The University of Texas System Board of Regents in August authorized the integration of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and The University of Texas at San Antonio to create one unified institution by 2025. The regents also unanimously voted to name UTSA President Taylor Eighmy as its president once the combined institution is approved by accrediting entities.
“Great cities and great universities make each other better. It is time to marshal the talent, size and scale of UTSA and UT Health San Antonio to multiply their roles as global leaders in education, health care and innovation,” said Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife. “By bringing together all of their complementary and unique strengths, we will give Texans access to the best education, discoveries and health care imaginable, while accelerating the university’s trajectory as a top U.S. and global university.”
Key to the plan was the decision to fully leverage the individual contributions of UT Health San Antonio and UTSA. UT Health San Antonio, the largest academic health research institution in South Texas, ranks in the top 3% globally for National Institutes of Health funding. UTSA, a top-tier (Carnegie R1) research institution, educates 35,000 students across seven colleges and interdisciplinary schools.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data, San Antonio, the nation’s seventh-largest city and the second largest in Texas, added nearly 22,000 new residents between July 2022 and July 2023 — more than any other city in the U.S. As a critical gateway to South Texas, which is home to 5.5 million people and projected to grow to 6.1 million by 2040, San Antonio’s global influence continues to expand.
James C. “Rad” Weaver of San Antonio, vice chairman of the Board of Regents, said the decision was one of the most important transformational steps the two UT institutions will take together for the long-term benefit of the city and state.
“This merger is the catalyst that will supercharge our region as a national leader in learning, innovation, health and economic vigor,” Weaver said.
To ensure a smooth transition, Eighmy and Robert Hromas, MD, FACP, acting president of UT Health San Antonio, will tap the expertise of faculty, researchers and administrators who will serve on transition teams and working groups to ensure accreditation and other approvals, as well as streamlined, timely, strategic processes to operationalize the university.
“The impact of a unified presence is undeniable, and Texas will benefit immensely from this integration, which among many benefits, will enable greater public impact and enhanced global competitiveness,” said UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken. “This initiative is about expanding and growing to align with the needs of the region and state, and to maximize the potential of two UT institutions that exist only miles apart.”
The combined institution would become the third-largest research university in Texas, with annual research expenditures nearing $470 million, encompassing six federally funded research and development centers.
UT System officials said it will be poised to achieve new heights in securing research funding, forging industry and government partnerships, attracting philanthropic investments and pioneering groundbreaking innovations. It will also draw top-tier faculty, staff, students, researchers and health care professionals from around the world.
Among other recent academic developments: the first graduates of a dual degree program in medicine and artificial intelligence, construction of a 95,500-square-foot research lab, the opening of a lab for spinal cord injury rehabilitation research, a new program for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and launch of the School of Dentistry’s Center for Global and Community Oral Health.
First graduates of dual degree in medicine and AI
At the university’s May 2024 commencement, fourth-year medical students Aaron Fanous and Eri Osta became the first graduates of the nation’s first dual degree program in medicine and artificial intelligence. The MD/MSAI dual degree program, which officially launched in fall 2023, combines a Doctor of Medicine degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine and a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
AI’s presence is already evident in customized patient treatment plans, robotic surgeries and drug dosage. The aim of the five-year program is to enable physicians to lead in the practical use of artificial intelligence to improve diagnostic and treatment outcomes and to prepare students for next-generation AI and its impacts on the future of health care research, education, industry and administration.
Science One bolsters research profile
Plans to commence construction of a new lab facility this fall will significantly expand the university’s footprint, bolster its already robust research profile and provide new learning opportunities for students within the
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and beyond.
The $100 million Science One building is part of a massive expansion of the university’s research and patient care missions. The five-story, 95,500-square-foot building will house laboratory space dedicated to researching the diseases that impact the community most.
“UT Health San Antonio is renowned for world-class research in cancer, dementia, aging and diabetes, and we will put experts from each of these diseases in our Science One building,” said Robert Hromas, MD, FACP, acting president of UT Health San Antonio.
“This new facility will allow our experts to share techniques, fostering new ideas that will lead to innovative breakthroughs that will not only provide economic development for San Antonio and South Texas, but also better health care for patients suffering from these diseases.”
Construction is projected to complete in August 2026.
NeuroRecovery Research Lab opens
This past June, the School of Health Professions celebrated the official opening of its NeuroRecovery Research Lab dedicated to spinal cord injury rehabilitation research. The lab is housed in the school’s rehabilitation services clinical space at the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The lab’s centerpiece, the PowerStep, is a computerized body weight-supporting treadmill system that enables hands-on, activity-based therapy interventions. Data collected during therapy sessions on the system are shared with other researchers of the NeuroRecovery Network, an international group of rehabilitation centers that develop and provide therapies to improve functional recovery and health among people living with paralysis.
Therapies on the PowerStep include step retraining, step adaptability, segmental trunk control drills, coordination activities and anticipatory balance activities. Patients receive a full ensemble of sensory facilitation, which enables motor recovery in an environment in which they feel safe. The treadmill’s harness removes patients’ fear of falling, enabling them to participate in interventions to regain motor control.
Nurse anesthetist program welcomes first students
To help fill critical demands for anesthesia services, the university’s School of Nursing welcomed its inaugural cohort of 18 students this fall into its newly launched Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia program.
The three-year, full-time, first-of- its-kind program for South Texas will provide students with the skills and knowledge to offer safe and individualized anesthesia care across all age groups. At the conclusion of the program and after passage of the nurse anesthesia certification exam, these Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) can work with various medical practitioners providing all types of anesthesia services, including sedation, general and regional anesthesia and pain management.
Currently, there are only four CRNA programs in Texas, with the next-closest programs located in Dallas-Fort Worth and in Houston.
School of Dentistry adds to academic, research impact
Since its launch in 2023, the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry’s Dental Hygiene program at UT Education and Research Center at Laredo
(UT Center at Laredo) has kept pace with its goal to admit eight more students this past July at the start of its second year of offering the degree program.
The Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene degree program is the first of its kind in Laredo, aimed at addressing significant gaps in oral health care needs within the community while boosting local job opportunities in a high-demand field. The dental hygiene courses at the center are taught live and through distance learning by UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry faculty, and in-person dental hygiene faculty teach at the new simulation and radiology labs there and at community clinics where students also get practical experience.
In addition to broadening its academic reach, the School of Dentistry continues to expand its research focus with the launch of its Center for Global and Community Oral Health in September 2023. The center brings together various outreach and research programs under one umbrella to study and develop solutions to the most pressing dental challenges facing global populations today.
This fall, the school launched its Center for Regenerative Sciences, a new research initiative to position the university at the forefront of regenerative dentistry and medicine, with a focus on the development of advanced tissue regeneration strategies.