$1 million gift from Kolitz family supports brain cancer research
A transformational gift totaling $1 million from the Kolitz family - Sandi, Bob and Aaron Kolitz, and Karee, Loren and Millie Jones - will support the research of Andrew Brenner, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Brenner is a neuro-oncologist at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) and an assistant professor of medicine at the UT Health Science Center. Part of the gift, $750,000, establishes the Sandi and Bob Kolitz Chair in Neuro-oncology Research at the CTRC. Dr. Brenner has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the chair.
The other portion of their gift, $250,000, has created a research fund in neuro-oncology that supports Dr. Brenner’s innovative approach of applying rhenium-186 to treat deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas. The method attacks the tumor with higher levels of radiation - 20 to 30 times the current dose of radiation therapy to patients - but spares a much greater amount of brain tissue. Dr. Brenner is developing a clinical trial at the CTRC for this promising new therapy that could revolutionize the treatment and care of patients with brain cancer.
Bob Kolitz said funding research at the UT Health Science Center and the CTRC is more important than ever. "The UT Health Science Center is vital to this region and we want to ensure that, even in challenging economic times, the lifesaving research and treatments produced here continue for a lifetime," he said. "Dr. Brenner is a brilliant scientist and the Health Science Center needs more researchers like him who will help so many patients in this community now and in the future."
$1 million grant supports occupational therapy
$1.2 million funds studies of Alzheimer’s cell biology
Two newly funded grants totaling $1.2 million will support studies of Alzheimer’s disease at the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies. One grant, $960,000 over four years from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is furthering studies of environmental toxins and their role in Alzheimer’s risk. Qitao Ran, Ph.D., and his team found that exposure to pesticides can worsen cognitive decline in mice and increase deposits of amyloid-beta protein in the mouse brain. Amyloid-beta plaques often are seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients studied at autopsy. The second grant, $240,000 over three years, is from the Alzheimer’s Association. In this study Dr. Ran and his team are overexpressing an enzyme called glutaredoxin-2. "If we have more of this enzyme, we believe we can protect the cells and reduce amyloid-beta accumulation," he said.
Biochemists receive $1.7 million NIH grant to fight heart disease at molecular level
Reto Asmis, Ph.D., biochemistry professor and associate dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was awarded a four-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to look at underlying causes of cardiovascular disease at the cellular level. The NIH grant may allow these scientists to develop new drug treatments that could be used to stop or prevent oxidative stress in monocytes (white blood cells formed in bone marrow) in order to prevent cardiovascular disease. "Findings from the studies proposed here are likely to have a major impact on both preventive and therapeutic strategies for a wide array of diseases – including atherosclerosis, heart failure, healing after a heart attack, and diabetic complications such as renal disease and impaired wound healing," Dr. Asmis said.
Physician assistant program receives $980,141 federal grant for primary care training
The Department of Physician Assistant Studies received a five-year, almost $1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to provide better primary care to more patients. The funding period began Aug. 1 and runs through July 31, 2017. "We expect this project to provide high-quality training materials and resources for current and future faculty," said Juanita Wallace, Ph.D., dean of the School of Health Professions. "More importantly, we will be able to both support and enhance collaborative primary care experiences for our students and future graduates."
Study uses promotoras to increase physical activity among Latinas
To improve Latinas’ health, a new five-year, $3.48 million National Institutes of Health study will use promotoras - trained community health workers - to lead culturally appropriate group education and exercise sessions for Latinas in a program called Enlace (a Spanish term that means to "connect" or "join") in community centers in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley. "The idea behind Enlace is that, through this promotora intervention, Latinas will gain an otherwise-unavailable layer of social support to overcome barriers to activity and make positive behavioral changes - namely that Latinas engage in 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on five or more days a week," said study leader Deborah Parra-Medina, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research.
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."