Academic Enterprise Announcements

Melissa (Missy) Morrow, PhD, has been appointed Director of the Sealy Center on Aging at The University of Texas Medical Branch. A distinguished scientist, mentor, and leader in the field of rehabilitation research, Dr. Morrow brings a wealth of expertise to her new role.

Salim Hayek, MD, has been named Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine in the John Sealy School of Medicine, effective July 1. As a board-certified cardiologist, NIH-funded physician-scientist, and nationally recognized leader in academic medicine, Dr. Hayek brings to this position a remarkable blend of clinical insight, research excellence, and operational leadership.

The Center for Correctional Health (CCH), a new university-level initiative led by Olugbenga B. Ojo, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM, CCHP, CCHP-CP, from the Department of Internal Medicine and the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Physician Executive for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Hospital Galveston. The CCH will allow UTMB to build on our unique knowledge and experience and play a vital role in improving the delivery of care to this important and vulnerable population.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center at UTMB is a transformative step in our institution’s commitment to innovation, health system excellence, and patient-centered care. As an academic medical center, UTMB has both the opportunity and the responsibility to shape the future of AI in medicine. The AI Center will serve as the institutional platform to meet this responsibility with integrity, scientific rigor, and vision.

Matthew Hutter, MD, MPH, MBA, will join UTMB as Chair of the Department of Surgery in the John Sealy School of Medicine this September. Dr. Hutter is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in the quality movement in surgery and in the field of metabolic and bariatric surgery.

Richard (Rick) Pyles, PhD, and Shikha Wadhwani, MD, MS, FASN, have been appointed as Assistant Research Officers. Dr. Pyles will serve as the inaugural Assistant Research Officer for Research Development and Administration. Dr. Wadhwani will serve as the inaugural Assistant Research Officer for Clinical Research.

The Center for Health and Clinical Outcomes Research (H-COR) is a new university-level initiative led by Neil K. Mehta, PhD, from the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public and Population Health. H-COR aspires to become a nationally recognized leader in health and clinical outcomes research by leveraging UTMB’s exceptional data infrastructure and multidisciplinary strengths.

We thank Scott C. Weaver, PhD, for his strong leadership of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (M&I) since 2015. A renowned researcher whose contributions are reflected by an impressive record of grant support, publications, and patents, Dr. Weaver has helped elevate the department to a world-class entity in the fight against infectious diseases.

Janice Jones Endsley, PhD, has been named the next Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, effective March 1, 2025. An accomplished microbiologist, educator, and academic leader, Dr. Endsley has been an asset to the department for nearly two decades. She has the vision and experience necessary to lead its next chapter.

We are excited to share that Alan Landay, PhD, has joined UTMB as Vice President of Team Science, effective Feb. 1. He will bring research and clinical experts together to create collaborations at UTMB and with institutions across the region, state, and world.

We are very excited to welcome Vineet Gupta, PhD, as UTMB’s inaugural Vice President for Innovation, Technology Development and Transfer. Dr. Gupta joined us Dec. 1. In this role, he is positioned to elevate UTMB’s fourth mission area, innovation.

The Office of the Vice President for Research announces the new Office of Strategic Research Development, a centralized institutional office that provides support for proposal development to further enhance UTMB's research enterprise.