Current Issue - Mission magazine | UT Health Science Center San Antonio

Spring 2023

abstract drawing of a brain

Banking on the brain

When the Biggs Institute was established in 2017, it was intended to be a comprehensive center that offers patient care, treatment and family support as well as advanced research in dementia and other brain disorders. Without brains, research is limited.

photo of Mike Nixon

I’m giving my brain to science. It’s the smart thing to do.

Eleven years have passed since Mike Nixon was diagnosed with an exceptional neurodegenerative disease. When he was diagnosed, he felt a calling to become a research subject. Then, he realized if he was going to make a genuine difference, he needed to find a postmortem home for his brain and spinal cord.

A mother holds a smiling baby

Mothers and babies

Casa Mia provides the supervision, structure, support and hope mothers with substance use disorder need to turn their lives around. The recovery home is one of only a few in Texas that gives mothers with substance use disorder the opportunity to recover with their children.

A dental faculty member works with dental students.

Work doesn't have to hurt

Juanita Lozano-Pineda wanted to help people avoid pain and career-ending injury, so she began lecturing dental students on ergonomics. That became a three-part program that includes faculty and students from the departments of occupational therapy and physical therapy.

Hope, based on science

When Juan Garcia suddenly lost his ability to walk, he turned to Selina Morgan, an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. Morgan has been researching spinal cord rehabilitation for almost 20 years.

artist rendering of multispecialty and research hospital

Growing city, expanded patient care

With UT Health San Antonio's recent and forthcoming additions to primary care, specialty services, oral health care and cancer therapy, as well as a first-of-its-kind multispecialty and research hospital, patients throughout the community and across the region won’t have to go far to receive the care they need.

picture of building with banner announcing UT School of Public Health San Antonio.

Prioritizing public health

The UT School of Public Health is a collaboration between UT Health San Antonio and The University of Texas at San Antonio to improve health outcomes and build a workforce equipped for that mission.

image of hands guiding robotic surgery tools.

Robotic kidney cancer surgery shows desirable outcomes in study

Robotic IVC thrombectomy — the removal of cancer from the inferior vena cava — is not inferior to standard open IVC thrombectomy and is a highly safe and effective alternative approach, researchers have found.

image of the moon

‘It’s like being able to see a dime on the surface of the moon.’

UT Health San Antonio is investing $5 million over the next three years in cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM for short. Cryo-EM visualizes proteins that are extremely difficult to image using other techniques.

white and blue pills spill out of pill bottle

Studying the impact of antibiotics in dental care

With a four-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, School of Dentistry researchers will conduct a clinical trial studying the responsible use of antibiotics in combination with other treatments for periodontal disease.

two mice on a white background.

Mouse pups’ cries give clues about autism spectrum disorder

One-fifth of babies who inherit a genetic variant located on chromosome 16 will develop autism spectrum disorder by age 3. The variant is called 16p11.2 deletion.

illustration of a body with the liver outlined

Losing weight could come down to your liver

In a breakthrough finding, scientists discovered that inhibiting a liver enzyme in obese mice decreased the rodents’ appetites, increased energy expenditure in fat tissues and resulted in weight loss. The finding provides a potential drug target to treat metabolic issues such as obesity and diabetes.

filet of raw fish and lemon

Eating fish could make you smarter

Having at least some omega-3s in red blood cells was associated with better brain structure and cognitive function among healthy study volunteers in their 40s and 50s, according to research published online Oct. 5 in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Faculty of UT Health San Antonio and other investigators of the Framingham Heart Study conducted the analysis.

illustration of a head and puzzle pieces coming out of top.

In the race to solve Alzheimer’s disease, scientists find more needles in the haystack

Because of international collaboration, more genetic variations for Alzheimer’s disease are known today than ever before.

woman wearing military tags talking to a man.

New therapy reduces headache disability after brain injury

The first therapy developed for post-traumatic headache significantly reduced related disability in veterans following a traumatic brain injury and decreased co-occurring symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

stock image of military medics treating trauma patient.

Providing novel approaches to trauma

A $2.5 million Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative at UT Health San Antonio will be the first and only of its kind in the U.S. It is a partnership with the Department of Defense and University Health’s Level 1 Trauma Center at University Hospital.

photo of x-ray images

Meeting the need for imaging specialists

The School of Health Professions will launch a new Master of Science in Imaging Sciences program to train imaging technologists in radiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to address the technologist shortages currently stressing the health care system. The program’s first cohort will begin in fall 2023.

collage of health care workers during COVID-19 response.

And caring donned a thousand faces

The darkest days of COVID-19, of course, were normal for no one. And yet, COVID-19 also magnified the courage, the heroics, the inclination to run toward the fire, to go beyond, that marks the healing professions and the mission of UT Health San Antonio.

Why we do 'Everything it takes'

Recently, we adopted the theme “Everything it takes” to describe our commitment to offering top-tier education, breakthrough research, stellar patient care and compassionate community service. It puts into words the lengths we will go to fulfill our promise to do everything in our power to improve the health of our patients and our community.