Dear Alumni, Friends, and Colleagues,
We hope that you and your families have remained healthy during the COVID-19 outbreak, perhaps the most medically challenging time in the last century.
Given that many are not accepting paper mail and magazines into their homes, we have designed a digital issue of BU Medicine, appropriately devoted to the many Heroes Among Us—our alumni, students, faculty, and staff working and volunteering in the hospitals, research labs, and classrooms on the front lines of this global pandemic. We share some of their stories from BU Today, The Brink, and our own BUSM news stream detailing their impact during these challenging times.
Life at BUSM has been anything but normal. In a world reeling from a global pandemic disproportionately affecting communities of color, the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks have sparked a conflagration of fear, anger, and frustration. Racism violates our principles of equity and, for the Medical Campus particularly, our commitment to care for the underserved. Our faculty and students joined Boston Medical Center on June 5 for White Coats for Black Lives, a national moment of silence for the countless Black lives lost due to systemic racism. We anticipate active involvement from our faculty, staff, and students as we plan and implement antiracism initiatives on campus and contribute to the national conversation.
We also highlight six alumni, practicing across the country in different specialties and environments, who share their COVID-19 experiences.
We have begun a reopening process following federal, state, and local guidelines. Research is ramping up, our new, fourth-year medical students are back in the clinics, and we are preparing our campus and classrooms for the return of our remaining students.
BUMC Facilities, IS&T, Environmental Health & Safety, Educational Media, and building coordinators remain the unsung heroes for making—and checking—the necessary adjustments to provide a safe environment for all members of our community, and Public Safety is always working to keep our campus safe.
Many of you are asking how you can help. Students and their families have been disrupted by illness, job loss, and even death, and thus, we expect to need substantially more financial aid this fall than last year. Please support the Medical Student or Graduate Student Scholarship Funds. We would also welcome donations for COVID-related or other research. If you would like to help, contact Development at busmdev@bu.edu or 617-358-9535.
We hope you enjoy this special, digital-only edition of BU Medicine. More importantly, please stay safe and be well.
Best Regards,
Karen Antman, MD