The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has named its next Dean of the School of Health Professions. David L. Vines, PhD, RRT, FAARC, FCCP, will serve as Senior Vice President and Dean, holding the Catherine L. Scholl, MD Distinguished Chair in Health Professions, effective Jan. 20, 2026.

As we bid farewell to the past year and embrace the dawn of a new one, I am filled with gratitude and optimism. The journey we've collectively undertaken at the School of Health Professions has been marked by resilience, dedication, and a shared commitment to advancing healthcare education, research, and service.

The SHP Respiratory Care Masters students and faculty travelled to the Texas Society for Respiratory Care annual meeting in Waco, Texas the week of July 6-9. The students had a team that won third place in the student knowledge competition (Sputum Bowl).

Congratulations to the UTMB SHP Department of Respiratory Care for receiving the American Association for Respiratory Care Apex Recognition Award. This award is given to departments that are committed to excellence in professional development, evidence-based care, patient safety, and quality improvement.

The Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) recently recognized Dr. David Brown, Senior Vice President and Dean of the School of Health Professions as a Fellows Program Award recipient on October 19, 2022 during their ASAHP’s annual conference held in Southern California.

The UTMB One Health Research and Training Program team is hosting the first annual One Health Symposium taking place on December 1, 2022 in the UTMB Health Educational Center (Room 3.200) between 9:00 am through 1:30 pm. The symposium's event theme, "From Bench to Bedside: How One Health is Already Part of Your World" is open for UTMB students and faculty. Sponsors include the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and UTMB’s Office of the Vice President of Research.

UTMB's Rehabilitation Sciences former PhD student Bill Amonette was recently interviewed for his collaboration with the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL). Amonette started the Health and Human Performance Institute (HHPI) at UHCL to help patients with traumatic brain injuries continue rehabilitation after the insurance company stops paying. To quote the article, "at HHPI, there’s no deadline, no insurance, or copays. Just progress."

The COVID-19 pandemic has been unable to slow down students and alumni of the School of Health Professions as they have been very active in 2021. While the following is a small list of acknowledgement of their accomplishments within the past year, the School of Health Professions would like to thank each and every person who has been instrumental in the continuation of student success, innovative education, high impact research and quality clinical experiences that provide healthcare professionals the ability to advance the future of healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been unable to slow down faculty and staff members of the School of Health Professions as they have been very active in 2021. While the following is a small list of acknowledgement of their accomplishments within the past year, the School of Health Professions would like to thank each and every person who has been instrumental in the continuation of student success, innovative education, high impact research and quality clinical experiences that provide healthcare professionals the ability to advance the future of healthcare.

The systematic review of students and faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) on Dry Needling in OT Practice was featured in February 2021 by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) work. Led and mentored by OT faculty Drs. Claudia Hilton and April Cowan, students Rachel Bynum, Olivia Garcia, Emily Herbst, Mary Kossa and Katrina Liou completed the the systematic review as part of the requirements for their research courses.

On Saturday May 15, 2021, Texas A&M University at Galveston handed off its first undergraduate student to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Chris Prevost ‘21 co-enrolled in both institutions during his senior year and was the first student to complete a minor in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS).

The Department of Respiratory Care in the School of Health Professions has received approval from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) for a change in degree awarded from a Bachelor’s degree to a Master of Science degree in Respiratory Care.

The School of Health Professions and Dean Brown are honored to announce that Drs. Carolyn Utsey, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and Kenneth Ottenbacher, chair of the Division of Rehabilitation Sciences have decided to retire after over 30 and 25 years of exceptional contributions to UTMB.

The Department of Physical Therapy is excited to announce that they have been granted approval to add a new Hybrid DPT program to our Accredited programs by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

With our deepest appreciation we are announcing that Vicki Freeman, PhD, MASCP, MLS (ASCP)cm SCcm, FAACC has stepped down as Chair of the Clinical Laboratory Sciences Department effective August 31, 2020.

The University of Texas System Board of Regents named Dr. Patricia Fingerhut as a 2020 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award recipient. Dr. Fingerhut was honored with the prestigious award in the form of a medallion and certificate along with mention on the UT System web site and statewide media.

The Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences in the UTMB School of Health Professions has been awarded a $3,250,000.00 grant from The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) from 2020 to 2025 for students pursuing a degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences.

With the rapid escalation of the COVID-19 in our region and for the health and safety of all, the UTMB School of Health Professions decided to go virtual in 2020. The SHP Causeway FunD Run/Walk (5K) event is now a virtual race where you can walk, jog, run your 5K or 1K anywhere, anytime!