Dr. Wilkins donates prize to orthopaedic society
Kaye E. Wilkins, D.V.D., M.D., clinical professor of orthopaedics, has a heart for children. That’s why, when he won the American Airlines American Way Road Warrior essay contest, he donated the prize to help educate surgeons who treat young ones’ orthopaedic problems. Dr. Wilkins gave 1 million air miles and 2 million Hilton Hotels bonus points to the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.
"I just knew that the use of these miles and points could help many doctors come to the U.S. for training and that, ultimately, people could get the medical help they need in underdeveloped countries," Dr. Wilkins told American Way magazine. "The society can get so much more out of this wonderful prize than I could ever get out of it."
RAHC celebrates fifth anniversary
Health Science Center leaders celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC). President Cigarroa recognized and honored the support of many that led to the RAHC’s establishment and its first five years of development.
The RAHC has a Medical Education Division in Harlingen and a Medical Research Division in Edinburg and serves Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
CTRC celebration
More than 200 volunteers, community leaders and physicians on May 20 celebrated the joining of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center and the UT Health Science Center. Pictured at the ceremony are (L-R) John Korbell, former chair of the CTRC Board of Governors, and his wife, Bonnie, as well as Graciela Cigarroa, President Cigarroa, Louise Beldon, chair of the CTRC Board of Governors, and Mark Watson Jr., chair of the CTRC Board of Directors. President Cigarroa said the CTRC gift is the largest in the Health Science Center’s history.
Trauma research receives $11.3 million boost from U.S. Army
The Health Science Center has landed a five-year, $11.3 million contract from the U.S. Army to support trauma research. The contract will support studies of resuscitation, monitoring and metabolic control of injured soldiers and civilians. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Md., is the sponsor.
Nursing graduates, funding increase
Increasing the number of nursing graduates by 88 in 2007 has resulted in the awarding of more than $686,500 in additional state funding for the School of Nursing. The funding - the second-highest awarded among public and private nursing schools in the state - will be used to add eight new nursing faculty members and 80 additional nursing students.
HSC lands coveted NIH translational research award
The Health Science Center has received a $26 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Research Resources, making it one of only three recipients in Texas. The award establishes the Health Science Center’s Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, the entity responsible for realizing the vision that optimal research will improve health. The award is viewed as one of the most significant federal selections in the history of the Health Science Center and San Antonio’s biosciences community. Only 60 institutions ultimately will be granted Clinical and Translational Science Award status among 125 academic health science centers nationwide.
NIA awards $1.5 million to expand Werner’s syndrome studies
Researchers will expand studies of a protein mutated in the rapid-aging disorder Werner’s syndrome, thanks to $1.5 million from the National Institute on Aging. Led by Robert Marciniak, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and a faculty member of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, scientists will seek to determine whether the protein fails to protect the ends of chromosomes, also called telomeres, which help maintain genetic stability.
Economic Development Agency awards $1 million for MARC
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $1 million to support construction of a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center at the Medical Arts and Research Center (MARC). "The Health Science Center has done remarkable work and is among the EDA’s most valued partners in the Southwestern Region," said Pedro Garza, regional director of the EDA’s Austin regional office.