Thanks to a $56 million grant, the University of Texas Medical Branch and global health care company Novartis will enhance their work together to discover drugs to fight off the next pandemic. The grant comes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is one of nine such grants awarded by NIAID to establish Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern. “We must prepare for the next pandemic by working together across governmental, non-governmental, academic and private sectors to develop an arsenal of countermeasures,” said Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and VP for Research Innovation at UTMB and one of the leaders of the partnership. Many national and international sites also posted this news, including Pharmabiz, Medical News and Study Finds.

Haley Hernandez discovered that Dr. Trine Engebretsen, a transplant surgeon at UTMB, is also a liver recipient. “This whole miracle of transplant is made possible because of donor families and the decisions they make in a very tragic time,” Engebretsen said. She suggests having the conversation about organ donation with your family now instead of leaving them with that decision in the event of an untimely death.

Dr. Jeff Temple, psychologist and director of the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, discussed the recent mass shooting on the Houston Public Media program.

To coincide with National Nurses Week, the medical branch’s League City campus opened a “Zen room” Thursday to allow employees to unwind and unload their burnout and stress. “The overall goal of the Zen den was to create a dedicated space for clinical staff to go relax, recharge and to help reduce symptoms of burnout that are caused by the daily work they do,” said Christine Wade, hospital administrator.

International news outlets, including this one in Nigeria, continue to report on a comparative study published May 4 in The BMJ. Dr. Peter Cram, professor and chair of internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Center at Galveston, is one of the authors. Infectious Disease Advisor also reported on this study.

Dr. Elena Volpi, director of the UTMB Sealy Center on Aging, wrote about researchers seeking volunteers who are women, 65 years and older and who recently have broken a hip and had surgical repair.

This feeling often is attributed to the release of endorphins, natural painkillers released by the body that are thought to create a general feeling of well-being. This is probably a myth though because endorphins cannot cross into the brain. Read more about it in Medical Discovery News.

Drs. Victor S. Sierpina and Michelle Sierpina encourage us to get our toes in the sand soon. “It should be no surprise that we benefit cognitively and psychologically from time away from daily stress,” they wrote in their column. See you on the beach.

American medical facilities typically have access to the latest healthcare technology and generally boast low readmission rates among heart attack patients. New research reports that America’s one-year heart attack death rate is one of the highest among studied high-income nations. Dr. Peter Cram, professor and chair of internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Center at Galveston, was one of the research collaborators. “From a U.S. perspective, our heart attack care is good, but the one-year mortality rate is concerning,” Cram said. “If dying is one of the things we want to prevent, then we have work to do.” News Medical, All Health Books, World Health and Medical Economics also reported on this comparative studied published in The BMJ.

The Texas Department of State Health Services recently recognized the University of Texas Medical Branch’s League City campus as a Level III trauma facility. “Our hospital continues to provide higher levels of care as it continues to grow,” administrator Christine Wade said. “We are proud to be the first trauma center to serve League City.”