"The best thing you can do if you’re concerned about getting dementia is twofold. Number one, follow the food rules. Try to cut out high-sugar, highly processed foods [think: pastries, desserts, sweetened drinks] that are known to be inflammatory and can negatively affect the body and the brain”, Dr. Samuel Mathis shares tips to protect your brain health and things people can do to lower risk of dementia if it runs in their family.

While SARS-CoV-2 gets all the headlines, there are other coronaviruses circulating in humans that do not cause great harm and that could be a hopeful glimpse of the future of COVID-19. UTMB’s Dr. Gregory Gray tells Science that humanity is under constant siege from viruses. “I think there are certainly other animal coronaviruses circulating that are challenging human immune systems,” Gray said.

UTMB’s Dr. Joan Richardson was featured in a Becker’s article on workforce trends. Richardson said she was most concerned about the decreasing numbers of pediatric subspecialist. Richardson was also featured in a Becker’s article on payer behavior.

Dr. Elizabeth M. Vaughan helps the Diabetes Discoveries & Practice Blog explains who community health workers are, how they are trained, and how health care professionals can successfully integrate CHWs into diabetes care. “I often call them “the bridge”—the bridge to help people get the health and social services they need,” Vaughan said.

Vaccine Smarts writers Dr. Megan Berman and Dr. Richard Rupp share twelve tips to help children, and their parents, deal with vaccinations. Their tips include explaining the purpose of vaccines in a simple and positive manner, reading children’s books where the characters get their vaccines, and bringing items to distract your child during the vaccination, among others.

In their latest Medical Discovery News column, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel explore the latest gene therapy for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, a neuromuscular genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the Dystrophin gene.

Dr. Melvyn Schreiber, one of the first radiology residents at UTMB and longtime faculty member and leader at the university, announced his retirement in December. “It’s really been a privilege to work here and to do the work I’ve done,” Schreiber told the Daily News. “I think I’ve had a positive impact on the people around me and on society in general. And that pleases me.”

Jerry A. Mansfield accepted the position of vice president and chief nursing executive and will begin work on Feb. 1.