Established in 1891 as the University of Texas Medical Department, UTMB was the nation's first public medical school and hospital under unified leadership. It began with one building, 23 students and 13 faculty members, and has evolved into a modern academic health science center with multiple campus locations and almost 1,000 faculty members educating approximately 3,500 students.

Since the beginning, UTMB has been at the forefront of medical research, with researchers studying the viruses common to a sub-tropical island climate. Today, our world-renowned investigators generate a portfolio exceeding $160 million, and work in state-of-the-art laboratories developing diagnostic tools, cures and vaccines to benefit the global community.

UTMB is home to the Galveston National Laboratory, a high containment research facility with BSL3 and BSL4 laboratories where emerging infectious diseases can be safely studied and medical countermeasures (diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics) are developed in collaboration with national and international partners.

As members of the Gulf Coast Consortia, the Texas Medical Center and through our Clinical and Translational Science Award program, UTMB regularly collaborates with regional, national and international teams to advance health science.