UTMB Announcements for 4/23/2024

We are reaching out to The University to see if we can setup a date and time to come to you all, to present to you what the Office of Biostatistics offers. We offer a wide variety of helpful sources, that we feel would help tremendously. We are asking for 15-20 mins in person or virtual to give the presentation and answer any questions that may come about. Please let me know at mjcline@utmb.edu if you or someone you know may be interested. 

Thinking about retiring within six months to a year? The UTMB HR Benefits office is hosting a Teachers Retirement of Texas (TRS) session on Friday, May 3.

The session will go over how to calculate your eligibility for retiree insurance benefits, the required documentation, and other important action items.

Click on the link below to register for the session. You will receive a confirmation email to save the session to your Outlook calendar.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) Benefits Information Session – 10 to 11 a.m.

https://teams.microsoft.com/registration/bSXve9uFJkWnLTGuolRoUg,rU0VJ0WtVkC8kzUGkt2Nag,86_ZPREItkKGGjKpMOPRbg,XNWF3YY64k2UpgkT8B7QKA,RW9fefqbLEa8kcsO2Xs8mg,GEpxUhaIz0i40Ll6b-2D6A?mode=read&tenantId=7bef256d-85db-4526-a72d-31aea2546852

For questions or more information about the retirement information session, please contact HR Benefits at benefits.services@utmb.edu or (409) 772-2630.

Thinking about retiring within six months to a year? The UTMB HR Benefits office is hosting a Optional Retirement Program (ORP) Benefits Information Session on Friday, May 3.

The session will go over how to calculate your eligibility for retiree insurance benefits, the required documentation, and other important action items.

Click on the link below to register for the session. You will receive a confirmation email to save the session to your Outlook calendar.

Optional Retirement Program (ORP) Benefits Information Session – 2 to 3 p.m.

https://teams.microsoft.com/registration/bSXve9uFJkWnLTGuolRoUg,rU0VJ0WtVkC8kzUGkt2Nag,86_ZPREItkKGGjKpMOPRbg,SpSfDpj2xk626OF_YuK4rA,shUTx1x06k-J1xVUO8sEgg,ah4spL1_PU24p0x5JxJATA?mode=read&tenantId=7bef256d-85db-4526-a72d-31aea2546852

For questions or more information about the retirement information session, please contact HR Benefits at benefits.services@utmb.edu or (409) 772-2630.

Day 16: 27% of US Adults have a disability

CDC statistics show that "27% of adults in the U.S. (affecting 1/3 of U.S. households) have some type of disability." Access can be affected by permanent disability (vision loss), temporary disability (broken arm), or situational challenges (a loud environment)

Sample digital accessibility considerations:

• Auditory - would someone need to hear to process your content if they were hearing-impaired or in a loud environment? Are captions available?
• Visual - is your content accessible to people with blindness, color blindness, or low vision? Is text large enough and does it have enough contrast?
• Speech - does your app rely on voice recognition?  Will this work with slower speech, are there alternatives for those who can't speak or who might be in a loud environment?
• Physical - if someone can't use a mouse, because of a permanent or temporary disability can they navigate through your content with just the keyboard? Do you rely on dragging (which can be difficult for some, or do you also have methods for manually selecting values?
• Cognitive - is all of the content reliant on technical jargon? Are steps clear and easy to follow for someone who is completing them for the first time or may have trouble remembering multiple steps?

Explore previous Days of A11y

#100DaysOfA11y

On thursday 4/25/24 7pm-10pm, ITS Voice Services will be performing Avaya maintenance at the following Galveston Campus buildings.

Marvin Graves (4)

Lee Hage Jamail Student Center (14)

Mary Moody Northern Pavilion (19)

Basic Science Building (54)

Levin Hall (55)

Medical Research Building (59)

Services Building (61&62)

Old Children's Center (67)

Alumni Fieldhouse (75)

Facility Building (95) 

Avaya desk phones will be unavailable for approximately 5-8 minutes while maintenance is being performed.  This will not be complete downtime for the entire building as maintenance will be performed by areas.

Please contact the ITS Service Desk at (409) 772-5200 with any questions.

CC#43520

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH AT GALVESTON

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Announces – The Final Examination of 

CLAIRISSA HANSEN

For the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

April 30, 2024

10:00 AM

HEC 3.201

TITLE OF DISSERTATION

CHARACTERIZATION OF AN EPITOPE THAT DIFFERENTIATES WILD TYPE YELLOW FEVER VIRUS FROM LIVE ATTENUATED 17D VACCINE STRAIN BY NEUTRALIZATION

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

Chair: Alan Barrett, PhD, Professor, Experimental Pathology Graduate Program, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Nigel Bourne, PhD, Professor, Experimental Pathology Graduate Program, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Alexander Freiberg, PhD, Professor, Experimental Pathology Graduate Program, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

David Beasley, PhD, Professor, Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Stephen Higgs, PhD, FRES, FASTMH, University Distinguished Professor, Diagnostic Medicine and Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Normal Healthy Participants And Subjects With Asthma Are Needed

You could qualify for one of our studies if you are a normal healthy participant or have a history of physician-diagnosed asthma AND are between the ages of 18 and 60 and are a non-smoker for at least one year.

William J. Calhoun, M.D., Principal Investigator

The following new initial policy is available for review and comment:

IHOP 08.01.10 - Biosafety Training

Comments on this policy will be accepted until 5:00 pm on 5/7/24 and may be submitted via email to policies@utmb.edu. Any comments written directly on to the draft policy via the website are unable to be accepted.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – OLLI at UTMB

2^nd Annual Gardening Symposium

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

8:00 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.

1200 Market Street (UTMB Campus), Galveston, Texas 77555 

 $30 All-Day Registration – Parking and Box Lunch Included

Registration now open: https://utmb.us/aic

Join the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for a day of gardening tips and insider information. This year’s program will provide information on a variety of topics, presented by some of the area’s most knowledgeable gardening authorities. The symposium brings together amateur backyard gardeners and gardening professionals for a day of insightful presentations and networking. Topics will focus on eco-friendly landscape gardening with special emphasis on the unique cultural requirements of our coastal environment.

UTMB’s Institute for Translational Sciences and the Sealy Center for Environmental Health & Medicine invite you to participate in a conversation on Shattering Stigma: Addiction and Mental Health.   

Location: MOD Coffeehouse, 2126 Post Office Street, Galveston

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 24, 2024;  5:30-6:30PM

This conversation features Kathryn Cunningham, PhD, Director, Center for Addiction Sciences and Therapeutics (CAST), University of Texas Medical Branch; David Houghton. PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch; Emma Tumilty, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioethics and Health Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch; Kimberly Beatty, LCSW-S, Executive Director, ADA Women’s Recovery Center; and Michael Gienger, Pastor, Galveston Central Church.

Please join us as we explore and discuss the current knowledge and research related to addiction and mental health.        

Please RSVP to Krista Bohn at krbohn@utmb.edu.

Light refreshments will be provided. 

SCI Café is a community dialogue about science, health and possibilities among community members, researchers and scientists. The purpose is to engage and connect community members with science and science with the local community. Topics for SCI Cafés are driven by community learning interests and discovery from UTMB faculty.

The following policy is available for review and comment:

IHOP - 09.13.39 - Patient Falls Prevention Plan

Comments on this policy will be accepted until 5:00 pm on 4/23/24 and may be submitted via email to policies@utmb.edu. Any comments written directly on to the draft policy via the website are unable to be accepted.

Please note that this is a re-post due to a technical issue, and the initial comment date remains as 4/10/24.

K’S CREATIONS WILL BE IN LEAGUE CITY

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY, AND THURSDAY!

Drop by and visit with the nice folks from K’s Creations and you’ll find an easy and

  convenient way to shop for great gifts or something uplifting for yourself.

 Discover a fun assortment including women’s clothing and accessories, scarves,

fashion jewelry, a large selection of new merchandise, and clearance items to

 choose from for yourself, your family, and all of your friends.

TUESDAY, APRIL 23^RD

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24^TH  

THURSDAY, APRIL 25^TH

8:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

LEAGUE CITY CAMPUS (CLINIC SIDE) – 1^ST FLOOR

Cash, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express are all accepted.

Proceeds benefit patient and volunteer programs.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

To honor the selfless contributions of all UTMB employees to the health and wellbeing of the Galveston Community, the Galveston Symphony Orchestra (GSO) is offering up to 250 complimentary tickets to the next concert (From Warsaw with Love | May 5, 2024 at The Grand 1984 Opera House — Galveston Symphony Orchestra), featuring world-renowned concert pianist, Avery Gagliano, performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto #1 and finishing with the majestic and timeless classic, Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony.  Those who attend will be invited to a post-concert event at Edna’s Room, a reception room just next door to the Opera House.

Vouchers can be obtained by clicking here.  Vouchers must then be presented to the Grand Box Office for distribution of tickets.

Tickets will go fast!

Nominations are being accepted for the 2024 Nicholas and Katherine Leone Award for Administrative Excellence.  This award recognizes managers/supervisors who display the highest degree of professionalism and come with a $7,500 monetary prize - $2,500 for the winning manager/supervisor and $5,000 for the development and training of their department/unit.  The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.  See UTMB Employee Advisory Council website to learn more about the award or to submit a nomination. 

IMC Faculty PBL/Small Group Options for Academic Year 2024-2025

The Instruction Management Office (IMO) is now initiating the recruitment of faculty facilitators for small group and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) sessions in the pre-clerkship phase (years 1 and 2) of the four year Integrated Medical Curriculum (IMC)

Online surveys will be available from March 22^nd through April 26^th, for JSSOM faculty to indicate the teaching activities they are interested and available to participate in.  Faculty should NOT contact Course Coordinators directly to express their interest. The URL for sign-up is:

https://www.utmb.edu/meded/facultyPortal.asp

What is PBL?  PBL is the central learning modality for our three foundational science and six organ-based courses.  PBL uses small-group discussions of clinical cases as the stimulus for student directed learning. Each PBL session is composed of one faculty facilitator with 8-11 students. The role of the facilitator is to foster a student-directed learning environment in which students identify and direct their own learning needs, foster the development of problem-solving skills and lifelong learning.  Depending on the course, two-hour PBL sessions will be held 2-3 times a week either 10am-noon or 1-3pm.   If you know you will miss a session, it will be your responsibility to find a faculty substitute. You DO NOT need to be a content expert to facilitate a PBL course – your role is to ensure the process of PBL happens appropriately.   Faculty with a PhD, MD or DO may apply.

What is small group facilitation? Clinical faculty (MD or DO) are invited to facilitate a small group in two clinical courses Doctoring & Clinical Skills (formerly Practice of Medicine 1) and Practice of Medicine 2. In these sessions’ faculty facilitate practice sessions for students with or without standardized patients on physical examination skills, oral presentation, interview skills as well as discuss ethical, professional and scientific issues in healthcare.  The two-hour small group sessions can occur up to 11-12 times in the POMs over the academic year.  If you know you will miss a session, it will be your responsibility to find a faculty substitute. You DO NOT need to be a content expert to facilitate a small group – your role is to ensure the small groups meet the session objectives.  

Compensation: 

Compensation is 0.05 tFTE (or 5% of your salary) inclusive of all PBL. 

Process for signing up

March 22-April 26, 2024                    Initial Recruitment Phase- faculty indicate desired courses/activity (see link below).

April 29, 2024                                       Begin confirmation of all slots.

May 6, 2024                                         All teaching slots for Academic Year 2024-2025 must be confirmed.

DO NOT contact the course coordinator or course director to sign up!  If you cannot facilitate a full group and would like to share a group with another faculty, please indicate your preference for a full or shared slot, and in the notes indicate with whom you would like to share with.Thank you for your commitment to the educational vision of the JSSOM. A list of facilitator duties and responsibilities can be located on the IMO website.   If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Lisa Elferink at laelferi@utmb.edu.

TimeWise offers expert insights on timekeeping and Paid Time Off (PTO), delivering regular updates on diverse topics, beginning with essential guidance on submitting leave requests. 

All employees are expected to submit leave requests in Kronos when taking time off for personal reasons and illness/injury.   

Time off should be scheduled in advance whenever possible, according to UTMB policy. Managers have the authority to approve or not approve requests based on staffing and operational needs.   

To submit a leave request, follow these steps:  

• Log in to Kronos with your UTMB username and password. 
• Click on Request Time Off.  
• Select the Type of leave from the dropdown list.  
• Enter the Start Date, End Date, Pay Code, Start Time, and Daily Amount. 
  Please note: The Daily Amount automatically defaults to 0.25. Be sure to change the amount to accurately reflect the time off needed.  
• Enter a Note as preferred.  
• Click on the Submit button to send the request to your manager.  

For more detailed instructions, please refer to this document.   

ARPA-H Workshop

This workshop will provide an overview of the agency and details on how UTMB faculty can engage as either a PM or a Performer
Presented by the Office Of Strategic Research Development

Date: April 24, 2024

Time:  1 - 2 pm

Microsoft Teams

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 298 537 383 413
Passcode: GvgU4Q

Dial-in by phone
+1 409-240-0721,,102375789# United States, Galveston

Find a local number
Phone conference ID: 102 375 789#

🌟 Exciting Announcement! 🌟

Indulge in a Culinary Adventure at Our Cafe!

We're thrilled to unveil our latest menu offerings that promise to tantalize your taste buds and ignite your culinary curiosity! Get ready to embark on a journey of flavor exploration as we introduce brand new selections crafted with the freshest ingredients and innovative culinary techniques.

Click the link below to explore our tantalizing menu options for this week:

Food & Nutrition (utmb.edu)