UTMB celebrated 20 years of Heart Transplantations with a reception for post heart transplant patients and their families along with doctors and staff. Twenty post-heart transplant patients attended, including the second and 196th heart recipients.
Drs. Kelly Carmichael and Justin Chronister recently visited San Pedro de Marcoris, Dominican Republic as part of a mission by the non-profit organization Operation Rainbow to help provide orthopaedic care to indigent children and young adults in developing countries.
The volunteer team evaluated over 300 patients in clinic, and performed 55 specialized surgical procedures over a four-day period.
Ronald B. McKinley, vice president of Human Resources and Employee Services, has been elected to the national post of Chair of the United States Technical Advisory Group to the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee 260 (TC260) – Human Resource Management Standards. This prestigious appointment is for a term of two years.
As chair of this group, he is responsible for the US TAG and its subordinate committees and workgroups, ensuring that the organization focuses on achieves its objectives and advocates for the United States, regarding standards projects under consideration by the ISO TC 260. He will also be responsible for working with the leaders of the TC’s other member countries’ Mirror Committees.
McKinley is an original member of the US TAG, which was formed in June of 2011. He served initially as chair of the Fee Waiver Committee, and he also worked on a number of the TAG’s workgroups, which actively propose and develop international standards for Human Resource management, including Workgroup One (WG-1) which is creating an international standard dictionary of human resource management terms.
“We are very proud of Dr. McKinley’s leadership appointment to this international organization,” Bill Elger said. “As a leader of this group, he is literally part of a body that is shaping the Human Resource industry for decades to come.”
David Niesel, chairman of the department of microbiology and immunology and vice dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, has received a $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The grant supports UTMB’s Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program, or PREP, providing advanced training to seven students per year.
Dr. Benjamin B. Gelman, professor in the departments of pathology and neuroscience, and cell biology and neurology, has been awarded $7 million in research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health to support ongoing studies of HIV and neurological complications. A $5.7 million grant will provide continued support for the Texas NeuroAIDS Research Center where he serves as the founding director. The TNRC is one of four HIV brain repositories of the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium.
Li-Yen Mae Huang, a professor in the department neuroscience and cell biology, has received an award of almost $2 million from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research that will support her research in the transmission of pain signals. This research will contribute to the design of new and improved strategies to treat patients with chronic pain disorders.
Tian Wang, an associate professor in the departments of microbiology and immunology and pathology, as well as the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The award will support her research on the characterization of viral mutants and vaccine efficacy.
2013 Health Fair offered by the Texas Section of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, partnering with the Restoration Chapel and volunteers from UTMB was held recently. The fair was a big success with 250 patients seen and 43 mammograms performed.
UTMB mammographers are pictured (left to right): Madeline Goldenschue, Jennifer Thomas, Mary Lauriano, transportation technician Jose Martinez, along with numerous volunteers who donated their time.
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