Jasmine Varona has hit the ground running at UMass Lowell.

But that’s really no surprise, given that the first-year Manning School of Business student from Haverhill, Mass., has been getting a running start on college for years.

They could have done what so many other engaged couples did and postpone their weddings until next year. 

But these River Hawk lovebirds didn’t want to let the coronavirus pandemic dictate the terms of their happily-ever-afters.

So in spite of the pandemic, several UMass Lowell alumni and students got married this summer — in safe and responsible, socially distanced ceremonies where veils and open bars were replaced by face masks and hand sanitizer.

Asst. Prof. James Heiss of the Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EEAS) is leading a team of researchers who are studying how powerful coastal storms affect the fresh water flowing below the ground along the seashore. 

UMass Medical School will bring the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science to its next level of innovation and collaboration with the five-year, $30 million renewal of its Clinical and Translational Sciences Award from the National Institutes of Health. The center advances clinical and translational research through education and training, pilot funding programs, research cores, and services.

In a year when education rituals were up-ended by the COVID-19 pandemic, 56 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences doctoral candidates were honored virtually in a qualifying exam recognition ceremony streamed over Zoom and on Facebook Live on Monday, Sept. 14.

“This is the essential milestone that our community has chosen to celebrate, as it marks the successful transition from student to scholar,” said GSBS Dean Mary Ellen Lane.

Elated faces of the Graduate Entry Pathway Class of 2023 were seen on Zoom and Facebook Live as they joined with faculty, family and friends for the virtual 2020 Graduate Entry Pathway Pinning Ceremony on Monday, Sept. 14.

As many as four in 10 adults would refuse or hesitate to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to participants in a national survey conducted during the coronavirus pandemic. The findings from the Meyers Primary Care Institute, in collaboration with UMass Medical School, indicate that health education outreach would be necessary to achieve widespread uptake of a safe and effective vaccine when one becomes available.

Melissa Condren, MSN, RN, CPNP, a Doctor of Nursing Practice candidate in the Graduate School of Nursing, was awarded the 2020 M. Louise Fitzpatrick Nursing Scholarship Award from the Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. The award was established in memory of the late dean of the Villanova College of Nursing, and reflects Dr. Fitzpatrick’s commitment to community, leadership and patient care.

A Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences research team’s far-reaching project to support professional development of early-career scientists received a significant boost recently with the award of a $2.3 million Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training, or IPERT grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

MassBiologics of UMass Medical School has entered into an agreement with PTC Therapeutics to manufacture biological investigational new drugs and commercial pharmaceutical products for use in humans.

“We are delighted to collaborate with PTC Therapeutics to create new medicines for rare diseases,” said Mark S. Klempner, MD, executive vice chancellor for MassBiologics. “For more than 125 years, MassBiologics has researched, developed, manufactured and distributed medicines for better lives.”