At the nexus of higher education and life sciences, UMass Chan Medical School has undergone tremendous growth in the last year under Dr. Michael Collins’ leadership.
The school received an historic $175-million gift from the Morningside Foundation in September, leading to a name change and an opportunity for significant growth. Collins oversees more than just the medical school, including the graduate schools for nursing and for biomedical professionals, as well as the biotech company MassBiologics and the consulting and human services agency Commonwealth Medicine. Research funding at UMass Chan has doubled over the two years of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than $500 million from the National Institutes of Health alone.
To house its growth, the school is constructing a 300,000-square-foot building, which is in addition to the 48,000-square-foot veterans center completed in November. In total, the school wields $2 billion of economic impact in Massachusetts, offering more than 6,000 jobs and injecting young talent into the life sciences industry.
What sets the Central Mass. business community apart from the rest of the world? Simply put, there is a can-do attitude and collaborative spirit among the city’s political, business, higher education, and nonprofit leaders here that is rare and very special.
Michael Collins, M.D.: More than a few people were surprised to roll up their sleeves and see Dr. Collins giving COVID-19 shots during the UMass vaccine corps clinics.
