Congresswoman Trahan Highlights Health Priorities at UMass Chan Medical School

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, visited the University of Massachusetts' Chan Medical School (UMass Chan) to highlight key research projects supported by federal investments, including establishing a "Vaccine Corps," COVID-19 training, and substance use disorder projects. Trahan was joined by Chancellor Michael F. Collins, MD, FACP and Dean Terence R. Flotte, MD, as well as additional faculty members for a lab tour and discussion.

"University of Massachusetts' Chan Medical School is a powerful hub of innovation and cutting-edge research," said Congresswoman Trahan. "From responding to the COVID-19 to tackling the opioid epidemic, their impressive research has empowered health care workers in Massachusetts and across our nation to continue saving lives. I look forward to continuing our strong partnership on key health priorities that will better serve families here in the Third District and beyond."

UMass Chan is Massachusetts' first and only public academic health sciences center. The Medical School has long prioritized opioid use disorder research and treatment, one of Trahan's key priorities. Just yesterday, UMass Chan announced a new $12.3 million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to study components of a multidisciplinary team-based, wrap-around treatment program for adults with opioid use disorders and co-occurring mental illness. In 2018, UMass Chan was awarded a $450,000, three-year Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant to create a training program that would qualify medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addicted patients.

"We were so pleased to welcome Congresswoman Trahan to our campus this afternoon. She is a staunch and steadfast champion for biomedical research, and we very much appreciate her advocacy in Washington D.C. As the Congresswoman knows well, federal funding of biomedical research is critically important to our institution, our thriving research enterprise, and our stellar faculty, who are devoted to changing the course of the history of disease," said Chancellor Collins. "Our research enterprise is stronger and more impactful than ever and the cutting-edge science emanating from our labs stands to benefit families around the world."

As Massachusetts' only member of the Energy & Commerce Committee and a member of its Health Subcommittee, Trahan is uniquely positioned to work with local partners like UMass Chan to advance key health priorities. Since Trahan's first term, she has focused on the opioid epidemic, a crisis that disproportionately impacts her Third District constituents. UMass Chan's SAMHSA program already aligns with the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, Trahan's bipartisan legislation to implement a national knowledge standard for substance abuse disorder training, by accurately fulfilling the Act's training requirements.

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