AY2022 State of the School

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

This week we welcomed our graduate students back to campus for the new academic year.  Our medical students had returned to campus in July and August. We are looking forward to in-person teaching, learning and research, using all of the tools available to keep our community safe, in this year two of the pandemic.

Our community continues to be resilient, creative and productive despite COVID, and I’d like to list a number of highlights from the 2021-22 school year.

Faculty Honors

Many of our faculty have received well deserved recognition. For a list of those who received national and international honors this year, click here. (When you receive an honor or award, please notify Maria Ober, associate dean for communications, so that we can track the accomplishments of our faculty and staff. If you received an honor or award that is not listed, please contact her now.)

Research Publications

Our researchers continue to receive significant media coverage for their exceptional published work. In fact, BU faculty have published more than 1,400 papers, essays, data bases, etc. in COVID research since March 2020 (see dashboard).

  • Michael Holick published two studies in PLOS ONE detailing the risks associated with low vitamin D and COVID-19 risk. Yvette Cozier’s study also in PLOS ONE  found Black American women with low levels of vitamin D appeared to be related to increased incidence of COVID-19 infection.
  • Priya Anand’s study in the journal Neurology found neurologic complications common even in moderate COVID-19 cases.
    • Bob Sterns’ study in the journal Neurology provides new criteria for diagnosing the clinical syndrome of chronic traumatic encephalopathy during life.
    • Wendy Qui’s study in the journal of Alzheimer’s & Dementia found midlife loneliness is a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
    • Kimberly Bertrand’s study in the journal Carcinogenesis found moderate use of hair relaxers does not increase breast cancer risk among black women.
    • Allan Walkey’s study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that lottery-based incentive systems, intended to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, were not associated with an increase in COVD-19 vaccinations.

    New Research Grants

    Click here to see our top new and current grants.

    Foundation awards of note:

    • Katya Ravid received a $2.75m grant from the American Heart Association for “Cancer-Associated Thrombosis as Affected by Health Disparities.”
    • Rhoda Au received a $1.95m grant from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation for “Framingham Cognitive Aging and Dementia Study.”
    • Finn Hawkins received a $672k grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for a CReM research study.
    • Lawreen Connors received a $400k grant from the Wildflower Foundation Inc., for amyloidosis research.
    • John Polk and Maura Kelley received a $247k grant from the Vertex Foundation for the EMSSP/BEAMS programs.
    • Weiming Xia received a $173k grant from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund for “Alzheimer’s Disease Pharmacomics in 3D.”
    • Julie White received a $160k grant from the Deborah Monroe Noonan Memorial Fund for the Pediatric Autism in Underserved Communities program.
    • Dennis Jones received a $100k grant from METAvivor for breast cancer research.

    Click here to read the latest news from our associate deans, chairs, center and institute directors.

    Best wishes for an exciting, productive and healthy new academic year.

    Karen H. Antman, MD
    Provost, BU Medical Campus
    Dean, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine