TEST Dean's Update

Dear DGSOM community:

Last week, DGSOM scientists had the opportunity to participate in a conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci. This was a closed session for our scientific community, at Dr. Fauci’s request, but we are happy to be able to share the recording with you all. Thank you to Dr. Judith Currier, our Division Chief for Infectious Diseases, for bringing Dr. Fauci to UCLA and for facilitating an insightful and uplifting conversation.

Dr. Fauci shared his optimism about our increasing scientific understanding of the novel coronavirus and delineated a theoretical path toward a return to “normal” over the course of the 2021 calendar year. That path, he said, will be paved with a mix of public health measures, a safe and effective vaccine and increasingly better treatments for COVID-19. 

Unfortunately, we are in the midst of an intense surge in coronavirus cases. Yesterday, California recorded its millionth known case. Across our nation, the rate of new cases is higher in than it has ever been. As Dr. Fauci shared with us:

We need to take a very positive outlook, of what we can do to prevent the surges. We are not helpless in this regard. And one of the things we’ve got to guard against is this fatigue we all have about the restrictions we put on ourselves, which are necessary. So we’ve got to all hang in there together – and hopefully a vaccine will be a very important factor in getting us through this. And I believe we will be successful.

With the holiday season coming up, many of us may be tempted to expand our bubbles or to gather in large groups. We miss our family members and friends from whom we have been separated for months on end. However, in the context of this surge, I encourage you to prioritize the safety of yourselves and your loved ones, and indeed the greater good of society. By minimizing travel and following the public health precautions that we know work – wearing a mask, staying six feet apart, washing our hands thoroughly and often – we can once again flatten the curve and move our city, state and country back on track in the fight against COVID-19. We, as members of the scientific and medical community, are role models in our society.

Thank you all for the work you are doing to care for patients, to make groundbreaking discoveries and to educate our future leaders in science and medicine.

Sincerely,

Kelsey Martin, MD, PhD

Dean, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

GENERAL UPDATES

• Cultural North Star Award: Only 3 days remain – nominate an outstanding colleague for the Cultural North Star Award by Monday November 16^th.
• New COVID-19 testing site on the medical campus: The UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health Center opened a new COVID-19 asymptomatic testing tent on the west patio of Switzer Plaza, near the Jules Stein building. You may select this site when you schedule your next test. If you have not received a scheduling email, you may visit the Switzer Plaza site without an appointment and ask personnel to add you to the testing list.
• Remote work extension: As previously announced, DGSOM will align with UCLA’s decision to extend remote work through March 19, 2021. Moving forward, DGSOM will align with campus on any remote work directives, campus closures and return dates.
• Proposition 16 in California: University of California leadership released a statement affirming UC’s commitment to diversity after the rejection of California Proposition 16. Read the message >>
• National Native American Heritage Month: November is National Native American Heritage Month, an opportunity for us to respect the historic culture and contemporary presence of Native Peoples throughout California and in Los Angeles.
  • The DGSOM at UCLA acknowledges our presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples.
  • We also want to share the work of UCLA’s Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the Association of Native American Medical Students and Physicians (ANAMS-P). We encourage you to support or familiarize yourselves with their initiatives.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Ask a COVID-19-related question >>
• DGSOM’s COVID-19 website >>
• DGSOM Reporting and Support Resources >>
• UCLA Health Coronavirus Information >>
• COVID-19 support services >>
• Giving back during the pandemic >>
• Behavioral Wellness Center >>
• UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) >>
• Staff and Faculty Counseling Center >>
• Ramp-up FAQs >>
• UCLA COVID-19 policy governance >>