Trisha N. Davis
We’re back!
Yes, in September the UW opened up to in person classes, meetings, and research, which has been both exhilarating and challenging. We implemented the state vaccine mandate for SARS-CoV2, and I am proud to share that 100% of our faculty and 99% of our staff and trainees are vaccinated. Because of the precautions we took and continue to take, we have not had transmission of COVID-19 within our department since the beginning of the pandemic. Our work goes on!
There may come a day when we’ll look back on this time and doubt the memories of what we’ve lived through: the global trauma, the suffering, the loss of life. For now, the pandemic still goes on. Yet, we continue to hold our heads up high with our hands outstretched to care for each other. I am grateful for the incredible commitment of the faculty, staff, and trainees to keep moving forward with ardent focus on our mission: in research, in education, in diversity and inclusion. I am also grateful to all my colleagues in UW Medicine, who have led with integrity and excellence throughout this pandemic.
Our departmental research is stronger than ever. We have a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in Phase 3 trials, and we helped develop a monoclonal antibody that even neutralizes the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Our department now has three members of the National Academy of Sciences. Rachel Klevit became a member this year, joining David Baker and Richard Palmiter. Congratulations to Rachel Klevit for well deserved recognition of decades of outstanding research.
That is not the only threesome. Our department also now has three HHMI investigators, including the longest standing HHMI investigator, Richard Palmiter, and one of the newest, David Veesler. Read an interview of the two of them sharing ideas. Congratulations to David Veesler for the recognition of his research on coronaviruses, which he first published in 2016 and has yielded 40 publications in the last two years. Our third HHMI Investigator is David Baker, whose Institute for Protein Design was one of the leaders in the transformative advance recognized by Science Magazine’s 2021 Breakthrough of the Year: Protein structures for all.
We welcomed nine new graduate students to our program this year. I enjoyed teaching the literature review course for our new students with all the vigorous debate and discussions in person (fully masked, of course). Our undergraduates seemed hesitant at first but also relieved to be in person after a year of virtual lectures.
We still miss Eddy Fischer, whom we lost this year. We held a virtual Celebration of His Life and Work in October. If you weren’t able to attend, click here to stream it. The special day had great stories and remembrances and you can read more about it here.
Finally, I want to welcome Thelma Escobar, our newest assistant professor who started her lab at the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine in May. Don’t miss her video about her career path.
Sincerely,
