Dr. Douglas S. Tyler has been named as the new UTMB chair of the Department of Surgery. Dr. Tyler currently serves as a Professor of Surgery with tenure and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology within the Department of Surgery at Duke University Medical Center. He also is a Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Chief of Surgical Services at Durham VA Medical Center.
Dr. Tyler received his M.D. with honors from Dartmouth Medical School in 1985, and went on to complete his postdoctoral training as Chief Resident in Surgery at Duke University Medical Center and a Surgical Oncology Fellow at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco has agreed to join UTMB as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. As chair of BMB, Dr. Garcia-Blanco will lead efforts to further excellence in research, education, mentoring and scholarship that have broad fundamental, translational and clinical impact.
Dr. Garcia-Blanco will join us after 24 years at Duke University, where he is currently the Charles D. Watts Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Duke Center for RNA Biology. He is also Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore.
Jacqueline Stout-Aguilar, received the 2014 Stobo Award from the McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine. Each year, the McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine selects a student to receive an award established personally by Jack and Mary Ann Stobo.
Most of the Osler Scholars awards are designated for the School of Medicine; however the Stobo Award can go to a student from any school. The award recognizes embodiment of the ideals of humane, compassionate, scientifically sound, patient-centered care. Stout-Aguilar is a student in the School of Nursing, working towards her Ph.D. in Nursing. She will be conducting her doctoral dissertation on research in the Infant Special Care Unit at UTMB.
Katherine “Kathy” Rodriguez has joined the Office of Legal and Regulatory Affairs as Director, Internal Investigations. Kathy will provide institution-wide oversight of all equal employment opportunity, Title IX and internal investigation activities involving faculty, employees and students.
Kathy comes to this position with invaluable experience and knowledge in areas such as compliance, employment law and managing internal investigations. She initially joined UTMB in 2012 as an Associate Legal Officer, holding a dual position in the Department of Legal Affairs and the Office of Institutional Compliance. Kathy transitioned into the Office of Institutional Compliance in 2013, where she has provided compliance guidance to the institution’s departments, assisted with institutional compliance projects and conducted compliance investigations.
The UTMB School of Nursing appointed three new professors to their faculty. Cheryl Day will be an assistant professor for the baccalaureate program. Sharon Forrest and Mark Reinhardt, both of whom are Doctors of Nursing Practice, will be assistant professors in the master’s degree program.