I hope that everyone had an excellent Fourth of July. The American poet Robert Frost once said "freedom lies in being bold." I'm excited to see all of you coming to work and being bold in your research, furthering your education, and taking on tough clinical cases. You are bold every single day, and I salute you for it.

As we enter July, a new residency/fellowship year has begun. A warm welcome to our incoming first-year residents and new fellows. Our faculty are here to support (and even challenge) you as you grow into your new roles. We are so grateful to have you here, and all learners at every level. You are here because our selection process prioritizes you as human beings first, with an emphasis on your kindness, equity, and team player attitude. To that end, this job is not actually about you, or any other doctor or clinician for that matter, it's about the care we provide for our patients. You were invited to join us because we have already heard stories of your humanitarian and compassionate care. Congratulations to our senior residents, who are moving into new positions and will be looked on as role models and leaders by our students and newer residents.

Our Chief Residents have been very busy these last few weeks, onboarding the new residents and interns. Chiefs, you play a crucial role as the first contact for our team of new residents. I cannot thank you enough for your emotionally intelligent leadership.

Welcome all to the department of Medicine!

Be well,
Ruth O'Regan, M.D.

Appointment: Christopher Palma, M.D., Sc.M., from the division of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, has joined the UR CTSI as the new associate director of the Clinical Research Center, and he will also co-lead the CTSI's Participant and Clinical Interaction Function.

New Hire: Edith Williams, Ph.D., has been named the the founding director for the new Office of Health Equity Research in the UR CTSI. She will join September 1 as associate professor in the department of Public Health Sciences, and she will also hold an appointment in the DOM with Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology.

Publication: Peter Van Veldhuizen, M.D., from the division of Hematology/Oncology, has recently served as an Expert Panel Co-Chair for developing ASCO guidelines for "Management of Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma." The project is now complete, and the full guidelines available to physicians across the US.

Let's Talk Social Media: Pros and Cons

Many of you are on social media with personal profiles, but did you know that you can harness the power of social media to enhance URMC's missions of research, education, and patient care? It does take some time to build a following and become adept at using hashtags, but raising awareness of your research and interacting with a national conference is worth it! This list of Pros and Cons of Engaging in Social Media offers tips and resources to get you started, or step up what you're already doing. (Note: Article is on the intranet, VPN connection required.)

If you're sharing your research, or any research coming from UR, we encourage everyone to use the hashtag #URochesterResearch. This will help promote your work, and raise awareness of the amazing research and clinical advances that happen at URMC.