Glenn Foundation gift establishes fellowship, recruits top students to Barshop Institute
The older population – those we call grandmother, grandfather, mom, dad, and other family members – is growing swiftly. People 65 years and older numbered 39.6 million in 2009. By 2030 this group will number 72.1 million.*
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic diseases, which affect older adults disproportionately, can contribute to disability, diminish quality of life and lead to an increase in health care and long-term health care costs.
Researchers at the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies are fervently working to develop new therapies to treat and prevent diseases that plague the elderly. In 2009, faculty members at the Barshop Institute established the first Ph.D. program in the country focused on the biology of aging. Their goal – to educate and train the next generation of investigators dedicated to pursuing a career in aging research.
This year, a gift of $200,000 from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research has buoyed the Barshop Institute program by establishing the Glenn Foundation Doctoral Student Fellowship in the Biology of Aging. This is the first graduate student fellowship program in the country the Glenn Foundation has ever supported. The gift created two prestigious fellowships offered to students interested in pursuing the Ph.D. in the Biology of Aging.
The Barshop Institute joins other internationally renowned institutions that have received grants from the Glenn Foundation, including Harvard University, MIT, Stanford, the American Federation for Aging Research, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences.
Steven Austad, Ph.D., is interim director of the Barshop Institute and a professor of cellular and structural biology.
"We are so grateful to the Glenn Foundation for their gift that allows us to attract the most talented students to our program," Dr. Austad said. "This fellowship provides students with the unmatched opportunity to hasten their development into accomplished, independent researchers."
Arlan Richardson, Ph.D., professor and founding director of the Barshop Institute agreed.
"The Glenn fellowships enable us to recruit the brightest students into the field of aging, which is critical if we are to find ways to treat and delay age-related diseases and the aging process," he said.
The two fellows selected were Erin Munkacsy from the University of Illinois and Brian Stoveken from the University of Wisconsin. The fellowship provides each student with a $35,000-a-year stipend and an additional $33,000 each for training, travel to national and international seminars in aging, and for independent research projects in the final stages of the students’ doctoral studies.
At the University of Illinois, Munkacsy majored in biology and participated in research studies focused on memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and the field of electrophysiology.
"The Glenn fellowship is an opportunity of a lifetime," Munkacsy said. "Aging research is the culmination of a multitude of my own personal and intellectual interests and innate abilities. This fellowship not only allows me to pursue that aim, but to do so among the best group of aging scientists in the country."
Stoveken earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. There he focused his research on metabolic profiling, genetics and mentored high school students and interns in the laboratories.
"I am inspired by the body of work coming from the UT Health Science Center, a clear leader in the field of aging research. And I’m thankful for the Glenn fellowship that signals the growing value placed on this discipline," Stoveken said. "While at the Barshop Institute, I hope to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. As a student and future researcher, this is a remarkable chance to make meaningful improvements in the quality of individuals’ lives. My long-term ambitions are to teach the next generation of scientists, and to develop therapeutic interventions for any of the myriad age-associated diseases that plague the ever-aging human race."
The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research is named for its founder and Chairman, Paul F. Glenn. The purpose of the foundation, established in 1965, is to extend the healthy productive years of life through research on the mechanisms of biological aging.
*Statistics are from the Administration on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Dental School receives $4.5 million
The Dental School at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio received a seven-year, $4.5 million subcontract from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (NDPBRN) coordinating center. The NDPBRN is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Dental School will lead the Southwest Region of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (NDPBRN). As part of the national network, the subcontract will be used to develop a network of dental practitioners across five states, including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Kansas, interested in collaborating on research.
Thomas W. Oates, D.M.D., Ph.D., is director of the NDPBRN Southwest Region. He is assistant dean for clinical research in the Health Science Center Dental School and is professor and vice chair in the Department of Periodontics.
"This network seeks to strengthen the relationship between research and the oral health needs of the community and to build research studies targeting those needs," Dr. Oates said. "We’ll also look to partner with state dental and dental hygiene associations, dental schools and dental educators."
Dr. Oates said the grant will build on the already established South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN), a local practice-based dental research network headquartered at the Health Science Center Dental School, which includes more than 60 dental practitioners from throughout South Texas.
Rahma Mungia, B.D.S., MS.c., co-director of the STOHN and assistant professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the Health Science Center, is deputy director for the NDPBRN Southwest Region, and Claudia Cavazos, D.D.S., an alumna of the Dental School and dental director of Gateway Community Health Center, one of the Dental School’s first clinical partners in Laredo, is an NDPBRN Southwest Region executive committee member.
Dentists and dental hygienists interested in enrolling in the network should visit
NationalDentalPBRN.org.
Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics: a voice for compassion in medicine for 10 years
From its founding 10 years ago, the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics has prepared tomorrow’s healers to act with compassion and justice. The center celebrates its anniversary with a series of events Oct. 10-12. These include presentations by best-selling authors, a performance by a psychiatrist-concert pianist and a community-wide discussion on health disparities in Bexar County.
"An enduring goal of our center is to preserve our students’ innate idealism and ensure their rigorous training does not suppress it," said Ruth Berggren, M.D., center director and professor in the Long School of Medicine. "The great majority of time in medical school is allocated to teach scientific knowledge and skills with little formal time for medical humanities, including ethics that emphasize medicine as an art as much as a science."
The center imparts vital lessons to students of medicine, nursing and other health professions through course work and real-world experience in four key areas: professionalism and ethics; community service learning; global health; and literature and art.
"We must cultivate qualities that produce graduates with a deep sense of caring and strong communication skills," Dr. Berggren said. "Through our ethics courses and electives, our focus on experiential learning and community service, and the inspiring speakers and writers who come to our campus, we hope to nurture the empathic and committed health care professionals that you would want for yourself or your family in a time of illness."
Through the center, students engage in global health education in the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa after preparing with experienced mentors and elective courses.
Closer to home, students participate in a thriving community service learning program, working in medically underserved communities in San Antonio and South Texas. The innovative ways they serve the community have earned the Health Science Center federal recognition on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for three consecutive years.
By giving students the chance to experience ethics in action, the center answers the challenges facing health care today.
To donate to the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics, contact Sonia Vasquez at 210-567-0028 or at vasquezsg@uthscsa.edu, or visit texashumanities.org/donate.
Van honored as Professor of the Year
Tam Van, D.D.S., director of the Senior Care Dental Clinic, is the recipient of the 2011-2012 Professor of the Year award in the Dental School at the UT Health Science Center. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and mentoring and is presented to the faculty member who receives the most student votes. Each class votes for one faculty member. The third-year students (class of 2013) selected Dr. Van. "Dr. Van is truly an inspiration to me and deserving of this award," said Patel Roshan, a fourth-year dental student. "She genuinely cares for us and shows us how to provide the best patient care possible. She loves teaching and we love learning from her."
Eight honored with Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards
The University of Texas System Board of Regents honored eight Health Science Center faculty members this summer with Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards. The UT System offered the awards to faculty in the UT health-related institutions this year for the first time; overall, 40 professors representing all six institutions were recognized. Each winner received $25,000 in the highly competitive awards program. UT Health Science Center recipients are:
- Sandra Adams, M.D., Medicine, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care
- Linda Johnson, Ph.D., Cellular and Structural Biology
- Richard Ludueña, Ph.D., Biochemistry
- Susan Naylor, Ph.D., Cellular and Structural Biology
- William Rose, D.D.S., Comprehensive Dentistry
- Linda Smith, Ph.D., Clinical Laboratory Sciences
- Patricia Wathen, M.D., General Medicine
- Gail Williams, Ph.D., RN, Family and Community Health Systems
Goertz, class of '81, named national board chair
Roland A. Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., FAAFP, medical school class of 1981 and a family physician in Waco, was appointed board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The AAFP represents 100,300 physicians and medical students nationwide. As board chair of the AAFP, Goertz will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.
After graduating from medical school in 1981, he completed a residency in family medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He subsequently completed a clinical teaching fellowship in family medicine in 1986 and received a master’s degree in business administration from Baylor University in 2003. In his 27-year medical career, he has served as a physician in rural private practice, a family medicine residency program director at two Texas residencies, and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School - Houston. For the past 15 years, Goertz has served as chief executive officer of the three foundations that oversee all operations of the Waco Family Health Center, which operates one of the oldest family medicine residency programs west of the Mississippi River.
Medellin inducted into the UT Academy of Health Science Education
Glen Medellin, M.D., FAAP, of the Long School of Medicine, was inducted this summer into the UT Academy of Health Science Education. Dr. Medellin is an associate chair of pediatrics and holds the Greehey Distinguished Chair in Palliative Care for Children. He is also a Distinguished Teaching Professor and director of medical student education in the Long School of Medicine. In addition to recognizing and supporting excellence in teaching, the academy’s goals include encouraging the development and implementation of innovative education projects, promoting curriculum design and reform, providing financial assistance for innovative educational projects and fostering faculty research.
21st Annual San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon is Oct. 8
Don’t miss the 21st annual San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon set for Monday, Oct. 8, at the Marriott Rivercenter, 101 Bowie Street, in San Antonio. Book Sales open at 10 a.m. with the luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Six prominent authors will entertain the audience with tales from their best-selling books. Guests have the opportunity to purchase and have the books autographed by each featured author.
Since its establishment in 1991, the event has raised more than $2.7 million for the Phase I Clinical Research Program at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.
For more information and to make reservations, visit MakeLivesBetter.uthscsa.edu/BookAuthor or call 210-567-2508.
Groundbreaking held for third building in Laredo
A groundbreaking ceremony was held April 2 for the third building on the Regional Campus in Laredo. The building will be used as a Veterans Affairs (VA) Outpatient Clinic. The new clinic will be 18,464 square feet and will replace the current 10,000-square-foot facility in Laredo.
Expected to open in early 2013, the facility will provide extended primary care services, including mental health, nutrition, women’s health, podiatry, dental, tele-health and social work services. Diagnostic capabilities will be enhanced with the addition of an in-house laboratory and general radiology room.
"It is truly an honor for the Health Science Center to be a part of this project, which will serve the men and women who have selflessly served our country – our military veterans," said William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, UT Health Science Center president.
"We are very grateful to the city of Laredo for donating the land for this expanded clinic. We are also profoundly grateful to U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, whose vision and effective leadership in Washington has made this day a reality by securing federal resources to build this facility. Finally, deep thanks also go to State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, who is known for her legendary dedication, passion and strong support of higher education. In 1999 she authored Senate Bill 1288, with the co-sponsorship of then-Rep. Cuellar, which created the Regional Campus in Laredo."
Interprofessional education opportunities blossom
"Interprofessional education is the key to improving communication among health care providers that will lead to health care that is safer, and more timely, effective and patient-centered," said Jan Patterson, M.D., M.S., chair of the Interprofessional Education Council. "Because we have so many health care disciplines on campus, our Health Science Center has great potential to lead in areas of interprofessional education. There are increasing venues for this in both the standard and elective curricula, and through special activities."