Awards and honors
Bennett T. Amaechi, B.D.S., M.Sc, Ph.D., MFDSRCPS (Glasg), FADI, a professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, was named a member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow at the 2017 annual admission ceremony of the college in Scotland.
Tyler J. Curiel, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine, has been awarded a five-year, $3.3 million Provocative Questions grant by the National Cancer Institute. He and his colleagues seek to optimize the effectiveness of immune-checkpoint drugs in treating melanoma and other cancers. A Provocative Questions grant provides support for some of the most important but difficult-to-answer questions in cancer research and is rarely given by the NCI. It’s the second such award for Dr. Curiel.
Stephanie M. Levine, M.D., professor in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, was named president of the American College of Chest Physicians, only the fifth woman to serve in that role in the past 80 years. She is director of the Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship Program and director of the VA Pulmonary Consult Service. She was appointed a professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio in 2003.
Sudha Seshadri, M.D., was named the founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases. Since 2005, she has served as professor of neurology and attending neurologist at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Seshadri is a senior investigator for the Framingham Heart Study, has had peer reviewed research continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 10 years, and currently serves as the principal investigator (PI) on eight U01 or R01 grants.
Chiquita A. Collins, Ph.D., was named the inaugural vice dean for inclusion and diversity and chief diversity officer in the Long School of Medicine. She previously served as associate dean of diversity and cultural competence at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Jesse C. DeLee, M.D., clinical professor of orthopaedics, was inducted into the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Hall of Fame. Inductees are individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the sports medicine field. He joined the faculty at UT Health San Antonio in 1978, serving as a full-time faculty member until 1983, and still maintains a clinical professorship in orthopaedic surgery.
Norma Martinez Rogers, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor of nursing, has received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Sustainability in Nursing Education Lectureship Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions by an individual or a group.
Kumar Sharma, M.D., was named chief of the Division of Nephrology and vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine. As vice chair for research, he will oversee the creation of a mentoring program for young investigators, the implementation of pilot programs and the organization of research themes across the department.
