YSM News and Recognition

Susan Baserga, MD, PhD, and Qin Yan, PhD, from Yale School of Medicine (YSM) were among the five Yale University faculty members and affiliates recently named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. Baserga is the William H. Fleming Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at YSM. In its announcement, the AAAS noted Baserga’s “pioneering contributions to understanding the structure and biogenesis of the ribosome, and how abnormalities in the ribosome lead to disease.” Yan is a professor of pathology at YSM. AAAS lauded Yan “for pioneering cancer epigenetics through groundbreaking work on KDM5 demethylases, uncovering therapeutic targets and mechanisms of tumor progression, immune evasion, and metastasis.”

Slav Bagriantsev, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular physiology, was honored with a Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Javits Awards provide support of up to seven years to investigators with a history of exceptional talent, imagination, and preeminent scientific achievement. The Bagriantsev Lab studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the sense of touch across species.

The Yale New Haven Transplantation Center has officially been designated as a Center of Excellence with Optum for adult liver, kidney, and heart transplantation. Optum’s Center of Excellence network includes high-quality, specialized transplantation centers, aiming to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. The designated centers are chosen for their superior clinical expertise in complex procedures. Yale’s center marked its 750th liver transplantation in December.

“Aperture IV,” the latest in a series of faculty portrait exhibits, is now open on the second floor of Sterling Hall of Medicine. The Aperture series began in 2018, when the community celebrated a Century of Women at YSM and the decision was made to take powerful, contextual portraits of women faculty, past and present, junior and senior, in the fields of research, education, and patient care. The exhibit was coordinated by the Program for Art in Public Spaces, led by Darin Latimore, MD, deputy dean for collaborative excellence, and Anna Reisman, MD, director of the Program for Humanities in Medicine.

Saeed Juggan, MD-PhD '29, and Arielle Shibi Rosen, MD '27, will receive the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This new award was created in response to student requests for a way to celebrate peers who enrich the Yale School of Medicine learning experience through exceptional teaching, peer mentorship, and dedicated educational service. The winners were nominated by students and faculty. The inaugural awards will be officially presented at the Medical Education Day Recognition Ceremony on June 4.

Michelle Volovsky, MD, a clinical associate in obstetrics and gynecology, has received the Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP) award for her research on ovarian aging, specifically focused on mitochondria. The RSDP is a K12 training program dedicated to mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists; it is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Child Health and Development.

A research project led by Eunice Yuen, MD, PhD, and Richard Zhang, MD, was recognized at the annual meeting of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT). A poster presentation outlining the project received first place, from among 33 presentations, in the association’s poster contest. Yuen and Zhang co-authored the poster, titled “Exploring Training Gaps in Immigrant Mental Health: Perspectives from a Nationwide Sample of Psychiatry Trainees.” Yuen is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale, with a secondary appointment at Yale Child Study Center (YCSC). Zhang is a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at YCSC.