Administrative Committees

Administrative Committees

  • APT Committee

    The Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Committee evaluates faculty performance annually and makes recommendations to the Chair regarding performance as well as promotion or tenure matters. Members also review secondary faculty credentials for consideration of promotion and/or tenure.

    • Ashok Chopra, PhD, CSc
    • Nisha Garg, PhD
    • Jiaren Sun, MD, PhD
    • Janice Endsley, PhD - Chair
    • Haitao Hu, PhD
    • Shinji Makino, DVM, PhD
    • Tian Wang, PhD
  • Chairman's Advisory Committee
    This committee meets monthly to discuss and advise the Chair concerning important departmental policies and practices. Members have been instrumental in developing guidelines for space planning and teaching assignments, changing the APT process, developing the faculty compensation plan, managing the departmental self-study, and operational issues.
    • Dennis Bente, DVM, PhD
    • Istvan Boldogh, PhD
    • Yingzi Cong, PhD
    • Ashok Chopra, PhD, CSc
    • Janice Endsley, PhD
    • Nisha Garg, PhD
    • Shinji Makino, DVM, PhD
    • Lynn Soong, MD, PhD
    • Alfred Torres, PhD
    • Tian Wang, PhD
    • AnaLaura Ramos, ex officio
  • Faculty Recognition Committee
    The Faculty Recognition Committee regularly surveys available awards offered to faculty scientists, including local, national and international, and recommends to the chair nominations of departmental faculty members.
    • Dr. Nisha Garg
    • Haitao Hu, PhD
    • Sunhee Lee, PhD
    • Scott Weaver, PhD
  • Space & Equipment Committee
    This committee makes recommendations concerning the distribution of laboratory and office space, as well as the purchase and maintenance of departmental equipment.
    • Istvan Boldogh, PhD
    • Haitao Hu, PhD
    • Yingzi Cong, PhD
    • Janice Endsley, PhD
    • Sunhee Lee, PhD
    • Lynn Soong, MD, PhD
    • Alfredo Torres, PhD
    • Chien-Te "Kent" Tseng, PhD
    • Tian Wang, PhD
    • Scott Weaver, PhD
    • Ana Laura Ramos
  • Safety & Hurricane Preparedness Committee
    This committee is responsible for preparing for and assessing damages after a hurricane or disaster. The Chair also provides training for new employees in safety and equipment use and maintenance.
    • Istvan Boldogh, PhD
    • Matthieu Gagnon, PhD
    • Haito Hu, PhD
    • Ana Laura Ramos
    • Rebekah Viner
    • Alfredo Torres, PhD
    • Scott Weaver, PhD
  • Seminar Committee
    This committee selects and hosts seminar speakers in program areas of bacteriology/parasitology, immunology and virology. Members work closely with the Department of Pathology to host an interdepartmental seminar series on infection and immunity.
    • Yingzi Cong, PhD, Chair
    • Haitao Hu, PhD
    • Parimal Samir, PhD
  • Scientist Development Committee
    This committee focuses on career development for faculty and research scientists at different levels. Faculty grant workshops are organized to foster new ideas, collaborations, and grant preparation. The committee works with the Academy of Research Mentors (ARM) for mentoring support for junior faculty, and provides assistance for research scientists to enhance their professional growth and career advancement.
    • Lynn Soong, MD, PhD, Chair
    • Shinji Makino, DVM, PhD
    • Ashok Chopra, PhD
    • Nisha Garg, PhD
    • Alfred Torres, PhD
  • M&I Supplemental Faculty Support for Students and Postdocs

    Purpose: to provide supplementary support to M&I students and postdoctoral fellows by our junior faculty.

    Rationale: Although M&I students generally receive excellent mentoring from their faculty supervisors, dissertation committees and the program director, they may benefit from an independent perspective that can be offered by junior faculty who are closer to their career stages and who have recently been in job searches/negotiations and have only recently established their independent research projects. Junior M&I faculty are eager to engage these trainees to provide informal support that can supplement but not replace mentoring provided by their supervisors, as well as to share their own experience in early stages of career development.

    Departmental plans: The M&I department will initiate an informal plan to involve junior faculty in the informal support of M&I students and postdoctoral fellows. These faculty will receive training to ensure that they adhere to UTMB policies and academic best practices in this role, including guidelines for maintaining confidentiality and reporting problems that rise to certain levels. A list of faculty willing to participate will be provided to students and postdocs (see below), who will be free to contact one or more volunteers to identify those whom they feel can best assist them.

    Informal Interactions: The timing and nature of one-on-one informal interactions will be left to supporting faculty and trainees with no formal reporting requirements. We will anonymously poll participants to evaluate the success of the program.

    Informal Social Interactions: We will hold bimonthly social events for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to meet informally with junior faculty participants to identify those who might be a good match for one-on-one interactions, or for participating in the small mentoring groups.

    Semi-formal small mentoring groups for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students: We will organize small groups of 4-5 postdoctoral fellows or students and 2-3 junior faculty to discuss career paths, the transition from student to postdoctoral and other roles, and from the postdoctoral role to faculty and other more permanent positions. These informal groups will also cover other general topics such as career-personal life balances, alternative career options, etc. These meetings will be scheduled based on the desires of each group, probably bimonthly, either late afternoon, for lunch, etc.

    Evaluations. The department will perform an anonymous annual survey of faculty and trainees participating in the program, as well as from faculty overall, to identify any problems arising. The Chair will seek feedback and advice from the Chair’s Advisory Committee to make improvements as needed. Formal supervisors will be asked to contact the Chair or Graduate Program Director if they feel uncomfortable with their trainees participating in the junior faculty support program.

    Participating Faculty:

    Alison Coady: MRB 3.142D; Phone: 409-772-4917

    Jason Comer: GNL 6.200T; Phone: 409-266-6915

    Maureen Laroche: Office GNL 5.200U, Phone number 409-266-6911

    Yuejin Liang: MRB 3.130; Phone number: 409-772-4911

    Ken Plante: Keiller 3.146B ; Phone : 409-747-2431

    Parimal Samir: MRB 7.138E; Phone:409-772-4921

    Wenjing Yan: Office: 4.126; Phone number: 409-354-4600

    Matthieu Gagnon: MRB 4.104C; Office Ph. 409-772-2326; Cell Ph. 203-892-4452