Regional Campus in Laredo to focus on obesity, diabetes
New emergency medicine residency announced
The emergency medicine residency program - the first of its kind for South Texas - has been approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. University Hospital, San Antonio’s largest emergency center and the leading civilian Level I trauma center for the 22-county region of South/Central Texas, will be the chief training site for the residency program. "The demand on emergency rooms in the region is increasing rapidly and is twice the national growth rate," said Bruce Adams, M.D., director of the Center for Emergency Medicine. "Establishing an emergency medicine residency program will dramatically improve the quality and accessibility of emergency and acute health care for the South Texas region." The first 10 residents will begin the rigorous three-year program in July. Ten new residents will begin the program each year until the residency reaches its final complement of 30 doctors.
UT Medicine, Minute Clinic partnership to increase health care access
MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark, and UT Health Physicians, the academic medical practice of the Long School of Medicine, have entered into a clinical affiliation to enhance access to high-quality, affordable health care services in the region. MinuteClinic walk-in medical clinics are open seven days a week inside select CVS/pharmacy stores. The clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who provide treatment for common family illnesses and administer wellness and prevention services, including health condition monitoring. Under the agreement, UT Medicine physicians will serve as medical directors for MinuteClinic locations in San Antonio. UT Medicine will accept patients who need a level of care that is not provided at MinuteClinic.
Expo gives teens hands-on experience in health, science careers
High school and college students throughout South Texas were introduced to a wide range of health-related and biomedical professions at the 10th annual Health Professions Fair & Science Expo. Nearly 1,100 students from schools throughout South Texas learned from Health Science Center students and faculty how to intubate mannekins, immobilize patients (as would paramedics) and start intravenous (IV) lines. "I thought it was a great way to expose a lot of students at once to everything the Health Science Center offers," said Irene Chapa, Ph.D., director of the Office of Recruitment and Science Outreach. "And it was a great opportunity for our Health Science Center students to really put their knowledge into practice by teaching."
School of Medicine alumni make giving back to students a family affair
As a medical student at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, Pamela (Blum) Camosy, M.D., class of 1980, had a prodigious enthusiasm and desire to help and heal.
"The university gave me the opportunity to work in clinical settings with patients. That experience really inspired me and helped me grow in my profession," she said.
Today, Dr. Camosy works as a private practice family physician and also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Health Science Center. She also serves as a member of the Long School of Medicine Alumni Association Board of Directors and mentors students who volunteer at the SAMMinistries free medical clinic.
Dr. Camosy said she is proud her daughter, Caroline, has also chosen to pursue a career in the medical field. Caroline is a third-year medical student at the Health Science Center. "I feel it’s important to help students by giving back to the university that gave me so much and is now preparing my own daughter for her career path as a physician."
Likewise, Patrick Nguyen, M.D., FACS, class of 2004, cites mentorship from faculty, residents and senior students as instrumental to his formation as a student and career path as a surgeon. He practices as an assistant clinical professor of general surgery and teaches students and residents at the Health Science Center. Grateful for the education and guidance he received as a student at the university, Dr. Nguyen also volunteers his time mentoring students.
Both graduates are dedicated to the Alumni Association in a variety of ways, including supporting the Student Education Enhancement Fund (SEEF).
Launched in 2009 by the Alumni Association, the SEEF supports student-related educational causes, including tutoring services, summer research projects, community-service-learning initiatives, medical mission trips, new equipment for the H-E-B Clinical Skills Center and enhancements to the Long School of Medicine Alumni Association Student Lounge.
"I certainly do not want lack of money to prevent a medical student from taking part in worthwhile projects," Dr. Camosy said. "From time to time I have the chance to talk to medical students who have received SEEF monies. They describe to me life-changing experiences that have given them a better understanding of the human condition and of their own emerging role as a healer."
Dr. Nguyen agrees. "When I was a student, I took advantage of the student lounge because it was a place to study and build camaraderie, although at the time it was outdated and it was next to the dean’s office, albeit not a prime location for a medical student to relax!" Dr. Nguyen said jokingly, with a smile. "It is great that the Alumni Association helped with the recent relocation and renovations of the new student lounge. I feel like giving back is a small way I can help to enhance the educational experience for students."
Giving to the SEEF helps foster the important tradition within the Long School of Medicine of seasoned alumni who are willing and eager to assist the younger generation.
"One could look at it as a family mentality," Dr. Camosy said. "Family members turn to each other when they have a need, or a story to share or an event to celebrate. I enjoy being part of the lives of the younger generation of healers. It gives me a sort of youthful energy by osmosis. I wish more alumni could experience this."
Alumni support student success
More than 210 School of Medicine alumni have made gifts to the Student Education Enhancement Fund (SEEF) totaling more than $310,000. Their generosity has been far-reaching and has provided funding for the following:
- Two medical mission trips to India and two trips to Ethiopia;
- Grants to support more than a dozen community-service-learning projects for students;
- Sponsorship of the poster session and reception at the 2012 and 2013 Community Service Learning Conferences;
- Grants supporting six student research projects;
- Equipment for the H-E-B Clinical Skills Center, including new instruments for arthrocentesis training, ultrasound paracentesis and thoracentisis training packages; an ultrasound compatible LP trainer; a breast-exam trainer; and a chest-tube trainer;
- 700 hours of tutoring services and First Aid Study Guides for the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Step 1 Exam for the Class of 2015; and
- Renovations to the Long School of Medicine Alumni Association Student Lounge as well as the addition of a freezer, Keurig coffee maker, pool table, ping-pong table, foosball table and installation of three microwave ovens.
For more information and to donate to the SEEF, contact the Long School of Medicine Alumni Relations Office at 210-567-4400 or e-mail perrymand@uthscsa.edu.
Appointments and awards
Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor of family and community health systems, has been honored as Nurse of the Year by the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). She was selected because of her leadership in developing the Healthy Choices for Kids program and Healthy Choices for Seniors as part of her community service learning work, and for her leadership in the NAHN and its local chapter.
Lily T. Garcia, D.D.S., M.S., FACP, professor and director of the Division of Advanced Education and External Affairs in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, is the recipient of the 2012 Hispanic Dental Association Women’s Leadership Award. "To receive recognition from my colleagues, who represent my cultural heritage and have experienced similar challenges to achieve excellence in our profession, is so special to me," she said. Dr. Garcia is the immediate past president of the American College of Prosthodontists and was the first Hispanic female to serve in the presidency.
M. Danet Lapiz-Bluhm, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor of family and community health systems, received the Nurse Research Excellence Award from the Philippine Nurses Association of America. Previously engaged in preclinical research on the effects of stress, Dr. Lapiz-Bluhm currently conducts translational research on the neurobiological biomarkers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Jan Evans Patterson, M.D., M.S., associate dean for quality and lifelong learning in the Long School of Medicine, professor of medicine and pathology, and director of the Center for Patient Safety and Health Policy, was appointed to the Subspecialty Board on Infectious Disease of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). ABIM’s subspecialty boards and test committees are composed of experts in both academic medicine and practice, all of whom must be ABIM certified in their particular subspecialty.
Kathleen Stevens, RN, Ed.D., ANEF, FAAN, professor of health restoration and care systems management and director of the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice, was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame at the 23rd International Nursing Research Congress in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Dr. Stevens is known internationally for her work in improving patient safety and the quality of patient care through evidence-based practice.
Dodge named Dental School dean
William W. Dodge, D.D.S., was named dean of the Dental School effective April 1, 2013.
Dr. Dodge holds the rank of professor with tenure in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry. He joined the Health Science Center in 1978 after five years as a successful general dentist in San Antonio and two years as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps. During his tenure, he served as vice dean of the Dental School since 2004 and associate dean for patient care from 1996 through 2003.
Dr. Dodge served as dean ad interim since June 2012 while former Dean Kenneth L. Kalkwarf, D.D.S., M.S., was president ad interim throughout President William L. Henrich’s, M.D., MACP, medical leave. Dr. Kalkwarf, who held the dental deanship for 24 years, has been appointed as special assistant to the president and plans to retire this summer.
"Dr. Dodge is highly regarded nationwide by his colleagues in academic dentistry for his expertise in matters of accreditation of dental programs, competency assessment, evidence-based clinical education and financing of dental education," Dr. Henrich said. "His goal, shared by me and the faculty, is that the school be regarded as the finest dental school in our country. I have complete confidence that
Dr. Dodge will lead the school in an exemplary manner in the years to come."
Dr. Dodge and his wife, Jill, have two sons, Rhett and Ryan.
The Dental Dean Search Committee, which was led by Eileen Breslin, Ph.D., RN, dean of the School of Nursing, identified many outstanding candidates for this role before selecting Dr. Dodge as the Dental School’s fifth dean.
Four faculty receive national award
Four faculty members have been named recipients of the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Grant. They are:
- Jing Liu, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of Pharmacology, is seeking to validate a hypothesis that adiponectin, a hormone from fat tissue with anti-diabetic properties, plays a role in dentritic remodeling in a chronic social defeat mouse model of depression. Dendrites, the "tree branches" of a neuron, constantly expand and contract, remodeling the connections between neurons. Dr. Liu found that social defeat induces dentritic retraction in the brain area associated with depression and that this is accompanied by reductions in circulating adiponectin levels, which leads to increased susceptibility to stress-induced depression-like behavior.
- Ruth Madelaine Paredes, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, is studying the function of neuregulin-1, a strong candidate gene for schizophrenia and psychosis. Her research will provide insight into the gene’s regulation of the immune response and its role in schizophrenia disease formation.
- Milena Girotti, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of Pharmacology, is using rat models in an effort to unveil a causal link between interleukin 6 (an immune protein) and symptoms of mood disorders. Interleukin 6 levels are elevated in patients with major depression, but it is not known whether the protein is involved in inducing or aggravating the symptoms. One goal of the research is to suggest more effective interventions.
- David Roberts, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, developed an easy-to-remember daily strategy that schizophrenia patients can apply in real-world circumstances. He predicts that by practicing this strategy on tablet computers, patients will improve in their speed, accuracy and general ability to interpret others’ thoughts and feelings, and also believes this daily training will lead to patients’ brain circuits becoming more efficient at social cognition, which will be measured with brain imaging.
Employees honored at Presidential Awards
Faculty and staff members who exemplify exceptional leadership in their fields were recognized at the 2013 Presidential Awards ceremony. The Health Science Center’s highest honor, the Presidential Distinguished Scholar award, was presented to Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Endodontics in the Dental School, and professor of pharmacology, physiology and surgery in the Long School of Medicine. The award winners are:
Presidential Distinguished Scholar
Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., Endodontics and Pharmacology,
Physiology and Surgery
Junior Research Scholar
Manjeet K. Rao, Ph.D., Cellular and Structural Biology
Teaching Excellence Award
Gregory Anstead, M.D., Ph.D., Infectious Diseases
Lily Dong, Ph.D., Cellular and Structural Biology
Alexandra Loffredo, M.D., Family and Community Medicine
Ridley O. Ross, D.D.S., Comprehensive Dentistry
Alan Sakaguchi, Ph.D., Cellular and Structural Biology
Mark Soucy, Ph.D., RN, APRN, Family and Community Health Systems
and Psychiatry
Clinical Excellence Award
M. Rosina Finley, M.D., CMD, Family and Community Medicine
Deborah Jo Levine, M.D., Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Randal Robinson, M.D., Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Employee Excellence Award
Rosanne Fohn, Communications
Gloria A. Matthews, Endocrinology
Richard M. Ongkiko, Office of the Dental Dean
Rebecca Smith, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Susan Stappenbeck, M.Ed., M.P.H., Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science
Click here to view a video about our Presidential Awards.
Click here to read more about our award winners.