Leading the way

The United Way recently recognized UTMB for being a leading "Community Partner" and for "Innovation and Creative Engagement," both associated with the State Employee Charitable Campaign last November. UTMB's campaign brought in over half-a-million dollars, with support from nearly 3,000 employees.

Sierpina gives keynote

Dr. Victor Sierpina was the keynote speaker at UTMB’s Interprofessional Education Day on March 5 in Levin Hall. He addressed students from the School of Nursing, the School of Health Professions, the School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The focus of Interprofessional Education Day is to teach health care students collaborative team skills for providing high-quality patient care.

Niesel new research officer

David Niesel, vice president and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, is taking on additional duties as UTMB’s Chief Research Officer. Niesel, who will oversee all university wide, research-related activities, joined UTMB in 1983. With his new research responsibilities, Niesel will step down as chairman of the department of microbiology and immunology, a position he has held since 2003. Under his leadership, the department rose to a top five ranking in National Institutes of Health funding and currently ranks third, having received more than $23 million in NIH funding in 2014.

Weaver named fellow

Scott Weaver, a professor in the Departments of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology, was elected as a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology. Fellows are elected through a highly selective process based on their scientific contributions to the field. Weaver is globally recognized for his expertise in mosquito-borne diseases. He was recently presented the 2014 Walter Reed Medal in recognition of his distinguished accomplishments in the field of tropical medicine. Weaver serves as the co-chairman for the Global Virus Network’s Chikungunya Task Force, the director of UTMB’s Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and the scientific director of UTMB’s Galveston National Laboratory. He recently agreed to serve as interim chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology as well.

Murphy writes policy

Kathleen M. Murphy, an associate professor in the School of Nursing, is co-author of a national policy to define and establish guidelines for schools to deal with heart attacks. Murphy, a member of the American Heart Association writing group, has co-authored a paper meant to greatly increase the chance of someone surviving sudden cardiac arrest and provides guidelines of what schools should train their personnel to do before the arrival of local emergency medical services.