March 2022

UMB Faculty Awarded Highest University System Honor

March 11, 2022    |  

The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents has honored three University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) faculty members as recipients of the 2022 USM Regents’ Faculty Awards.

USM Regents' Faculty Award winners (l-r): Gregory Carey, David Marcozzi, and Joseph Scalea

USM Regents' Faculty Award winners (l-r): Gregory Carey, David Marcozzi, and Joseph Scalea

The awards are the highest honor presented by the board to exemplary faculty members. The awards honor excellence in the following categories: Teaching; Mentoring; Public Service; Research, Scholarship, or Creative Activity; and Innovation.

Faculty members of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) represented UMB by winning awards for mentoring, public service, and innovation.

“The recognition of these faculty members by the University System is well-deserved,” said UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS. “I deeply appreciate the vision, creativity, and commitment they bring to UMB and to improving the lives of others.”

The winners are:

EXCELLENCE IN MENTORING

Gregory B. Carey, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, assistant dean of student research and education, and executive director of student research and community outreach, UMSOM, was recognized for increasing participation of underrepresented Baltimore youth, undergraduate, and graduate students in science and medicine. With funding secured from the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State and the National Institutes of Health, Carey administers PRISM, UM Scholars, STAR-PREP, UMB CURE, and BUILD ASCEND. These pipeline programs prepare students to enter the biomedical and health care workforce and boast excellent success rates for students who move on to undergraduate medicine/science tracks and graduate programs.

EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE

David E. Marcozzi, MD, MHS-CL, MHS-CL, FACEP, chief clinical officer for the University of Maryland Medical Center and professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, UMSOM, was honored for his steady leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. With his expertise and experience in emergency medicine, he became the UMB-University of Maryland Medical System COVID-19 incident commander. Under his leadership, a systemic approach to the pandemic was developed and implemented, with the protection of the workforce and students given priority. Additionally, Marcozzi serves as Gov. Larry Hogan’s COVID-19 senior medical advisor on the Coronavirus Response Team.

EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION

Joseph R. Scalea, MD, former associate professor of surgery, UMSOM, was recognized for his novel use of drone technology to save lives. Partnering with friends and colleagues from UMB; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the unmanned aircraft systems test site, Scalea led the team that pioneered the use of drone technology to innovate organ shipment. A successful test of the drone system in 2019 led to a $16 million investment to build two Baltimore-based startups, MediGo and MissionGO. Scalea left UMSOM earlier this year.

(Read about all the winners at this link.)

Institutional faculty nominating committees make recommendations to the institutional presidents, who review nominations and supporting material and forward recommendations to USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD. The Regents Faculty Review Committee makes the final recommendations.

Perman and Board of Regents chair Linda R. Gooden, MBA, will recognize the winners as part of the scheduled meeting of the full board April 29 at Towson University.

“It is a pleasure every year to recognize these outstanding faculty members,” Gooden said. “I am especially grateful for their dedication throughout the many phases of the pandemic and pleased we can plan to recognize them in person, thanks to the work our campuses have done to keep their communities safe.”

Said Perman: “The bedrock of the University System’s quality, its prominence, its power to transform lives and change the world is, quite simply, our faculty. It’s a privilege to be able to honor them and celebrate what they make possible every day — possible for each individual student and for the body of scholarship that advances our progress and deepens our humanity.”

Each award carries a $2,000 prize provided by the institutions and the USM Foundation.