The University of Texas Medical Branch announced today that Desolyn Foy will join the university on Nov. 2, 2020, as vice president, Audit Services. Most recently, Foy was vice president, Advanced Analytics and Continuous Control Monitoring for Harris Health System.

Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered SARS-CoV-2 proteins that suppress the body's immune response, thereby enabling infection and transmission of the disease. The findings, recently published in the major research journal, Cell Reports, are paramount to understanding the biology of Covid-19 and to developing new vaccines against the disease.

Learn more about why screening mammography is important for early detection of breast cancer and how it increases survivability with Dr. Angelica Robinson.

The University of Texas Medical Branch has been awarded a two-year, $1.4 million grant focused on helping reduce teen pregnancies. Nearly a quarter of a million babies are born to adolescent females each year. The principal investigator of the study, Dr. Jeff Temple, says the “impacts of teen pregnancy are substantial and persist across the lifespan.”

UTMB’s Vineet Menachery was named one of the 50 people to follow during a pandemic by Elemental, a health and science publication by Medium. Menachery leads one of the few labs in the country that was studying coronaviruses before the pandemic began.

“We’ve all learned the hard way that every time there is an emergence, that triggers some sort of disorganized scramble,” UTMB's Nikos Vasilakis tells WIRED. UTMB is part of a new network to detect and respond when pathogens jump from wildlife to humans.

A roundup of news briefs in the Houston Chronicle included a mention of UTMB’s Tammy Cupit and the university’s effort to share self-care tips with employees. “Monitor your stress levels and pace yourself,” Cupit says in the piece. The story also links back to UTMB’s RISE Task Force website.

UTMB’s Shawn Nishi was asked to comment on a study on nighttime use of oxygen use in patients with COPD. This news was also reported in MDedge and The Hospitalist.

UTMB’s Susan McLellan was on Houston Public Media’s (KUHF NPR Houston) Town Square program to talk about dating and human interaction in the time of covid-19.