Eileen T. Breslin, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, dean of School of Nursing, received the National Association of Hispanic Nurses’ highest honor, the Presidential Award. Dr. Breslin is the first non-Hispanic nurse to receive this award. “Dean Breslin received this award for the visible commitment she has made not only to the association, but in promoting an increase of Hispanics in nursing,” said Norma Martinez Rogers, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the association’s immediate past president and professor in the Department of Family and Community Health Systems.
Joseph P. Connor, D.D.S., M.A., assistant professor of comprehensive dentistry, was awarded the Golden Apple Award from the American Dental Association. The award was presented to Dr. Connor for his role in inspiring careers in dental education. Dr. Connor teaches courses in pre-operative, operative and esthetic dentistry at the UT Health Science Center’s Dental School.
William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, UT Health Science Center president, received the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Baylor College of Medicine. The award is presented to alumni who make outstanding contributions to biomedical and/or medical science through clinical service, research, education, and/or administrative leadership. Distinguished Alumnus Awards are presented in three categories: medical, graduate and allied health sciences. Dr. Henrich is one of two alumni receiving the Medical School Distinguished Alumnus Award this year.
Carlos Jaén, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Board of Family Medicine, the second-largest medical specialty board in the U.S. Dr. Jaén is the Dr. John M. Smith Jr. Professor in the Long School of Medicine and has been selected to a list of the “Best Doctors in America” every year since 2002. He will serve on the board’s Information and Technology Committee and the Research and Development Committee.
Adrianne Linton, Ph.D., RN, chair of the Department of Family and Community Health Systems, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Selection for membership is one of the most prestigious honors and represents the nation’s top experts in the field of nursing. “My professional mission is to improve the care of older adults through the advancement and dissemination of nursing knowledge to future generations of nurses, including licensed vocational nurses, bachelor’s degree-prepared nurses and advance-practice nurses,” Dr. Linton said. “As a fellow in the academy I will have the opportunity to influence policy related to the health and well-being of our vulnerable older citizens.”
Joseph B. McCormick, M.D., M.S., has been appointed vice president for South Texas Programs. His focus will be to create an integrated and coordinated academic health enterprise for South Texas with the potential for basic, clinical, and translational research, technology transfer, and innovations in interdisciplinary health professional education. He will assist in integrating activities of both the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen and the Regional Campus in Laredo. He will also coordinate efforts to expand the regional program in graduate medical education for South Texas and will develop collaborations with The University of Texas-Brownsville, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health Regional Campus at UT Brownsville, and The University of Texas-Pan American.
Nicolas Musi, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Diabetes, has been named the founding director for the Center for Healthy Aging. Under Dr. Musi’s leadership, the center will coordinate translational and clinical research focused on aging, medical education in geriatrics and clinical services for older adults. It will also consolidate activities engaged in by the Long School of Medicine and its clinical partners. Dr. Musi and the center faculty will interact closely with scientists of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, departments and centers within the Long School of Medicine, the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center and other partners to develop a center of excellence in aging. Dr. Musi is also a research scientist at the Barshop Institute and associate medical director for research at the Texas Diabetes Institute.
Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., professor of urology and director of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center, has been elected chairman of the Early Detection Research Network, an initiative of the National Cancer Institute. The network is a collaborative effort overseen by the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Prevention. The network involves dozens of institutions working to improve early detection of cancers. Dr. Thompson also holds the Glenda and Gary Woods Distinguished Chair in Genitourinary Oncology at the Health Science Center.