A team of UMMC scientists is tracking COVID-19 virus variants – including the highly transmissible Delta variant – as they continue to circulate across Mississippi. With funding from state and federal sources, the Medical Center's team is also looking at how variants spread earlier in the pandemic to learn how to prevent future outbreaks.

When members of the first Doctor of Occupational Therapy class in the School for Health Related Professions graduated in May, they entered the workforce with a much deeper education than master’s level graduates. The OTD students delved into patient care, and also concepts related to leadership, management, specialty practice and scholarly activities, which armed them to explore both traditional and non-traditional OT settings.

Mississippi’s only School of Dentistry is educating the next generation of dentists who will give general and specialty care statewide. Attracting the best and brightest students and recruiting, retaining and rewarding outstanding faculty is critical to the school’s success. Four new development funds will address a variety of needs, and SOD graduates and the dental community can give back by supporting them.

Sonia Simpson is a constant presence at UMMC Grenada’s vaccine clinic, spreading the word about the importance of vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring the community has access to immunizations.

The state chapter of a national physicians organization bestows laureate status upon UMMC's endocrinology division director; a state pharmacists association names a University Hospital Specialty Retail Pharmacy employee as its Pharmacy Technician of the Year; and a pair of internal medicine residents earn top research abstract notice during a virtual ACOG meeting.

Several interesting events are scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.

Medical Center leadership is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries during the week of June 28-July 4.