News Briefs
SCHOLARSHIPS for FUTURE PHYSICIANS
In February, University of Virginia School of Medicine announced a new initiative to raise $25 million for additional student scholarships as part of the University's Honor the Future campaign. This vital fundraising initiative aligns with UVA Health’s 2022-2032 strategic plan, One Future Together: Health and Hope for All, which acknowledges the importance of UVA’s world-class medical education and training programs in preparing next-generation health professionals to meet our community’s greatest needs. “Increasing student scholarships is one of our most important goals,” said Melina Kibbe, MD, dean of the UVA School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer of UVA Health. “Scholarships are vital for recruiting the most promising future physicians regardless of their finances, including those from backgrounds underrepresented in medical school and our medical profession, and empowering them to reach their fullest potential.”
BREAKING BREAD
Over the past decade, locally owned Panera Bread locations have raised more than $1 million for UVA Health Children’s, supporting initiatives from creating the Panera Family Lounge and a pediatric oncology fellowship to the pediatric transplant program and Patient and Family Centered Care program. Last year’s “Change 4 Children” campaign broke records, raising nearly $40,000. In February, this year’s fundraiser got off to a fast start with a new focus: expanding the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units (NICU and PICU) to accommodate burgeoning demand at Virginia’s No. 1 children’s hospital. “Change 4 Children” enables diners at Panera Bread locations in Charlottesville, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Culpeper, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, and Waynesboro to round up purchases to a whole dollar amount to benefit UVA Health Children’s.
SHARKS, ON YOUR MARKS...
$500,000 in prize money was only part of the stakes in the UVA School of Medicine Shark Tank Competition, a highlight of the February 2024 research retreat exploring “Emerging Approaches and Biotechnologies.” Five teams made their pitches to the Sharks, who peppered participants with questions. The audience then cast their votes. Two third-place winners each received $50,000, the second-place team took away $100,000, while awards of $150,000 went to two first-place winners. One of the first-place teams was led by Loren Erickson, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology. Erickson said his team “sought to understand how 10 bites from the lone star tick lead to the development of allergic reactions to a sugar found in mammals, such as red meat, and why this is also a potential risk factor for coronary artery disease.” Another first-place award went to Jennifer Payne, MD, a professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, and her team, who identified blood-based biomarkers that can predict with 80% accuracy who will develop postpartum depression. Her research, she said, will “help us understand how postpartum depression develops from a biological perspective and lead to improved treatments and outcomes.”
LIGHTING THE WAY
Olivia’s Light, a non-profit supporting children with genetic disorders, medical complexities, and severe disabilities, has donated $51,000 to UVA Health Children’s. The gift will cover pediatric testing for families based on financial need, determined partly by insurance coverage. The remaining funds are designated toward the highest needs in pediatric genetics. The organization was founded by Jenna and Ben King, whose daughter, Olivia, underwent genetic testing at UVA Health Children’s. At six weeks, Olivia was diagnosed with an EEF1A2-related neurodevelopmental brain disorder, an extremely rare terminal condition. “While this was our family’s worst nightmare, there was definitely a sense of peace in knowing the truth and being able to make informed decisions moving forward,” Jenna wrote. “On behalf of our late daughter and a community that supported our fundraising efforts, we are giving others the gift we were given—broad genetic testing for patients with a financial need.”
GIFT MILESTONES
Bonnie and Wick Moorman made a commitment to benefit the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. Their gift will establish a Psychiatric Strategic Advancement Fund to help attract clinical research experts; a Psychiatric Research Seed Fund to support high-risk, high-reward research and facilitate further funding; a Perinatal Mood Disorders Clinic Startup Fund to meet the critical mental health needs of new mothers; and the newly created Zachariah C. Dameron III Endowed Lectureship in Psychiatry to enhance the Department’s educational programming for faculty, staff, and trainees.
Carol R. Angle has made a gift to endow the Daniel M. Becker Professorship in Geriatric Research and create the Matthew J. Goodman, MD, Geriatric Research Seed Fund. Her investment will enable the Department of Medicine’s Division of General, Geriatric, Palliative, and Hospital Medicine to support a leading investigator in geriatrics research. It will also provide critical resources for the chairholder to advance the most promising geriatrics research within the division and across UVA Health.
Nina and Ken (COL ’75, MED ’79) Botsford made a commitment to create the Nina and Ken Botsford Bicentennial Professorship in Neurology to be held in perpetuity by the chair of the Department of Neurology. Xuemei Huang, MD, PhD, a distinguished leader, clinician, educator, and scientist, was recently appointed to this position and is slated to begin on August 1. Additionally, the Botsfords will create the Nina and Ken Botsford Research Fund in Neurology through their estate to fuel groundbreaking research in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative disorders to benefit future patients.
