Friday, March 16, 2007

Lazare steps down from UMass Medical School

After 16 years at the helm of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, chancellor Aaron Lazare announced yesterday he will step down due to a heart condition.

Lazare, 71, who has served as chancellor and dean of the UMass Medical School in Worcester since 1991, is expected to return as a medical school professor after a health-related leave of absence.

It is the second recent shift in administrative leadership for the UMass system, which announced U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan as the new chancellor of UMass Lowell earlier this week.

During Lazare's tenure, researcher Craig Mello was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, along with co-researcher Andrew Fire, for their discovery of RNAi, also known as ribonucleic acid interference.

Lazare also oversaw the construction of a $100 million, 360,000-square-foot research laboratory, which opened in 2001. The building, known as the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building, was built using a $21 million gift -- the largest in UMass history -- from Jack and Shelley Blais.

His research specialty is doctor-patient communication. Lazare holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College. After receiving his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Lazare served for 14 years at Massachusetts General Hospital, rising to the rank of professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

In 1982, Lazare first entered UMass Medical School as professor and chair of psychiatry. He was appointed to dean of the medical school in 1990.

The UMass Medical School enrolls 956 students and reported $166.7 million in sponsored research during 2006.