UTMB Academic Enterprise Spring 2016 by Mary Jo Singleton

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

SPRING 2016

HIGHLIGHTS

 Pioneering Care for the Space Frontier  Big Data Collaboration: Rehabilitation Research  Simulation in the School of Nursing  Brain Science Research Across UTMB

Advancing research, health care and education in Texas and beyond

Hope and Healing at Galveston’s Burn Center

The Texas City Disaster of 1947 and More Than 50 Years of Progress in Burn Care

Building upon great history for a bright future

o far, this year has proven exciting and fruitful for UTMB. Our institution is buzzing with excitement about our new Jennie Sealy Hospital, which we opened this April, as well as recent achievements from our faculty members (check out our Highlights section). We’ve selected some examples of UTMB’s current contributions to improving health locally and globally to feature in this issue. To continue the yearlong celebration of our 125th anniversary, we’ve included a timeline of highlights of UTMB’s history, from 1881, when Galveston was chosen by popular vote as the site for the University of Texas’ first medical school, to now. Turn to page 15 for the story of UTMB’s longstanding effort to care for patients with severe burn injuries, or flip to page 18 to read more about how scientists in our Department of Rehabilitation Sciences are collaborating on “big data” research. We’ve included a look at improving education through simulation in our School of Nursing, our Aerospace Medicine team’s innovative research and care and more. We’ve also included some photos and fast facts about our state-of-the-art hospital on page 7. We are all so pleased to work for an institution that has so many great people with great minds.

Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS Executive Vice President, Provost and Dean of the School of Medicine Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair

From left: EVP, Provost and Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Danny O. Jacobs, Senior VP for Interprofessional Education and Institutional Effectiveness and Dean of the School of Nursing, Dr. Pamela Watson, Senior VP, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Chief Research Officer, Dr. David Niesel and Senior VP and Dean of the School of Health Professions, Dr. Elizabeth Protas.

SPRING 2016 David L. Callender, MD, MBA, FACS President

Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS Executive Vice President and Provost, Dean of the School of Medicine

Cheryl A. Sadro, CPA, MSM Executive Vice President, Chief Business and Finance Officer

Donna K. Sollenberger, MA Executive Vice President and CEO, UTMB Health System

David W. Niesel, PhD Senior Vice President and Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Chief Research Officer

Elizabeth J. Protas, PT, PhD, FACSM, FAPTA Senior Vice President and Dean, School of Health Professions

Pamela G. Watson, RN, ScD Senior Vice President for Interprofessional Education and Institutional Effectiveness, Dean of the School of Nursing

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS Editor

Alexis Loyd Writers

Connie Holubar, MS, MBA Tammie Taylor, MLA

on a New Faculty Member: Dr. Pei-Wong Shi/ 2 Spotlight Dr. Courtney Townsend Selected President-Elect of American College of Surgeons

3 Alumni Corner: Dr. Deepak Srivastava Care for the Space Frontier: 4 Pioneering Aerospace Medicine at UTMB 7 Jennie Sealy Hospital: Celebrating a New Era at UTMB Researchers Well-Positioned as 9 UTMB Brain Science Achieves National Priority Status Advances Education: 12 Simulation Meet the School of Nursing’s New Simulation Director

13 Making an Impact: The Sealy & Smith Foundation 14 125 Years of UTMB History and Healing: 15 Hope Galveston Experts Lead Progress in Burn Care 18 Big Data Collaboration Fuels Rehabilitation Research Physician Healers 20 Training in UTMB’s School of Medicine

Photographer

Mark Kinonen Designer

Robert Cortez

21 Featured Department: Obstetrics & Gynecology 23 Highlights From Across the Academic Enterprise ON THE COVER: A family gathers their belongings after the Texas City Disaster. In April 1947, a small fire aboard a cargo ship docked in Texas City ignited the ammonium nitrate on board, causing an explosion felt across Galveston Bay at UTMB. Nearly 800 people were killed, thousands injured and many homes were damaged or destroyed, leaving families homeless. Turn to page 15 to read more about how the disaster inspired the creation of the Galveston Burn Center, which has been caring for burn patients for more than 50 years.

SPOTLIGHT

New Faculty Member in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Pei-Yong Shi, PhD I. H. KEMPNER PROFESSOR OF HUMAN GENETICS

Dr. Shi joined UTMB from the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore, where he served as executive director of disease biology. An expert in antiviral research, Dr. Shi has six patents, among them one that describes a diagnostic to test West Nile virus and several on anti-Flavivirus therapeutics. In 2007, Dr. Shi received the Pangborn Award, given by the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health every other year to scientists whose advances have had or are anticipated to have a broad public health impact. What brought you to UTMB? “Having worked in both leading pharmaceutical industry organizations and academia, I’m convinced that industry is not going to address many unmet medical needs with low commercial return. Therefore, academia can fill in a huge gap in translational work (e.g., therapeutics and vaccines) that does not compete with industry. My aspiration is to combine my expertise in both industry and academia to translate basic research to new

diagnoses, therapeutics and vaccines that can directly impact human health. As a virologist, I chose to join UTMB because of its international reputation in the field of infectious diseases.” What has been your experience at UTMB so far? “Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for translational research. A single group working in silo is not able to deliver translational products to clinics. I’m impressed by the collaborative culture at UTMB. For example, in response to the current Zika virus emergency, I see a rapid engagement and productive interactions between the research and clinic teams. Within the research teams, PIs with different expertise are closely collaborating to address key scientific questions about disease mechanisms and to develop potential countermeasures.” What are you working on right now? “I always aspire to focus our work on the interface between basic and translational

Dr. Townsend selected as president-elect of the American College of Surgeons Courtney M. Townsend Jr., MD, holder of the Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery, was named president-elect of the American College of Surgeons at its 2015 clinical conference in Chicago. The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization founded in 1913 to raise standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. With more than 80,000 members, it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. “It’s the highest honor to be chosen to represent more than 80,000 members of the American College of Surgeons,” Dr. Townsend says. “To be the champion for them, their patients and the principles of the college.” Dr. Townsend has held many leadership roles in the ACS, including secretary, chair of the ACS board of governors and member of the board’s executive committee. 2

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

When asked to name his medical “hero,” Dr. Townsend says, “My father was a 1932 graduate of UTMB and general practitioner for more than 60 years. He was the doctor who I wanted to be just like.” Like his father, Dr. Townsend earned his medical degree at UTMB and went on to complete his internship and residency at the institution as well. After a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of California-Los Angeles followed by two years at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Townsend joined UTMB as an associate professor of surgery in 1978. Dr. Townsend’s philosophy is, “Always do what’s best for the patient.” Townsend has served as editor-in-chief of the “Sabiston Textbook of Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Surgical Practice” since 2000 and was also the editor of “Surgical Oncology.” He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Surgery

research. We are currently working on two viral pathogens: dengue and Zika viruses. For Zika virus, we are developing novel diagnostics, vaccine, and therapeutics. For dengue virus, we are working on the mechanism of viral replication and therapeutics development. Many of our projects are highly collaborative with groups at UTMB and external industry/academic partners.” What are you most excited about as a new member of the UTMB faculty? “I’m most excited about the great colleagues on the UTMB campus. I’m equally excited about the opportunity to work with them as an integrated team, to fill in the gap that is required for successful therapeutic development, and to establish a more competitive translational platform at UTMB.” AE and The American Journal of Surgery. He has taught and mentored numerous students, interns and residents over nearly four decades. “We’re extraordinarily proud of Dr. Townsend and this well-deserved honor,” says Dr. David L. Callender, president of UTMB. “He not only represents the best of UTMB but he also is considered among the best in his profession, general surgery.” The Sealy & Smith Foundation recently contributed $1 million to The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to establish an endowed chair in his honor, the Courtney M. Townsend Jr., MD, Distinguished Chair in General Surgery. “The Sealy & Smith Foundation is so pleased to establish this distinguished chair in honor of an exemplary UTMB alumnus, teacher, scientist and surgeon,” says John Kelso, president of the foundation’s board of directors. “Dr. Townsend already has such a strong legacy of service, as seen in the patients who have benefitted from his skill and his research and in the students and residents who have benefitted from his mentorship. This endowment will ensure continued excellence in his name for generations to come.” AE

ALUMNI CORNER

Deepak Srivastava, MD 1990 SOM Graduate

Chris Goodfellow/Gladstone Institutes

r. Deepak Srivastava is Director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at Gladstone and a leader in cardiovascular science. He grew up in a family of educators and scientists—his mother was a schoolteacher and his father, Satish Srivastava, PhD, is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at UTMB. But Dr. Srivastava almost didn’t choose academic medicine for his career. “I was an economics major.” As an undergraduate at Rice University in Houston he was lured by the prospects of wealth and success. But before he committed to that path, he had a realization: Life is not about money. “Fortunately, I had that epiphany just in time.” Dr. Srivastava’s natural curiosity about the human body led him to choose medicine and, with roots on the island of Galveston, he decided to attend medical school at UTMB. He says that the proof of his excellent training at UTMB came to light when he graduated and went on to his residency at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Surrounded by graduates from Ivy League and other top-tier institutions, Dr. Srivastava says, “I felt more prepared than any of my colleagues.” UTMB is unique for its high level of mentorship, he says, as well as its hands on training. “The level of responsibility as a third-year medical student at UTMB is really incredible,” he says. “You are expected to take ownership of your patients.” A professor of pediatric cardiology at UCSF, Dr. Srivastava studies the biology of heart development. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Health and Medicine Division (formerly the Insitute of Medicine) in 2014. When asked what qualities most leaders in science and medicine share, he says, “They set a high bar for excellence. And, they go through their life asking why.” His advice for current and future UTMB students? “Find out what you’re truly passionate about and pursue that relentlessly,” he says. “Don’t make big decisions with your mind, make them with your heart.”

“Certainly growing up watching my father love what he does as much as he does was an inspiration,” Dr. Deepak Srivastava says of his father. A UTMB faculty member since 1974, Dr. Satish Srivastava is internationally recognized for his studies in chronic inflammation and associated health issues. Dr. Srivastava is a passionate mentor and talented scientist who has dedicated more than four decades to UTMB. Dr. Srivastava says that during college, his son was unsure of what he wanted to do. “Every summer, he used to come to me with a different proposal. He wanted to be a successful businessman and earn a lot of money. So I arranged for him to work with a good businessman. Next summer, he wanted to be a lawyer and earn good money. I attached him with one of the best lawyers in Galveston. This also did not satisfy him.” Dr. Deepak Srivastava eventually chose medical school and, after he completed his residency, his father advised him to return to Houston and work with Dr. Eric Olson, an investigator working on the cardiovascular system. “Thus, my suggestion to parents is to be friends with your children; advise them when they seek help. Don’t thrust your wishes on them, but always be their advisor,” says Dr. Srivastava. “Deepak and I still talk for at least 15 minutes a day.”

Dr. Kjell Lindgren’s fellow crew member, astronaut Scott Kelly, posted this image of the aurora taken from the International Space Station.

Pioneering Care

Space Frontier for the

“

f you’re in space for 24 hours, you see 16 sunrises and sunsets,” says Kjell Lindgren, MD, MPH. A NASA astronaut, Dr. Lindgren is one of the privileged few to experience the incredible, constantly changing view from space. “The only time I got goosebumps in space was when I saw the aurora,” he says. Dr. Lindgren is a 2008 alumnus of UTMB’s unique Aerospace Medicine Residency program. He was selected in June 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class.

A E R O S PAC E MEDICINE AT U T M B

Fifty-five years after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth, space travel still captures the imagination. Mention space and many of us see awe-inspiring images in our minds: the powerful craft blasting through the clouds, a glowing blue Earth amid glittering swaths of stars and a man or woman geared in iconic white, floating above the world. While flying into space may seem like a magical, yet inaccessible, endeavor, it is part of the everyday for the experts of UTMB’s NASA

Aerospace Medicine program. As part of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, these faculty members provide clinical care, contribute research and train physicians in the field of aviation and human spaceflight. “We are currently the only place in the country that couples complex pilot evaluations with space-related work,” says James Vanderploeg, MD, MPH, director of clinical preventive medicine. UTMB’s Aerospace Medicine program is unique, Dr. Vanderploeg says, for its long history of hands-on medical care and aerospace research combined with the institution’s ongoing, integrated relationship with NASA. As the field of private spaceflight rapidly expands — with companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, XCOR and Space Adventures among top companies pioneering the realm of space travel for “regular” citizens — there is an increased need to answer questions about the effects that traveling, living and working in space has on humans. Dr. Vanderploeg and his colleagues are conducting this human spaceflight-focused research, which is vital to both NASA and the commercial spaceflight industry. “We’re trying to open the gateway as widely as possible, to fly as many people as we can, but also do that as safely as possible.” In one of the team’s recent important studies, UTMB scientists mimicked the conditions of space travel for 86 volunteers with common medical issues including high blood pressure,

heart disease, diabetes, various lung diseases, and back and neck injuries, surgeries or disorders. The researchers monitored how the volunteers performed when participating in centrifuge trials. The PHOENIX Centrifuge at the NASTAR Center outside of Philadelphia simulated the G-forces passengers would experience during a rocket launch and upon re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. “Many of my colleagues thought I was absolutely crazy,” Dr. Vanderploeg says of the unprecedented study. But the volunteers did remarkably well, he says. Almost all of the participants tolerated simulated flight without problems. In other studies conducted by UTMB researchers, volunteers spent several weeks in a bed-rest position to test the effects on the human body. These studies, Dr. Vanderploeg says, help his team feel confident that average citizens can safely travel to space. “We think we’re there, where regular people could do this right now.” UTMB’s space medicine training and research is made possible through funding from NASA, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. Dr. Vanderploeg was selected to serve as executive director for the Center of Excellence, which is comprised of nine core universities and six affiliate members. In 2014, the FAA singled out UTMB’s Aerospace Medicine group — which was led by Dr. Vanderploeg and included Drs. Rebecca Blue, Tarah Castleberry

Aboard the International Space Station, Dr. Kjell Lindgren tasted lettuce that was grown and harvested in space.

UTMB Aerospace Medicine residents learn to care for people in extreme and remote environments in a two-month rotation in Antarctica.

and Charles Mathers — to receive an award for their research contributions to human spaceflight. UTMB also performs Federal Aviation Administration examinations on pilots, ranging from recreational to commercial airline pilots. “At UTMB, we specialize in caring for pilots with complex medical or mental health conditions so that they are able to safely return to commercial flying,” says Dr. Charles Mathers, Director of the Aerospace Medicine Center. Providers at the Aerospace Medicine Center, in conjunction with UTMB clinics, have also evaluated and supported five space tourists who have traveled to the International Space Station.

Training for the future “The challenges and rigor of the aviation and space environments attracted me to the field,” says Tarah Castleberry, DO, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. “We push the envelope of what humans can tolerate. When someone says, ‘That’s not possible, we can’t do that,’ we say, ‘Really? Let’s see.’” Dr. Castleberry is the director for UTMB’s Aerospace Medicine Residency Program, which provides aerospace medicine training focused on space and aviation to the next generation of flight surgeons and researchers. UTMB’s Aerospace Medicine Residency program has two tracks. The first is a twoyear program for physicians who are already trained in another clinical specialty. The second is the only accredited four-year residency program combining internal medicine and aerospace medicine. Both programs integrate an additional degree: a Master of Public Health or Master of Science degree. Residents of the program gain experience in a number of different areas, including pilot training, crash investigation, as well as emergency preparedness and mass casualty preparation as volunteers at events including

NASA SPRING 2016

James M. Vanderploeg, MD, MPH, Receives Joe Kerwin Award

From left: Drs. Tarah Castleberry and James Vanderploeg.

The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) presented Dr. James Vanderploeg with the 2016 Joe Kerwin Award at the AsMA Honors Night Ceremonies, April 28, 2016, at the Harrah’s Resort Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. The award recognizes Dr. Vanderploeg’s groundbreaking work evaluating individuals with chronic medical conditions undergoing simulated commercial spaceflight experience. According to the AsMA, Dr. Vanderploeg’s work enhances the understanding of the physiological effects of G exposure in spaceflight participants and enhance the safety of commercial suborbital flight. Wyle established the namesake award for astronaut Dr. Joseph Kerwin. It is given annually for advances in the understanding of human physiology during spaceflight and innovation in the practice of space medicine to support optimal human health and performance in space. The AsMA is the largest professional organization in the fields of aerospace medicine and human performance.

NASA

the Indy 500 and the Wings Over Houston Airshow. “One of the things that makes space medicine such an exciting field is that it is relatively new,” says Josef Schmid, MD, MPH. Dr. Schmid is a NASA flight surgeon in the medical operations branch. “Space medicine has only been around since we’ve sent people into orbit,” he says. And now, with the potential for average citizens to fly into space, “It’s a whole new ballgame.” A Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, Dr. Schmid also graduated from UTMB’s aerospace program in 2002. He says his work does not feel like a job. “I absolutely love what I’m doing.” One unique way UTMB’s residency program helps prepare trainees to take care of people in extreme and remote environments is through a two-month rotation in Antarctica — a highlight for many students. UTMB’s Center for Polar Medical Operations (CPMO) serves the National Science Foundation’s US Antarctic Program (USAP), enabling vital scientific 6

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

research from the most remote places on earth. Providers at the CPMO manage health services at the three Antarctic sites operated by the U.S. — McMurdo, Amundsen-Scott South Pole and Palmer stations. This includes conducting medical screening for all USAP participants, resupplying stations with medical supplies and providing real-time medical support via telemedicine. UTMB works as a part of the team on the Lockheed Martin-led Antarctic Support Contract. Other rotation sites include NASA Johnson Space Center, the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Medicine Primary Course, the U.S. Army Flight Surgeon Course, the U.S. Coast Guard and SpaceX. The majority of graduates from the Aerospace Medicine Residency — 30 out of 42 — have gone on to work for either NASA Johnson Space Center or one of its contractors while others have gone on to work for organizations including the Federal Aviation Administration, Kelsey-Seybold, Mayo Clinic

and, most recently, Virgin Galactic. Five of UTMB’s aerospace medicine graduates are, or have been, astronauts. Dr. Kjell Lindgren recently returned from the International Space Station, where he and his colleagues spent 141 days and performed more than 200 different scientific experiments. As part of NASA’s Expedition 44-45, Dr. Lindgren participated in two spacewalks with fellow astronaut, Scott Kelly. Dr. Lindgren says he wanted to be an astronaut as long as he can remember, though he knew the dream was a challenging one to pursue. When asked what advice he has for those considering entering the field of aerospace medicine, Dr. Lindgren says, “Pursue what interests you. You will have the greatest success in the area that you’re passionate about.” Dr. Lindgren received UTMB’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Impact Award at commencement exercises on May 20th. AE Laura Rudkin, PhD, serves as Chair of UTMB’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health (formerly the Department of Preventive Medicine), which was established in 1912. The mission of the department is to promote human health and function through population health research and education and the provision of evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion services.

C EL EB R AT IN G

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Jennie Sealy Hospital

n April 9, UTMB’s new $438 million hospital opened its doors to patients. Prior to its grand opening, more than 700 state and local dignitaries, UTMB employees, students, volunteers and community members gathered in the spacious second-floor concourse of the new Jennie Sealy Hospital on February 26 for its formal dedication ceremony. Excited staff members took photos in front of their names, engraved into glass walls on the second floor. Approximately 4,000 UTMB employees contributed more than $11 million to support building the new hospital as part of the Family Campaign. Jennie Sealy’s sleek exterior and state-ofthe-art facilities are complemented by a sooth-

ing interior. Through expansive windows, natural light pours in to Jennie Sealy’s patient rooms and corridors. The hospital is lined with more than 1,000 pieces of colorful, Texas Gulf Coast-themed art. About 50 local artists and others contributed their work to the hospital’s healing atmosphere. The 12-story hospital also features awe-inspiring views of Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. “Jennie Sealy Hospital is our gift to the community,” says Donna K. Sollenberger, executive vice president and CEO of UTMB Health System. “This is a wonderful resource that features the latest state-of-the-art technology to provide the best patient care possible. Now we’re going to have the facility that matches the

unparalleled skill of our physicians, our nurses and our staff, plus our inpatients will have wonderful views of the water.” Sollenberger says these views of Galveston harbor or the Gulf of Mexico from every room will aid in the healing process. Flip the page for fast facts on the new Jennie Sealy Hospital (and tear it out to share or use as a quick reference). “There’s a whole science behind the design of facilities that improve healing, and we incorporated each of those principles into the construction of Jennie Sealy Hospital,” she says. “This new hospital will be a warm and welcoming environment that supports patient healing and better patient outcomes.” AE

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the first patient at the new Jennie Sealy Hospital in spring 2016. This new facility will offer advanced health care services to patients in a soothing, healing environment that supports state-of-the-art training for future health professionals. Patient rooms have beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico or Galveston Bay. All patient rooms have been Jennie Sealy Hospital features expansive rooms and stunning views

designed to provide a team-based,

HOSPITAL FAST FACTS

patient- and family-centered

$438,000,000 approach to patient care. investment

Hospital Fast Facts • $438 million investment

220

full nurse stations on patient floors (8-11)

decentralized nurse stations on patient floors • Sofa bed in each room for an overnight (8-11) ICU guest Rooms

60 10

total patient • Patient lifts 765,000 • 765,000 square feet with 12 floors foot elevation 310 rooms • Distinct zones for staff, patients and above sea

square feet (285 square feet each room) • 25 foot elevation above sea level level families with 12 floors

family waiting areas

• 310 total patient rooms (285 square feet each room) Hospital Design • 60 ICU Rooms • Evidence-based design principles PATIENT-FOCUSED ROOMS HOSPITAL DESIGN • 16 full nurse stations on patient floors (8-11) • Evidence-based applied • Universally sized rooms to design • 220 decentralized nurse stations on patient accommodate all levels of care principles applied • Abundant natural light in patient rooms floors (8-11) sink in each room • Hand-washing • Abundant natural light in patient and corridors rooms and corridors • • 16 physician work rooms Private patient restrooms • Two family/physician consultation (ADA-compliant) • Two family/physician • 10 family waiting areas rooms per floor consultation rooms per floor • • 20 operating suites and intraoperative MRI Dedicated family refrigerator • Two family shower rooms per floor in capability each room • Two family shower rooms per floor • Dedicated private physician/resident • • 28 day surgery rooms Two televisions in each room • Dedicated private physician/resident team areas

for patient and family team areas • Two on-call physician sleep rooms with • Locking drawer for valuables • Two on-call physician sleep rooms showers per floor in each room with showers per floor • Four isolation rooms per floor • • Universally sized rooms to accommodate all Sofa bed in each room for an • Four isolation rooms per floor overnight guest levels of care • Two conference rooms for multi• Two conference rooms for • • Hand-washing sink in each room Patient lifts multi-disciplinary teaching and disciplinary teaching and patient care patient care conferences per floor conferences per floor • • Private patient restrooms (ADA-compliant) Distinct areas for staff, patients and families • Dedicated bariatric patient rooms • Dedicated bariatric patient rooms (with • Dedicated family refrigerator in each room (with patient lifts and bariatricpatient lifts and bariatric-capacity • Two televisions in each room for patient and family capacity restrooms) restrooms)

operating suites and intraoperative MRI capability

FUTURE EXPANSION

55,340 square feet

Future Expansion

shelled on level 6— diagnostics physician • 55,340 square feet shelled on level 6— work rooms

16 28

55,340

diagnostics square feet shelled • 55,340 square feet shelled on level 12— day surgery on level 12— future rooms future patient rooms patient rooms

Patient Rooms

• Locking drawer for valuables in each room

UTMB Health Galveston Campus 301 University Blvd. Galveston, Texas (409) 772-1011 1215

An angiography of the eye: Scientists have determined that changes in the retina may provide clues to changes within the brain, and sophisticated imaging techniques are a major component of new research into neurological disorders.

UTMB

Researchers

Well-Positioned as Brain Science Achieves National Priority Status Photo courtesy of Dr. Massoud Motamedi.

or centuries, the mysteries of the human brain were locked within the thick bones of the skull, suspended in cerebrospinal fluid, and isolated from the bloodstream by the bloodâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;brain barrier. This protective locale has helped to hide secrets to its susceptibility to injury or poisoning, degenerative disorders and psychiatric ailments. Over the last 10 years, incredible leaps in research and technology have allowed scientists to learn more about the brain than in all previous centuries combined. This momentum in discovery, coupled with concerns over an aging population and drastic increases in diseases like Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, has fostered exciting

initiatives and increased federal funding for brain research. Recent discoveries have also placed more attention on integrating knowledge across scientific fields, leading to funding opportunities for collaborative efforts that combine research from disciplines ranging from genetics and neuroscience to biomedical engineering and ophthalmology. At UTMB, faculty members are working to unlock answers to complex questions regarding the structure and function of the brain to increase basic science understanding and zero in on treatments, cures and preventive measures for brain disorders.

A National Priority President Barack Obama increased investment in the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative from about $200 million in FY 2015 to approximately $300 million in FY 2016. Proposed funding for 2017 is more than $430 million. Funding opportunities come from five federal agencies: the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). SPRING 2016

At UTMB, a multidisciplinary focus on brain research has resulted in more than 150 published manuscripts dealing with brain health since 2010. Studies with impacts for basic science and translational medicine in areas such as aging, HIV/AIDS, mental health and many more have been published by faculty members from departments in virtually every discipline on the UTMB campus. As part of the second largest public university system in the U.S.,

UTMB faculty members are collaborating with others within the University of Texas System’s research powerhouse, which is well-positioned to compete for and conduct millions of dollars in new brain research. In 2013, the UT Board of Regents authorized its own UT BRAIN Initiative to provide funding for research projects focused on both neuroscience and neurotechnology, as well as to build a platform that would support collaboration among faculty members at the system’s 15 institutions. As a result, top researchers throughout the UT System are combining efforts to utilize expertise in basic science, clinical knowledge, engineering and sophisticated imaging technologies to advance brain research.

UTMB Researchers Receive UT BRAIN Grants In 2015, five projects submitted to the UT BRAIN Initiative by UTMB faculty members were among those awarded $100,000 seed grants from UT System: • Rakez Kayed, PhD, Tau Oligomers Toxicity and Spreading Through the Eye Brain Axis; • Tomoko Makishima, MD, PhD, FACS, Clearing of the Mouse Temporal Bone for Downstream Applications; • Massoud Motamedi, PhD, Novel Retina 10

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

Imaging for Early Detection of Brain Neurodegeneration; • Gabrielle Rudenko, PhD, Synaptic Dysfunction and Disease–A New Frontier for Therapeutic Development; and

• Robin Stephens, PhD, Advanced Imaging Suite for Neuro-immuno-pathology of Infectious Disease. Four of the five grants support projects that involve complex imaging technology components that will allow for non-invasive studies into the functions of the brain. Dr. Massoud Motamedi, professor and director of UTMB’s Center for Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Services Core at the Galveston National Laboratory, is developing a novel technique for assessing neurodegenerative disease through optical imaging. “Our project has to do with the development of tools that allow us to monitor Alzheimer’s progression in the brain. The eye and retina are considered to be an extension of the brain, with the retina often called the ‘window to the brain.’ What may take place in the brain with regard to the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s may exhibit a specific change in the retina,” says Dr. Motamedi. “Shining light on the retina and studying how it scatters can help us understand biochemical changes or functional changes that may provide clues for diagnosis or information on disease progression and, ultimately, the efficacy of treatments.”

Dr. Motamedi’s team includes members of the biomedical engineering group at UT-Austin as well as Dr. Giulio Taglialatela, professor and vice chair for research in UTMB’s Department of Neurology and Dr. Gracie Vargas, associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology. Due to the non-invasive nature of the work proposed by Dr. Motamedi, grant reviewers

expressed optimism that A brain slice the project could move quickly from the basic research phase to clinical application. “We are building on work that has been done with imaging technology and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS progression used to be followed with MRIs, but now it is monitored through measuring the changes in fibers within the retina through the scattering of light in the eye,” Dr. Motamedi says. “We will be doing studies in animals with Alzheimer’s, using sophisticated imaging tools on mice and then examining the eyes under a microscope to correlate what we see with changes in the mouse brains,” he says.

UTMB: A Strong Foundation for Brain Research While the national push for focused brain research is relatively new, UTMB has a solid history of brain research and a large number of faculty members that are experts in the field, as evidenced by these initiatives: • The Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases was founded in 2001 with an endowment established by George and Cynthia Mitchell. Housed within the Department of Neurology, members of The Mitchell Center are committed to pursuing translational

research with the ultimate goal of improved quality of life for patients affected by increasingly prevalent disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and related neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Giulio Taglialatela is Director of the Mitchell Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases. • The School of Health Professions awards the Robert L. Moody Prize for Distinguished Initiatives in Brain Injury Research and Rehabilitation annually. The $10,000 honorarium is open to researchers from around the world and recognizes individuals or teams who have made significant contributions in applied brain injury research and rehabilitation. Another goal is to increase national and international awareness of the need to expand research and improve treatment for traumatic brain injury, stroke and related central nervous system ailments. • In 2012, the Moody Foundation pledged $9 million for research on traumatic brain injury (TBI), allowing Douglas DeWitt, PhD, professor of anesthesiology and director of Charles R. Allen Research Laboratories, Brent Masel, MD, of the Transitional Learning Center and Donald Prough, MD, chair of the Department

Fighting Zika Virus Since the outbreak of the Zika virus began in May 2015 in Brazil, UTMB’s Zika experts have been featured in numerous major media outlets including The New York Times, CBS This Morning, the Houston Chronicle, Scientific American, The Washington Post, Wired, Fox Business and Reuters Brazil. UTMB researcher Dr. Shannan Rossi and colleagues identified a mouse model in which the virus can be tested. Their work, published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in March 2016, is the first mouse model for Zika to be published in a peerreviewed journal. Zika virus CDC / CYNTHIA GOLDSMITH

of Anesthesiology, to study the many chronic disorders that stem from TBI, as well as drug treatments that help reduce the severity of brain damage. • A new Neuro-Inflammatory Diseases Program is being developed to focus on the neurological damage that often results from inflammation caused by infectious (or non-infectious) agents. Many viruses, such as West Nile, cause severe damage to the brain, which results in permanent mental and motor impairment in survivors. Neurological impairments greatly reduce quality of life and require expensive, long-term therapies and supportive care. UTMB is combining its expertise in viral infections, inflammation and neurosciences to develop a revolutionary research focus on recovery from brain infections and inflammatory diseases. Kathryn Cunningham, PhD, vice chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and director of UTMB’s Center for Addiction Research; Nisha J Garg, PhD, MBA, professor in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Pathology, associate director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and associate research officer for basic sciences; and Scott Weaver, MS, PhD,

professor in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Pathology, director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and scientific director of the Galveston National Laboratory are collaborating on the NeuroID program. The extent of brain research at UTMB is wide and growing. Interested readers can visit the Influuent database (www.influuent. utsystem.org) to gain an understanding of the full spectrum of research and the hundreds of different studies, publications, and researchers involved in brain research across all disciplines at UTMB. The goal of all brain research at UTMB is to enhance basic understanding and develop new technologies to study how the 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections in the brain contribute to degenerative diseases and other ailments, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression, traumatic brain injury, addiction, clinical depression and much more, as well as how this basic science can lead to prevention, treatment and cures. AE

The Brazilian Ministry of Health also recently announced a letter of intent to collaborate with UTMB to research and develop a Zika virus vaccine. A delegation that included Brazilian scientists and health officials visited Galveston in February 2016. Brazil’s Ministry of Health has designated the Instituto Evandro Chagas’ National Reference Laboratory for Arbovirus to partner with UTMB on Zika efforts. Though Zika virus infection is generally mild, there can be serious complications. Scientists currently believe that Zika virus infection in pregnant women is linked to microcephaly, a neurological condition where a baby is born with an abnormally small head due to a significantly underdeveloped brain. These children almost always have lifelong mental retardation, and many die young. Very few cases of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease that is a member of the flavivirus group, were documented before 2007. Since the first confirmed infections in Brazil in May 2015, an estimated 1.5 million Brazilians have been infected with Zika virus, according to the Brazilian government. Zika has been confirmed in more than 30 countries and territories in the Americas and is likely present in more areas. As of early June 2016,

more than 600 travel-associated Zika virus disease cases had been reported in the United States, including some cases acquired through sexual transmission. UTMB’s Zika experts include Drs. Pei-Yong Shi, Nikos Vasilakis and Scott Weaver. Dr. Weaver, world-renowned for his research on mosquito-borne diseases, is scientific director of the Galveston National Laboratory and director of the UTMB Institute for Human Infections and Immunity. He holds nine patents in vaccine development. Dr. Shi is the I.H. Kempner Professor of Human Genetics at UTMB and is an adjunct professor of emerging infectious diseases at the Duke - NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore. Shi came to UTMB after spending seven years serving as the Dengue Head Unit and Executive Director to lead drug discovery at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases. Dr. Vasilakis is an associate professor of pathology with extensive experience in mosquito-borne disease vaccine development, genetics and evolution. He spent several years directing and coordinating research programs while at Wyeth Vaccine Research, providing him with the perspectives of both academic preclinical and pharmaceutical organizations. AE SPRING 2016

Simulation Advances Education

Dr. Rachel Kilgore and the School of Nursing Simulation Center

achel Kilgore, PhD, RN, director of UTMB’s Nursing Interprofessional Simulation Center, sits in front of a computer watching live feed of a manikin “patient” in a nearby room. She adjusts some controls and the manikin’s eyelids droop; with the click of a mouse, he lets out a realistic-sounding cough. The state-of-the-art manikin, Dr. Kilgore says, can be programmed to present a range of physiologic functions including a heart beating, talking, breathing, urinating, hemorrhaging and crying. Dr. Kilgore and her faculty colleagues teach students to treat the manikins with kindness, protect their privacy and use therapeutic touch, just like with real patients. Which makes sense, as these hightech manikins are helping teach students the

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

skills they need to provide the utmost care to real patients once they graduate. UTMB’s School of Medicine, School of Health Professions and School of Nursing all use simulation, or “sim,” in their education programs. There are various sim centers across campus, including the Surgical Simulation Center, located in UTMB’s University Hospital Clinics Building, which serves as a statewide resource for training health care providers. “Simulation is becoming ever more important in nursing and interprofessional education. It increases our students level of functioning and awareness of patient safety when they actually enter clinical sites,” says Pamela Watson, RN, ScD, senior vice president for interprofessional education and effectiveness and dean of UTMB’s School of Nursing. Citing Dr. Kilgore’s many years of administrative experience in the UTMB Health System and extensive knowledge of simulation in nursing education, Dr. Watson adds, “Dr. Kilgore is an invaluable member of the SON leadership team.” “Simulation has just exploded in the last 10 years,” says Dr. Kilgore, who heads the School of Nursing’s Smart Hospital, which is part of the simulation center and has private patient rooms designed to create an authentic clinical

setting. A number of factors have contributed to the upsurge in sim use for nursing, and health care education in general. The technology continues to advance, allowing for simulation to better mimic real life clinical experiences. It is also difficult to ensure students get as much clinical time as they need and simulation may help fill these gaps. Dr. Kilgore says that there are limitations on students in a clinical environment. First, practicing skills understandably must take a backseat to providing the best care for patients and reducing risk of error. And second, in a real-world clinical setting a student may or may not see all the types of patients that will enhance their education. Another plus to simulation is the educator’s ability to design the environment and adjust the complexity of a situation depending on the level of the student. Teachers can plan situations with more predictable outcomes for a first-year student, for instance, and higher-risk scenarios for more experienced trainees. And, says Dr. Kilgore, “We have the research evidence to prove it is effective.” In July 2014, the Journal of Nursing Regulation published, “The NCSBN National Simulation Study: A Longitudinal, Randomized,

Controlled Study Replacing Clinical Hours with Simulations in Prelicensure Nursing Education,” a comprehensive study exploring whether simulated clinical experiences can be substituted effectively for traditional clinical experiences in undergraduate nursing programs. The study randomly placed incoming nursing students from 10 programs across the nation into three study groups: students who spent no more than 10 percent of their time in simulation, students who had 25 percent of their traditional clinical hours replaced by simulation and students who had 50 percent of their traditional clinical hours replaced by

simulation. Taking place from the fall of 2011 through graduation in May 2013, the experiment incorporates data from more than 650 students who completed study requirements. According to the article, “The results of this study provide substantial evidence that substituting high-quality simulation experiences for up to half of traditional clinical hours produces comparable end-of-program educational outcomes and new graduates that are ready for clinical practice.” Dr. Kilgore, who returned to UTMB less than a year ago to lead simulation education for UTMB’s School of Nursing, was part of

a team that received the Faculty Development Innovation in Teaching Award from the Texas Organization of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Education in 2012 for their presentation about using simulation in a leadership and management course. With a research interest in interprofessional education, Dr. Kilgore is excited about the future of simulation at UTMB, which is planning a new interprofessional education center with a simulation center. In addition to developing clinical judgment and critical thinking skills, students can learn how to interact with different members of a health care team to provide the best care possible through simulation. Plans for the 200,000-square-foot interprofessional facility include more simulation space and other learning areas to accommodate increasing enrollments. Dr. Kilgore is participating in the design of the upcoming simulation center, which will accommodate learners from the health professions, medicine and nursing schools. Though UTMB students currently do some simulation work together in the university’s various sim centers, Dr. Kilgore says of the future plans, “Now, we invite each other over to our different houses, but we’re going to live together.” AE

Making an Impact: The Sealy & Smith Foundation Today, UTMB is a comprehensive health center encompassing four schools and a network of hospitals and clinics across three campuses. But this flourishing institution began with its first, single seed, planted in the late 19th century by John Sealy, a successful entrepreneur. Before he died in 1884, John Sealy set aside $50,000 for a “charitable purpose.” After his death, his widow Rebecca and his brother George decided that building a hospital would best serve that purpose. John Sealy Hospital opened on Galveston Island in 1890. Continuing the family’s philanthropic legacy, John and Rebecca Sealy’s children, John Sealy II and Jennie Sealy Smith, along with Jennie’s husband R. Waverley Smith, established The Sealy & Smith Foundation in 1922. Throughout the next century, the foundation contributed over $900 million to help UTMB build hospitals and laboratories and purchase equipment. Sealy & Smith also established the John Sealy Memorial Endowment Fund for Biomedical Research with a $25 million contribution and created 27 faculty endowments totaling $27 million. The foundation recently provided its largest gift — $170 million to-

wards the construction of the state-of-the-art Jennie Sealy Hospital, which opened on UTMB’s Galveston campus this April. “UTMB would not be here without The Sealy & Smith Foundation,” says UTMB President David Callender. “The foundation’s philanthropy has saved countless lives, launched the medical ca- The Sealy and Smith Foundation board of directors (clockwise from top left): James B. Galbraith, Michael C. Doherty, John W. Kelso (President), John reers of some of our state Eckel, E. J. Pederson, J. Fellman Seinsheimer, III, George Sealy. and nation’s pre-eminent health care leaders and improved the health of was first presented in 1968, it has only been given 25 times. its beloved community for generations.” John Kelso, president of The Sealy & Smith This past February, The Sealy & Smith Foundation’s board of directors says that he Foundation was presented with the Santa Rita believes John Sealy and Jennie Sealy Smith Award — the highest honor given by the UT would be pleased with everything that the System Board of Regents — for its enduring foundation has made possible. “Our Galveston commitment to UTMB. The foundation is the community, as well as people from throughout largest single entity contributor to an instituthe State of Texas, looks to UTMB for their tion in the UT System, which is comprised of medical care,” he says. “I think they would be 14 institutions with an enrollment of nearly very proud of where we are today.” AE 220,000 students. Since the Santa Rita Award SPRING 2016

125 O

Years of UTMB History

ver the past 125 years, UTMB has trained more physicians than any other medical school in Texas. UTMB has conferred more than 39,000 degrees to students in medicine, nursing, biomedical sciences and the health professions. The institution began as one hospital and one school with 23 students and now encompasses four schools with more than 3,700 students as well as a comprehensive health system providing a full range of primary and specialty care through a network of hospitals and clinics across three campuses and state-of-the-art research facilities. Follow highlights in UTMB’s history across the next several pages.

1881

1897

Galveston chosen as site for University of Texas Medical Department by popular vote of state’s citizens

Medical School expands to a four-year 1897 curriculum

1884 A $50,000 bequest from Galveston businessman John Sealy is designated for construction of a hospital in Galveston

1890 John Sealy Hospital Training School for Nurses holds first classes John Sealy Hospital opens

1891 Medical Department holds first session in the Ashbel Smith Building, named for the physician who advocated creation of the University of Texas and its Medical Department; building becomes known as “Old Red” for its ruddy granite, brick and sandstone exterior

1892 Three men receive medical degrees from the Medical Department

1894 First women admitted to Medical Department

1896 Medical Department faculty helps construct first X-ray machine in Texas Training School for Nurses becomes part of Medical Department

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

Medical Department graduates first woman Yellow fever is a major public health concern in Galveston, creating the need for infectious diseases expertise in the new Medical Department

1899 Medical Department heads smallpox quarantine camp on Galveston’s East Beach

1900 The infamous 1900 Hurricane hits Galveston Island; despite damage, classes resume a short time later after Board of Regents decree: “The University of Texas stops for no storm”

1912 First woman on faculty heads Department of Histology and Embryology

1913 Medical Department’s Chair of Surgery is founding member and first vice president of American College of Surgeons

1917 Medical Department raises entrance standards to require two years of college, up from four years of high school

1918 “Spanish flu” hits Galveston

1919

1968

Medical Department officially renamed The University of Texas Medical Branch

School of Allied Health Sciences established

1922 The Sealy & Smith Foundation for the John Sealy Hospital chartered

1925

Jennie Sealy Hospital dedicated

1969 Marine Biomedical Institute established Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences established

Medical Laboratory Building opens

1971

1940

Libbie Moody Thompson Basic Science Building completed

American Board of Plastic Surgery founded by UTMB faculty members

1941 John Sealy Hospital becomes a state facility operated by The University of Texas

1942 UTMB graduates two medical classes in one year to meet demand for physicians during World War II

1947 UTMB mobilizes to care for victims of Texas City explosion; under direction of Dr. Truman Blocker, employs methods of triage learned from World War II

1949 Herman Barnett, UTMB’s first African-American medical student, enrolls

1952 Biomedical graduate programs begin

1954 New John Sealy Hospital building opens R. Waverley Smith Memorial Pavilion opens

1962 General Clinical Research Center opens

1966 First Shriners Burns Institute dedicated on UTMB campus

1967 Dr. Truman Blocker becomes UTMB’s first president

1972 Moody Medical Library opens

1973 Institute for the Medical Humanities established

1974 Dr. William C. Levin becomes UTMB’s second president

1978 Current John Sealy Hospital tower opens

1983 Texas Department of Criminal Justice Hospital opens on the UTMB campus

1987 Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Training in International Health established Dr. Thomas N. James becomes UTMB’s third president

1989 Regional Maternal and Child Health Program sees first patient

1992 Sealy Center for Molecular Sciences established

125 Years of UTMB History 1994 Correctional Managed Care contract with Texas Department of Criminal Justice begins UTMB conducts its first telehealth consultation

and

Galveston Experts Lead Progress in Burn Care April 16, 1947: That date is firmly etched in the memories of thousands who lived in or near the small port town of Texas City, Texas. On that day, a fire aboard a freighter ship docked at the port smoldered and then ignited the ammonium nitrate stored in the hold. The ensuing blast destroyed much of the industrial port, and left thousands injured and nearly 600 dead.

At UTMB, just 14 miles away across Galveston Bay, surgeon Truman G. Blocker Jr., MD, heard and felt the explosion. From an operating room window at John Sealy Hospital, he saw the ominous mushroom cloud rise and wondered if another world war had erupted. Dr. Blocker — who would become UTMB’s first president in 1967 — and a fellow World War II veteran and surgeon, Dr. Robert Moore, directed the hospital’s emergency response. More than 800 casualties were treated at John Sealy Hospital after the explosion; many of them burn victims who required months, sometimes years, of ongoing care. The Texas City tragedy galvanized what became Blocker’s lifelong interest in the treatment of severe burn patients. In 1947, individuals with burns on more than half of their body had less than a 50 percent chance of survival. Dr. Blocker tackled this stark statistic by establishing a multidisciplinary burns program in UTMB’s Department of Surgery. He recruited researchers, academics and clinicians, and, together, they pioneered new methods of treatment.

In the wake of the Texas City Disaster, as it came to be known, Dr. Blocker and his wife, Virginia (also a physician) documented the treatment and recovery of burn patients for nine years. Publication of the resulting study garnered significant attention and funding for additional research flowed to Galveston. UTMB soon became the standard bearer for innovation in the care of patients with severe burns. This reputation and Dr. Blocker’s dedication helped persuade the Shriners of North America to select UTMB Galveston as the site for its first hospital specializing in the treatment and rehabilitation of burned children. In 1963, the Shriners Burn Institute opened within John Sealy Hospital, relocating to the newly constructed hospital three years later. In 1992, the institute moved a few blocks into a new 8-story tower and became Shriners Hospitals for Children-Galveston. Twenty years later, UTMB cut the ribbon on a $25 million renovation of the Blocker Burn Unit, funded by BP and The Sealy & Smith Foundation. Dr. Blocker cultivated cooperation between the Institute and the Burn Unit at John Sealy, a practice continued by Dr. David Herndon, who became director of burn services at UTMB in 1981. Dr. Herndon is the author of “Total Burn Care,” a world-renowned textbook, now in its fourth edition. Today, Dr. Herndon directs the Burn Unit and also serves as chief of staff and director of research at ShrinersGalveston. Under his leadership, this unique collaboration — collectively called the Galveston Burn Center — has attained world-class status in the treatment of severe burns.

UTMB’s Center for Tropical Diseases designated a World Health Organization Collaborating Center Courtesy of Rosenberg Library, Galveston

Hope Healing

1995

UTMB acquires World Reference Center for Arboviruses Sealy Center for Structural Biology established Sealy Center for Cancer Cell Biology established

1996 Lee Hage Jamail Student Center opens Primary Care Pavilion opens UTMB’s Center on Aging named a Sealy Center

1997 UTMB receives federal biodefense grant Dr. John D. Stobo becomes UTMB’s fourth president

1999 UTMB designated a Level I Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons

2000 UT System approves construction of Biosafety Level 4 lab on the UTMB campus

SPRING 2016

125 Years of UTMB History 2000 Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit opens in John Sealy Hospital; later named among the best such units in the country for patient satisfaction

Road to the Monsanto Chemical Plant, which was destroyed by the ship explosion, taken on the afternoon of the Texas City Disaster, April 16, 1947.

2001 John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine inaugurated at UTMB Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases announced Sealy Center for Vaccine Development established

2002 School of Nursing graduates first Ph.D. students

2003 UTMB designated as lead institution for Western Center of Excellence for Infectious Diseases Research by the National Institutes of Health UTMB chosen as site of one of only two proposed national biocontainment laboratories Biosafety Level 4 laboratory facility dedicated as John Sealy Pavilion for Infectious Diseases Research

The common goal of everyone working in the center is to deliver the best possible care to patients, while providing opportunities for excellent training and research. “What we are seeing now, statistically, is essentially a reversal from the past,” Dr. Herndon says. “Instead of 100% mortality or zero survival after burns of 50% TBSA (total body surface area), now 50% of children with as much as 95% TBSA survive their injury. In fact, our Burn Unit currently has the best burn survival statistics in the country.” But Dr. Herndon also stresses that their work goes far beyond survival. “Our goal is to help burn patients return to society as normal, functioning individuals. We’ve made significant advances in burn care and treatment that Dr. David Herndon help make that possicares for a ble, but I believe the Burn Center level of recovery patient. achieved by our patients is also

Telemedicine program logs its 100,000th consultation since its inception

2004 George and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research established Institute for Human Infections and Immunity established

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

a testament to human resilience, our unique ability to look beyond personal tragedy and focus on the future.” The advances Dr. Herndon mentions involve discoveries across a wide arc of research fields. Standard procedures that improved wound treatment, fluid resuscitation and infection control were first pioneered in Galveston. Intense research at Shriners has also helped identify the optimum nutrition for recovery, and changed the fundamental understanding of a burn patient’s metabolism. “We now know that the detrimental effect of a severe burn is not limited to skin,” says Dr. Celeste Finnerty. She and Dr. Oscar Suman work as associate directors of research at Shriners-Galveston. “After a severe burn, the body’s metabolism rate increases dramatically,” she says. “We’ve discovered that this prolonged hyper-metabolic response has a negative impact at the cellular level, throughout the entire body.”

Dr. Finnerty adds that hyper-metabolism can cause cell dysfunction and make changes to signaling pathways. “We are researching new strategies to alter signaling pathways as this may actually restore cellular function and productivity.” Clinical research at the Burn Center, the focus of associate professor Carlos Jimenez, MD, has already yielded a host of new approaches that positively alter hyper-metabolic response in patients including use of adequate nutrition, ventilation and fluid resuscitation; early excision and grafting; growth factors; air beds; and a warm environment. The result has been a 5-8 percent decrease in the loss of lean body mass, muscle, fat and bone in patients. This may seem like a modest change, says Dr. Finnerty, but it equates to a dramatic increase in survival rates, while improving patients’ strength, endurance, rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

Training is also an integral part of the Galveston Burn Center’s mission. “Basic science research is currently answering many questions surrounding severe burn injury,” explains Dr. Herndon, “but we also need trained burn researchers, clinicians and scientists who can design specialized research projects and interpret the resulting data, and who know how to appropriately test ideas in a clinical setting.” The Burn Center has trained more than 200 clinical and research fellows over the years. Currently, 13 physicians and postdoctoral scientists are participating in the program that covers basic burn injury, infection and trauma. They also receive specialized training in areas including metabolism, cardiopulmonary issues and molecular investigation as it relates to wound healing and cellular physiology.

125 Years of UTMB History 2005 Galveston National Laboratory groundbreaking

2007 Dr. David L. Callender becomes the fifth UTMB president The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences becomes the first public institution in Texas to offer a doctoral degree in clinical science

2008

From the Collection of the Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library

Smoke and debris near the site of the S.S. Grandcamp explosion

Galveston National Laboratory opens as one of only two National Biocontainment Laboratories established by the NIH The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awards $10.9 million contract to UTMB to establish the Clinical Proteomics Center for Infectious Diseases and Biodefense The Department of Physical Therapy offers doctoral degree in physical therapy Hurricane Ike hits UTMB Galveston Campus on September 13

UTMB opens four mainland clinics in first week after storm

One of the major issues burn victims face as healing progresses is the formation of hypertrophic or keloid scars. This area of research is of particular interest to Dr. Finnerty and her colleagues Drs. Ludwik Branski and Robert McCauley. Pressure garments have been used to reduce scarring for more than 20 years, but research to develop improved treatment options and identify the underlying cause of these scars continues. Significant advances are expected over the next decade. Inhalation injury is another area of research that holds great promise. Severe burns involve more than a victim’s skin; damage to the lungs and respiratory tract frequently accompany thermal injuries. Investigation has also revealed the heart muscle, gut function and vascular system can be negatively impacted. Focused research has led to changes in treatment and testing methods, but work will continue as inhalation injuries presently account for the majority of deaths in severe burn patients.

“The burn program at UTMB is one of the true gems within the Department of Surgery,” says Douglas Tyler, MD, FACS, chair of the department. “Under Dr Herndon’s leadership, the program demonstrates the power of clinicians and basic researchers working together in an academic environment to make significant advances in the care of patients.” In 2015, the Burn Center received extramural research funds totaling $25.5 million from federal and private sources. Additional funding included $3.9 million from Shriners Hospitals for Children, a $12.5 million endowment from BP, plus other endowments for burn research. “We are energized by significant advances in multiple aspects of burn care, made just in the last five to seven years,” says Dr. Herndon. “Seeing our efforts translate into an improved quality of life for burn victims is obviously gratifying, but we also understand there’s much more work to be done.” AE

UTMB delivers its first baby since Hurricane Ike in October

2009 Governor Perry signs legislation authorizing recovery funding for UTMB UTMB begins massive Hurricane Ike Recovery Projects totaling $947M; designed to make the campus more resilient and to preserve missioncritical education, research and patient care operations Blocker Burn Unit reopens for adult patients in January UTMB re-opens John Sealy Hospital as fullservice facility with 200 beds in January

SPRING 2016

125 Years of UTMB History 2009 NIH awards UTMB prestigious $21.5M Clinical Translational Sciences Award UTMB’s Emergency Room re-opens as a Level III trauma center in August; faculty, staff and administrators begin working toward Level I re-designation

2010 UTMB launches new brand identity, new logo and tagline “Working Together to Work Wonders”

UTMB becomes a full member institution of the Texas Medical Center UTMB receives over $4 million in funding for cancer research NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute awards UTMB $11 million to study conditions associated with airway inflammation

BIG DATA COLLABORATION

2011 UTMB ED is re-designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center, 1 of 3 in the greater Houston area

FUELS

Researchers awarded $4.8 million to develop Argentine hemorrhagic fever vaccine

REHABILITATION

Texas Legislature approves necessary funding to build new hospital, continue Ike recovery Researchers receive $3 million NIH grant to study aging in Mexico The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approves Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program for UTMB’s School of Nursing UTMB researchers awarded $7.8 million by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study effects of BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Researchers develop new candidate vaccine to protect against chikungunya virus

RESEARCH

uring his first years as dean, Charles Christiansen, OT, EdD, oversaw the development and robust growth of the physical therapy and occupational therapy programs at UTMB’s School of Health Professions. But he envisioned more. In 1997, Dr. Christiansen enlisted then-vice dean, Ken Ottenbacher, PhD, OTR, to spearhead the effort to add a clinical research component to the school’s academic programs, as well as a doctoral degree in rehabilitation sciences. Under Dr. Ottenbacher’s leadership, the resulting Division of Rehabilitation Sciences and its Center for Recovery, Physical Activity and Nutrition (CeRPAN) have flourished

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

Pictured above: Dr. Ken Ottenbacher

since their inception in 2001. “We really started from ground zero,” Dr. Ottenbacher says, “because we understood that if we wanted to achieve our research goals, we had to build a pipeline to produce researchers focused on interdisciplinary rehabilitation science.” He began by securing grants to train postdoctoral scientists interested in clinical research. His next step was to extend the training to graduate students in the new PhD program. Additional grants for junior faculty members spurred continued progress, and the division soon became the UTMB hub for rehabilitation-focused research that Dr. Christiansen envisioned two decades ago.

“By its very nature, rehabilitation science involves a broad spectrum of disciplines,” Dr. Ottenbacher says. “Rehabilitation and recovery is holistic, not organ-based — it involves the whole person.” He adds: “This fact demands collaboration from any number of people: physical therapists, doctors, engineers, scientists. So, our training for students and postdocs is necessarily focused on developing interdisciplinary research skills.” Division faculty members work across a wide range of specialties from early childhood preventive medicine to dementia and disability in older adults. Research on cancer, Parkinson’s disease and stroke is conducted alongside investigations into health care disparities, brain injury outcomes, muscle metabolism and more, all working together under the CeRPAN umbrella. These interdisciplinary efforts are distinguished by outcomes of exceptional scientific quality, evidenced by $73.9

“Clinical research in rehabilitation science was traditionally focused on individual, not system-related, outcomes,” Dr. Ottenbacher says. “But that has changed. Today investigators often need to look at the bigger picture to try and correlate specific factors to specific outcomes. For example, what drives hospital readmission rates? To arrive at a definite conclusion, researchers would have to look at and analyze a tremendous amount of data.” Research focused on the bigger picture also requires new tools. James Graham, PhD, DC, associate professor and division faculty member, says, “The University of Michigan has been archiving research in other arenas for decades, so we were eager to collaborate with them and Cornell to build a repository for completed rehabilitation studies.” The group’s initial goal to amplify rehabilitation research using big data has now turned to the work of creating an infrastructure to support the activities of data sharing

“Rehabilitation and recovery is holistic, not organ-based — it involves the whole person.” million in external funding and the publication of more than 600 peer-reviewed journal articles by division faculty members, students and postdocs over the last 15 years. The current dean of the School of Health Professions, Elizabeth Protas, PT, PhD, FACSM, FAPTA, has been an active investigator and mentor of doctoral students and postdocs, as well as providing the leadership and resources to expand and improve the research environment within the division, center and school. According to Dr. Ottenbacher, “The division and center’s ability to accomplish its interdisciplinary mission is the direct result of the leadership and vision provided by Dr. Protas.” Dr. Ottenbacher and his colleagues are currently focused on “big data,” an area of steadily increasing interest. Researchers in many fields believe that the wealth of research data and biomedical information already accumulated, or big data, can be used to greatly advance current research in human health and disease. Effectively consolidating and efficiently accessing the varied sources of data, however, poses a challenge. To answer this challenge, UTMB garnered funding in 2010 to begin working with a consortium of investigators from Cornell University and the University of Michigan to increase the quantity and quality of research in rehabilitation outcomes that requires large datasets. This unique collaboration recently received a second grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting the Center for Large Data Research and Data Sharing in Rehabilitation, which allows the team to continue to build scientific capacity in large data research.

and archiving information from completed studies. Dr. Graham currently works with Susanne Bruyere, PhD, CRC, from Cornell University, on three pivotal aspects of the endeavor: identifying and accessing large data sources for inclusion in the archive; determining the best methods to analyze and manage those large data sets; and overseeing the process of getting investigators involved and trained to archive their own and access others’ research. The task of developing a web portal for the new data sharing archive is directed by Amol M. Karmarkar, PhD, MPH, from UTMB and Amy Pienta, PhD, from the University of Michigan. Their goals include creation of a data directory and cross-data variable catalog that will help researchers locate and access specific information. The archive will be tested when two categories of pilot studies get underway, overseen by James S. Goodwin, MD, from UTMB and Denise Tate, PhD, of the University of Michigan. One group of studies will track the experience of researchers using data sets from the new archive to examine questions relevant to rehabilitation. The other group will focus on training investigators to archive data from a completed rehabilitation study. The collaborative aspect of the pilot studies, along with a visiting scholar program and other cooperative activities associated with the overall project, are handled by Rebeca Wong, PhD, from UTMB, along with Dr. Ottenbacher. “The central component of our mission is to build scientific capacity to advance the practice of rehab science,” he says, “and this will only be achieved with extensive collaboration between institutions and across research disciplines.” AE

125 Years of UTMB History 2011 NIH awards $1.7 million for research to fight plague Board of Regents approves new Jennie Sealy Hospital; The Sealy & Smith Foundation pledges $170 million

2012 UTMB breaks ground for new Jennie Sealy Hospital on Galveston Campus

UTMB selected to manage Center for Polar Medical Operations

The Moody Foundation of Galveston pledges $9 million to support traumatic brain injury research at UTMB

2014 UTMB enters into formal relationship with Angleton Danbury Medical Center, establishing UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus

UTMB named a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Vaccine Research, Evaluation and Training on Emerging Infectious Diseases—only the second university named in the Western Hemisphere UTMB researchers announce effective treatment against Ebola virus Time magazine’s 2014 Person of the Year is not one but many— the Ebola fighters—and spotlights UTMB’s Thomas Geisbert SPRING 2016

125 Years of UTMB History 2015 The UTMB fall semester begins with 3,200 students and nearly 900 faculty members; enrollment increased 42% since 2006 The Sealy & Smith Foundation provides $75 million to renovate both the interior and exterior of John Sealy Hospital

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services names UTMB a regional treatment center for patients with Ebola or other highly infectious diseases

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center partners with UTMB to construct outpatient cancer center on the UTMB League City Campus

School of Health Professions graduates first master’s degree in nutrition students

2016 Opening of new Jennie Sealy Hospital

Opening of new hospital on UTMB League City Campus

The 125th Anniversary of UTMB

Training Physician Healers in UTMB’s School of Medicine

ara Geary, MD, PhD, a professor and neonatologist in UTMB’s Department of Pediatrics, knew the stats. Depression among medical students, residents and fellows — all on the rise. And They created the she saw the consequences: burnout among The natural Physician Healer track physicians at all stages of their careers. “It was to include monthclear something had to give — something need- healing force within each ly dinner meetings ed to change,” Dr. Geary says. of us is the across the course of all In March 2013, during a plane ride between four years of medical Atlanta and Houston, she and Steve Lieberman, greatest force Dr. Cara Geary MD, FACP, senior dean for administration, had in getting well. school; a two-month summer preceptorship in year one featuring a pivotal conversation that laid the groundwork —Hippocrates clinical shadowing, longitudinal coursework for a new training focus. Four months later, and a weekend retreat; and an elective course and month their vision, the Physician Healer track, was approved long immersion experience in the fourth year. When they and launched within the School of Medicine. Today, the graduate, students completing the Physician Healer track popular four-year program serves more than 100 medical will have received the equivalent hours of six months of students, plus seven who recently embarked on the new Heart of Medicine program, a non-track alternative for stu- training — a hallmark that far exceeds the single class or dents who are interested in these topics. Both programs are lecture on physician self-care or patient communication entirely voluntary and undertaken in the midst of students’ offered at most medical schools. Recruiting faculty members to volunteer for this new regular training — convincing evidence that they hit the track was surprisingly easy. Dr. Geary says she was just mark with students. amazed at the number of faculty members willing to Dr. Geary says the Physician Healer label illustrates the teach students ways to bring their heart into medicine, overarching intention to help students cultivate a healcommenting “we have faculty representation from almost ing presence. “Being a ‘healing presence’ refers to being every specialty.” present with another or others who are suffering, and Medical students, residents and fellows across the U.S., helping them facilitate their native ability to move toward along with early career and more experienced physicians, wholeness,” she says. “Its expression will be unique to complete annual surveys designed to measure many each practitioner, but the process uniformly encompasses indicators including signs of depression, stress levels and personal discovery and transformation.” susceptibility to burnout. The impact of the Physician While training to be a healing presence is more typically Healer and Heart of Medicine tracks will eventually be found in fields such as counseling, spiritual traditions and quantified in those statistics. Current student self-report end-of-life care, it is relevant to any profession in which data indicates the tracks already make a strong impact on suffering is common. To get started, Dr. Geary worked empathy, personal and professional development. But Dr. with colleagues Juliet McKee, MD, Susan Gerik, MD, Era Geary believes that regardless of what may be measurable, Buck, PhD, and Loretta Grumbles to develop a comprethe intentional practice of cultivating a genuine healing hensive curriculum, combining the features and activities of several approaches, all designed to support student well- presence will certainly benefit patients and physicians. “Things can change,” she says, “and we’re working to ness and maintain empathy through the rigors of medical make that happen.” AE training and into practice.

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

GYN OB OBSTETRICS& GYNECOLOGY

Mahmoud Ahmed, PhD

“UTMB’s Obstetrics and Gynecology department has experienced tremendous growth over the last two decades,” says Gary Hankins, MD, professor and chair. Dr. Hankins joined UTMB in 1995 and became chair in 2007. More than 100 faculty members serve in UTMB’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “Our faculty members provide outstanding care to our patients and are engaged in innovative research. And, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology continues to be in the top 20 of the NIH funding list year after year.” We’ve highlighted seven of UTMB’s exemplary obstetrics and gynecology faculty members below.

Dr. Ahmed is professor and co-founder of the Maternal-Fetal Pharmacology and Bio-Development Laboratories (MFPBL), which has received more than a decade of continuous funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) as one of four obstetric-fetal pharmacology research units in the U.S. In 2015, Dr. Ahmed’s team received NICHD funding to be a Center for the Development of Medications and Biologics for Treatment of the Pregnant Patient Fetus,

Ana Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Abbey Berenson, MD, PhD

Improving Health for Women Across Texas and Beyond

Dr. Rodriguez is assistant professor. She is part of an interdisciplinary group of researchers examining issues related to cancer screening and the quality of treatment and ongoing care for cancer patients and survivors in Texas, the Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas project. The consortium includes researchers from UTMB, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University and the Texas Cancer Registry. Dr. Rodriguez also collaborates with MD/Anderson Cancer Center to establish training programs in medically underserved populations in the U.S. as well as in several Central and South American countries. She is an emerging leader in cervical cancer prevention and is currently helping develop human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs serving predominantly high-risk populations in Texas. She was recently selected for UTMB’s Physician Leadership Academy and has been featured in local media and on UNIVISION. She completed her OB/GYN residency training at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She joined UMTB in 2009 and completed the Masters of Public Health Program at UTMB in 2013.

Internationally renowned for her research regarding health issues among reproductive-aged women, Dr. Berenson is professor and director of UTMB’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health (CIRWH). Seed grants from CIRWH have helped 10 investigators obtain pilot data, which has led to more than $6 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. In 2005, Dr. Berenson received a highly competitive career development award from the National Institutes of Health, the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Program (BIRCWH K12). The UTMB program was

one of only three in the country. In 2015, Dr. Ahmed and his colleagues received $6.7 million in grant funding. His team has received approval for the medication Diclectin, for morning sickness, and expect another medication, Glyburide, for gestational diabetes to be approved this year. He was invited as the American consultant for the formation of the “European Union (EU) Placentology Network for Chemical Safety Testing in Pregnancy.” Dr. Ahmed joined UTMB in 2002.

among 10 sites across the country to receive funding. BIRCWH has trained 16 scholars to date, and was one of only six programs renewed for an additional five years in September 2015. Dr. Berenson also developed the Interdisciplinary Women’s Reproductive Health Fellowship, which provided full support to 13 postdoctoral fellows in its first five years, 12 of whom have advanced to academic and research positions. The program has been renewed through 2018. Dr. Berenson completed her medical degree and residency at Baylor College of Medicine. She joined UTMB in 1989. SPRING 2016

George Saade, MD

Jeff Temple, PhD

Chief of obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine and director of the Perinatal Research Division (PRD), Dr. Saade is a leading expert on maternal and fetal medicine. Dr. Saade is the UTMB Principal Investigator for the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network, funded by NICHD, which has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the causes of stillbirth and developed standards for pathologic examinations and gestational age determination, as well as a new classification system. He is also the UTMB Principal Investigator for the NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network which is responsible for the largest clinical trials in the U.S. focusing on prevention of pregnancy complications. Most recently, Dr. Saade was awarded one of the first NIH grants for development of novel tools to evaluate the placenta non-invasively. Among his many scientific achievements, Dr. Saade was the first to develop an animal model of fetal programming that combines a genetic predisposition with an altered intrauterine environment. He is one of the scientists that developed the concept that pregnancy is a window to future health for both mothers and babies. In 2010, Dr. Saade chaired the NHLBI-sponsored workshop, “Bridging Preeclampsia and Future Cardiovascular Disease,” which led the American Heart Association to include adverse pregnancy outcomes as a factor in calculating risk of future cardiovascular disease. Dr. Saade and his colleagues have also developed a murine model of preeclampsia, which they have used to develop approaches to prevention and therapy. Dr. Saade earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut Medical School in Beirut, Lebanon. He joined UTMB in 1995.

Dr. Temple, associate professor and director of Behavioral Health and Research in OB/GYN, is an expert on interpersonal violence, with a particular focus on teen dating violence. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of justice, and the Centers for Disease Control. His teen sexting research has been covered extensively in more than 100 national and international print, broadcast and digital outlets, with a combined audience of more than 600 million people. His research has appeared in Reuters, CNN, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME Magazine, USA Today and many more. Dr. Temple was chair of the 2016 annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research. His other honors include the Outstanding Contribution to Public Service Award from the Texas Psychological Association and the International Early Career Award from the Society for Prevention Research. He is associate editor of the Journal of Primary Prevention and serves on the editorial board for other high-impact journals including Violence Against Women, Partner Abuse and the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. Dr. Temple received his PhD from the University of North Texas, and completed a clinical internship and postdoctoral research fellowship at Brown Medical School. He joined UTMB in 2007.

Kathleen Vincent, MD

Russell Snyder, MD

Dr. Vincent’s focus is applying biomedical engineering advances, especially imaging, to women’s health research. She has worked to develop models of toxicology for vaginally delivered drugs and translate imaging technologies to clinical studies. Dr. Vincent and her colleagues has been instrumental in developing the use of the sheep model in preclinical testing of vaginally administered medications. Most recently, her team has completed a FDA Phase 1 study using imaging techniques to assist in safety evaluation of a topically applied vaginal drug delivering two medications for the prevention of HIV and STDs. She is part of a research collaboration that recently received a $20 million grant to develop an intravaginal ring (IVR) capable of delivering powerful antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted HIV in women She leads a collaboration between our Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and our Center for Biomedical Engineering to enable other women’s health researchers to apply advanced imaging technologies to their studies. Dr. Vincent received a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin before coming to UTMB for medical school and residency. She joined UTMB’s faculty in 2002. 22

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

In 1997, UTMB recruited Dr. Snyder to build a comprehensive gynecology division. As part of this effort, he established a urogynecology section and brought in sub-specialty trained faculty members in female medicine and pelvic floor reconstructive surgery. He also launched the minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in gynecology section to offer patients the entire spectrum of MIS, from hysteroscopic surgery to robotic hysterectomies. The MIS section was recently recognized as a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology (COEMIG); it is only the second site in Texas to receive this designation. With an outstanding national reputation for his teaching, Dr. Snyder has served as an examiner for the OB/GYN boards for more than two decades. He is one of four editors of the textbook “Step Up to Obstetrics and Gynecology” and he served on the editorial board of Obstetrics and Gynecology journal. He is editor for the monograph series published by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Clinical Updates in Women’s Health Care.” He was on the board of directors for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology for eight years. Dr. Snyder graduated from the Air Force Academy and went on to attend medical school at the University of Texas at Houston. AE

Highlights

From Across UTMB’s Academic Enterprise

David Marshall, JD, DNP, RN, CENP, NEA-BC, received an Excellence in Nursing Award from Modern Healthcare magazine. Dr.

Marshall is chief Dr. David Marshall nursing and patient care services officer for the UTMB Health System and adjunct professor in UTMB’s School of Nursing. He was recognized for his achievements as a senior-level nursing executive, and was one of only three nurses who were recognized nationally by Modern Healthcare with the 2016 Excellence in Nursing Award. The award shines a spotlight on the diverse and critical roles that nursing clinicians, managers and executives play in delivering high quality, compassionate care. During Dr. Marshall’s tenure at UTMB, he has been instrumental in numerous initiatives, particularly UTMB’s successful efforts to regain magnet status after Hurricane Ike. The Magnet Recognition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center recognizes health care organizations that provide the very best in nursing care. In 2015, Dr. Marshall was also recognized by the Texas Nurses Association District 9 as one of 25 outstanding nurses.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recently awarded Dr. Yingzi Cong approximately $1.8 million for his five-

year project, “Th17-IgA Axis in Regulation of Intestinal Inflammation.” Yingzi Cong, PhD, is a professor of pathology and microbiology and immunology. Dr. Cong serves on the editorial boards for the World Journal of Gastroenterology, the Journal of Immunotherapy Applications, International Journal of Microbiology and Advanced Immunology and American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, among other major journals. He is a member of the American Association of Immunologists and the Society for Mucosal Immunology.

The popular radio show “Medical Discovery News,” created and produced at UTMB, now is featured on The Huffington Post. The show recently

debuted as a featured podcast on the site with new episodes available each week. “Medical Discovery News” currently is syndicated on more than 90 radio stations in the U.S. as well as Mexico. “Medical Discovery News” is hosted by Dr. David Niesel and Dr. Norbert Herzog, who met in 1980 at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Niesel is senior vice president, chief research officer and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UTMB. Dr. Herzog is a professor at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, and emeritus professor in Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology at UTMB. The two friends and colleagues have recorded 500 weekly episodes since 2006.

Two UTMB faculty members were honored by the Texas American College of Sports Medicine at the

group’s annual meeting at Texas A&M University in College Station. Elena Volpi, MD, PhD, was presented the group’s Honor Award, given for her “outstanding contributions to exercise and sports medicine.” Dr. Volpi is director of the Sealy Center on Aging at UTMB. Elizabeth Protas, PT, PhD, FACSM, FAPTA, senior vice president and dean of the School of Health Professions, received the Service Award for “significant service.” She has served as the group’s president and executive director.

Michael Laposata, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Pathology, made the Pathologist’s 2015 Pathologist Power List, a lineup of the 100 most influential laboratory medicine professionals in the world. He is listed as

No. 3 overall (and No. 1 in America). A world-renowned expert in blood coagulation, Dr. Laposata is widely celebrated for his innovations regarding the clinical interpretation of laboratory data, which earned him recognition from the Institute of Quality in Laboratory Medicine of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UTMB and Nature Publishing Group launched a new open access journal, npj Vaccines. Alan D. Barrett, PhD, director of Dr. Alan D. Barrett UTMB’s Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, serves as editorin-chief. The first issue of npj Vaccines is planned for July 2016. This journal meets a need for Dr. Pei-Yong Shi a high-impact publication that focuses on identifying and reporting the most significant scientific advances in vaccine research and development and is free and available to everyone. Dr. David H. Walker Published online, npj Vaccines has the potential to advance the fight against infectious disease. Pei-Yong Shi, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and David H. Walker, MD, professor of pathology and director of UTMB’s Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease and WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, are associate editors. Paul A. MacAry, PhD, from the National University of Singapore, also serves as associate editor.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Dr. Bin Gong approximately $1.9 million for his five-year R01 grant. The project is

entitled “Epac1 Plays a Critical Role in Bacterial Adhesion During Rickettsioses.” Bin Gong, MD, SPRING 2016

Highlights

From Across UTMB’s Academic Enterprise

PhD, is an assistant professor and assistant scientific director of the experimental pathology core in the Department of Pathology. Dr. Gong is a member of UTMB’s Institute of Human Infection and Immunity and Center of Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases. He serves on the editorial board for several peer-reviewed journals including Annals of Clinical and Medical Microbiology, the American Journal of Bioterrorism, Biosecurity and Biodefense and International Archives of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Bin Gong UTMB’s Respiratory Care Program was among a select group of programs chosen by

the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) to receive the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award. The CoARC Board selected programs for this award that have three or more years of outcomes data; hold accreditation without a progress report; document RRT credentialing success of 90% or above, and meet or exceed established CoARC thresholds for CRT credentialing success, attrition and positive (job) placement. Jose Rojas, PhD, RRT, is associate professor and chair in the Department of Respiratory Care in the School of Health Professions.

Csaba Szabo, MD, PhD, DSci, was awarded the 2016 Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). The award recognizes and stimulates outstanding research in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, basic laboratory or clinical research that has had, or potentially will have, a major impact on the pharmacological treatment of disease. Dr. Szabo is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and has more than two dozen patents. He serves on the editorial board for prestigious journals including Shock. 24

UTMB ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE

Mary J. O’Keefe, PhD, JD, RN, and Carolyn Utsey, PT, PhD, were chosen as new members of the University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education.

Dr. Bao is a member of the Sealy Center for Molecular Medicine, the Institute for Translational Sciences, the Institute for Infections and Immunity and the Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine.

Dr. Mary J. O’Keefe

Dr. O’Keefe is an associate professor in the School of Nursing and an expert in alternate dispute resolution. She is a University of Texas Distinguished Teach- Dr. Carolyn Utsey ing Professor and has been awarded the Constance Brewer Koomey Endowed Professorship in Nursing. Dr. Utsey is an associate professor and chair for physical therapy in the School of Health Professions. She has received more than a dozen educational grants. In 2010, Dr. Utsey won the prestigious William Gould Memorial Outstanding Physical Therapy Faculty Award from the Texas Physical Therapy Association.

Karen Wagner, MD, PhD, was selected to receive the Award for Research in Mood Disorders from the American College of Psychiatrists. The honor is

given for advancing the understanding and treatment of depression and bipolar disorder. Dr. Wagner is professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. World-renowned for her expertise in treating childhood mood disorders, she is President of the American Association of Directors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and President-Elect of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases awarded Dr. Xiaoyong Bao $1.9 million. Xiaoyong Bao, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Her five-year project, “Role of tRNA-derived RNA Fragments (tRFs) in Respiratory Syncytia Virus (RSV) Infection.”

The Commission on Accreditation for Physical Therapy Education fully accredited UTMB’s Physical Therapy program for a 10-year period. This

achievement represents excellent, committed effort by Dr. Carolyn Utsey, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Health Professions, as well as the faculty members and department staff.

Scott Weaver, MS, PhD, interim chair of

Microbiology and Immunology and scientific director of the Galveston National Laboratory, was recently awarded a total of approximately

$6 million from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases. Dr.

Weaver was awarded more than $3.7 million to continue activities in UTMB’s World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses. He also was awarded nearly $2.3 million for his five-year project, “Trajectory of Vectoradaptive Chikungunya Virus Evolution.” Dr. Weaver is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. In 2014, he received the Walter Reed Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Oscar “Skip” Brown, MD, FAAP, professor and vice chair for clinical affairs, Department of Pediatrics, is the recipient of the 2015 Texas Pediatric Society Sidney R. Kaliski Award of Merit. The

Dr. Oscar Brown

award recognizes a member of the Texas Pediatric Society who has served as an advocate for children with contributions to the health and welfare of the children of Texas. Dr. Brown serves as chair of the Texas Chapter of the American Academy of Pedi-

atrics (AAP). The Texas Chapter of the AAP was recognized as the 2015 AAP Outstanding Chapter Award for achievements in child health financing, foster care, immigrant health, immunization and child safety in March 2016.

Satya Prakash, PhD, was awarded a new five-year R01 for approximately $2 million from the National Cancer Institute for his proposal: “Genetic and

Molecular Mechanisms of Replication of AraC Damaged DNA.” Dr. Prakash joined UTMB in 1993 and is a professor in UTMB’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He holds the Charles Marc Pomerat Professorship in Biological Sciences II. His laboratory concentrates on the study of DNA repair processes in the yeast Saccaramyces cerevisiae and in humans.

Andrew Routh, PhD, Heather Stevenson-Lerner, MD, PhD, and John Allen, PhD, received UT System STARs (Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention) awards. The STARs program provides funds to help UT institutions attract and retain the best-qualified faculty. Dr. Routh is assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Stevenson-Lerner is assistant professor in the Department of Pathology. Dr. Allen is assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

UTMB will embark on a two-year research development program to collaborate with Cuban scientists at the Instituto Pedro Kouri in Havana to better fight infectious diseases, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean regions. The program, at UTMB’s National Biocontainment Training Center, will develop scientists’ capabilities to work on a range of emerging infectious diseases, such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya. The $1.3 million agreement will allow UTMB to work with Cuban scientists to assess research needs, train Cuban researchers to safely work with emerging infectious diseases of mutual importance, develop joint research projects

that will bring Cuban scientists to UTMB to train at the National Biocontainment Training Center, advise and train Cuban officials and scientists on how to develop facilities to safely handle high-risk pathogens, improve the diagnostic capabilities of the Instituto Pedro Kouri by training Cuban scientists at UTMB’s assay development core laboratory, develop an exchange program of scientists and more. The initiative is being underwritten by The Atlantic Philanthropies, a global foundation established by Chuck Feeney, co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers.

Marlene Salas-Provance, PhD, MHA, CCC-SLP, FASHA, joined UTMB as associate dean for academic and student affairs in the School of Health Professions. She comes to us

from New Mexico State University, where she served as immediate past chair and associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, as well as assistant dean in the College of Education. She is on the Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Council for the American SpeechLanguage and Hearing Association (ASHA) and is an ASHA Fellow. Dr. Salas-Provance holds a PhD in speech science from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, an MA in speech pathology from New Mexico State University and an MHA from the University of Missouri–Columbia.

Tricia Elliott, MD, FAAFP, was sworn in as pres- Dr. Tricia Elliott ident-elect of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP) during the 2015 Annual Session. Dr. Elliott is an

associate professor in UTMB’s Department of Family Medicine and also serves as the residency program director. The TAFP is the premier membership organization dedicated to uniting family doctors of Texas through advocacy, education and member services and empowering them to provide a medical home for patients of all ages.

Ben Raimer, MD, MA, FAAP, senior vice president of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs, has been named the recipient of the 2016 C. Frank Webber, MD, Award for his commitment to mentoring medical students. The award is presented annually by the Texas Medical Association’s Medical Student Section, and Dr. Raimer was nominated by UMTB’s student chapter of the organization. In addition, Martin Colman, MD, FRCR, FACR, FACRO, FASTRO, was selected as the recipient of the 2016 Texas Medical Association’s Resident and Fellow Section J.T. “Lamar” McNew Award.

The award was established in 2002 to honor a TMA physician for outstanding service to residents and fellows. Dr. Colman is professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Drs. Raimer and Colman received their awards at the TMA annual conference on April 29 in Dallas.

UTMB is accredited as a Level 3 Epilepsy Center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) for 2016 and 2017. Level 3

epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy. Anish Bhardwaj, MD, MBA, CPE, FAHA, FCCM, FAAN, FANA, is professor and chair of the Department of Neurology. He is also John Sealy Chair of Neurology and professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience and Cell Biology, as well as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. Todd Masel, MD, serves as an assistant professor of Neurology and director of UTMB’s Epilepsy Program.

Partha Sarkar, MS, PhD, and Tapas Hazra, PhD, received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for their project, “Mechanism of DNA strandbreak repair deficiency in Huntington’s disease.” Dr. Sarkar serves as assistant professor in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Hazra is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and is also a scientist in UTMB’s Sealy Center for Molecular Medicine. AE

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. Postage PAID North Houston, TX PERMIT NO. 27600 The University of Texas Medical Branch Office of the Provost 301 University Blvd. Galveston, Texas 77555

UTMB held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the League City Campus Hospital on May 3, 2016. The state-of-the-art 150,000-square-foot hospital opened to serve patients on June 4. The new hospital at the League City Campus is an expan-

sion of health care services that are provided at the medical branch primary and specialty care clinics in the Bay Area. The new hospital features a Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum Unit with specialty care for moms and newborns,

Emergency Department with 10 rooms and complete diagnostics lab, 20 medical/surgery patient rooms, four endoscopy suites, 10 operating rooms and two cardiac catheterization labs.

UTMB President David Callender and Chief Operating Officer Deborah McGrew, as well as respresentatives of League City, were on hand to celebrate the ribbon cutting for UTMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new League City Campus Hospital, which opened on June 4.