School Notes: School of Medicine
September/October 2018

Yale College alum chosen as next admissions director

Ayaska Fernando ’08, ’18MS, became director of admissions at Yale School of Medicine on August 1, succeeding Richard Silverman who retired after 18 years of service. Fernando had been associate director of admissions and director of STEM recruitment in the Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions, where he oversaw recruitment of top students to Yale College. Twice a STEM student himself, Fernando earned his BS in mechanical engineering and MS in electrical engineering. He serves on Yale Scientific magazine’s advisory board and is a resident fellow of Jonathan Edwards College.

New center harnesses the power of immunotherapy

Yale Cancer Center (YCC) has launched the Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology (YCIO). The new center will build on YCC’s international leadership in immunobiology, cancer immunology, and development of novel cancer immunotherapies. It is a partnership between YCC and the Department of immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine. “This new center gives us the chance to work more collaboratively and efficiently with our world-renowned scientists and faculty to address scientific questions in immuno-oncology,” said Roy S. Herbst, chief of medical oncology at YCC and interim director of YCIO. “We hope we can transform the way we treat people affected by cancer by generating research advances more quickly in this groundbreaking field.”