Christian Messa

UTMB Alumnus Pledges $500,000 to Establish Chair in Integrative Medicine

Endowment will be one of only a few integrative medicine chairs in the country

GALVESTON, Texas—Dr. Dan Nicholson and his wife, Elaine, have pledged $500,000 to establish the first chair in integrative medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston—one of just a few such chairs in the United States.

Established in memory of Dr. Nicholson’s father and mother, the W.D. and Laura Nell Nicholson Family Chair in Integrative Medicine will support the integration of conventional and alternative medicine in clinical practice and education at UTMB. Complementary and alternative medicine goes beyond traditional Western medicine by including such techniques as acupuncture, meditation and herbal remedies to treat illnesses and injuries.

The Nicholson Family Chair, established to support the Department of Family Medicine, will allow faculty members receiving its appointment to conduct research that studies the safety and effectiveness of integrative medicine techniques. Dr. Victor S. Sierpina, a UTMB associate professor of family medicine with tenure, was recently approved to hold the chair.

Integrative medicine is becoming more accepted throughout the nation. It has been defined as a therapeutic relationship in which there is a rational blending of conventional and alternative therapies that takes into account the whole person—body, mind and spirit. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports more than 70 percent of U.S. medical schools offer some alternative therapy-related courses, while the herbal and supplement market alone nets $15 billion annually, according to the American Botanical Council.

Integrative medicine can, however, create problems when combined with traditional medicine. For example, if patients do not inform their doctors of herbal remedies they are taking, the doctors may prescribe medications that, when mixed with herbal treatments, can cause adverse reactions. On the other hand, integrative treatments such as acupuncture may be useful when other medical and surgical approaches are not effective.

Under the tutelage of Sierpina, an internationally recognized authority on integrative medicine and recipient of a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health award for creating an “Evidence-Based Curriculum in Alternative Therapies,” UTMB faculty and students will learn about the benefits and disadvantages of combining conventional medicine with integrative techniques. They will also be able to inform and advise patients about numerous therapies considered to be integrative.

Dr. Nicholson, a Dallas physician who graduated from UTMB’s School of Medicine in 1971, said he and his wife wanted to establish the chair in gratitude to the university. Three generations of the Nicholson family have attended the UTMB medical school. Nicholson’s deceased father graduated in 1939 and was a family practitioner, while his son, Dr. William D. Nicholson IV, earned his degree in 1996. Nicholson and his son work together in a general surgery practice in Garland. “My wife is a registered nurse and strongly believes in integrative medicine,” Nicholson said. “We both believe that UTMB’s family medicine department and nursing school should lead the way in this evolving field.”

As the Nicholson Family Chair, Sierpina would play a leading role in a proposed Center for Wellness and Integrative Care at UTMB. This center would attract health care professionals from diverse fields to promote holistic care, research and education. A faculty and student education lecture series on integrative medicine, an annual forum and poster session, a student scholarship, information resources and seed grants for research are all potential projects that may be supported wholly or partly by the Nicholson endowment.

Sierpina said the Nicholsons recognize the important role integrative medicine will play in the future of medicine. “Dr. and Mrs. Nicholson’s generous endowment is a major statement of the increased prominence of integrative medicine in academia,” said Sierpina. “Like similar ones at Harvard University, the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Michigan, this is one of only a few such endowed academic positions in this country. With the Nicholsons’ support, future generations of students, residents and faculty at UTMB will communicate effectively with patients and advise them reliably about alternative and integrative therapies. Their gift will also promote research and extramural funding so vitally needed to advance scientific understanding in this area.”

Dr. Barbara L. Thompson, chair of the Family Medicine Department, added: “The Nicholsons are strong supporters of family medicine, and their generosity will bring much-needed resources to our department. Our patients, as well as our students, will benefit from this wonderful gift. Dan and Elaine Nicholson are the epitome of sustaining and supportive friends of UTMB, and we value their commitment to our program in integrative medicine.”

In addition to establishing a chair in integrative medicine, the Nicholsons have financially supported the School of Medicine annual fund and the W.D. and Laura Nell Nicholson Award in Family Medicine, an annual award given to an outstanding UTMB medical student.

—UTMB—