more colleagues in the clinic and lab than I can list today,” Brown said. “To me, only one point really stands out: UMass is an excellent place for developing breakthrough therapies for many types of diseases, especially those of genetic origin.”
Robert Manning said he and his wife gifted them because of their first-hand experience with UMass Chan’s academic medical system.
“As a leader of an organization, I know that the most powerful thing that determines success is the culture of that institution, and I have to say that Michael Collins, my friend, and (Dean) Terry Flotte, and all the teams have created a culture here which is extremely unique.”
Manning continued: “We are fundamentally convinced that the only thing that matters in life is what you do to help others. Not the trophies, the titles, the money, all the other material things. for how you have influenced others and you do that here every day.”
The five endowed chairs were approved in April by the UMass Board of Trustees, chaired by Robert Manning. Their establishment brings the number of endowed chairs at UMass Chan to 62, of which 20 are by women.
Related UMass Chan News Stories:
Eric Baehrecke, Jeanne Lawrence and Alan Mullen appointed to endowed chairs
Donna and Robert Manning Donate $5 Million to UMass Chan to Establish Endowed Chairs