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 UTMB News

  • image of "I Matched" Celebratory yard signs in green grass in front of "red" historical building and palm trees on the GAlveston Campus

    From masks to Match Day

    The medical school class that started during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic are preparing for the next chapter - and a big celebration - with this year's Match Day.

  • graphic image with white stethoscope icon that has it's cord shaped into a heart. a headshot of a female physician with long, black hair is included in a round frame

    Meet UTMB Health's newest pediatric surgeon, Dr. Carmen Mora

    When a child undergoes surgery, what happens in the OR can potentially influence the trajectory of the child’s entire future. UTMB Health pediatric surgeon Dr. Maria Carmen Mora does not take for granted the weight of that privilege and responsibility.

  • Diet soda is not a replacement for water

    While the marketing departments of big soda companies would like us to think diet soda is healthy, the research seems to indicate otherwise. Dr. Samuel Mathis reviews the health benefits and risks of drinking diet soda in this column.

  • PFA ablation team holding up a congratulations sign for the 1st case with Farapulse

    UTMB debuts new heart ablation technology

    UTMB Health’s Clear Lake Campus Hospital is one of 10 locations in the United States to launch a new heart ablation procedure that provides a host of advantages over existing techniques used to treat atrial fibrillation and other electrophysiological issues.

  • Detecting Breast Cancer Early Can Save Lives. A New Biotech Lab Test May Help

    In the mid-2000s, Dr. Suszanne Klimberg, currently Chief of Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, noticed that many of her patients from rural areas came in with late-stage breast cancer. It turned out that they have had no access to breast screening, where they lived. This motivated Dr. Klimberg to search for a simple screening method to be used at primary care level to detect the disease at an early stage, and this is how the idea of development of an easily deployed lab test to screen for breast cancer was born.

  • Civil War Iodine

    Today, iodine is on the World Health Organization list of essential medicines. Iodine is still added to common table salt to prevent goiters. In this episode of Medical Discovery News, Dr. Norbert Herzog and Dr. David Niesel trace back the origins of iodine treatment, from a Civil War battlefield.

  • A closer look at memory in children

    A three-year-old will ask many “why” questions about their surroundings. While the questions might be difficult such as why the sky is blue the answers can be as simple as “I’m not sure. Let’s look it up?” Dr. Sally Robinson discusses how to strengthen memory abilities with children in this week’s column.

  • Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development Reaches Next Phase Driving Diversity in Clinical Trials in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas

    University of Texas Medical Branch and Texas Southern University are partners in a national effort to increase diversity and inclusion of underserved communities in clinic trials. Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED), led by Yale School of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Coordinating Center (RCMI) at Morehouse School of Medicine, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is a partnership bringing clinical trial sites closer to the community to further equity and access for diverse populations.

  • headshot image of utmb cardiologist dr. danielle el haddad alongside a headshot of meagan clanahan from houston moms, both featured in round frames above a standard play button on a dark teal background

    Heart health during & after pregnancy: What women need to know

    Cardiologist Dr. Danielle El Haddad is at the helm of UTMB Health's new cardio-obstetrics program. In this interview she shares more about the program's history, who may qualify for this care and why it's important.

  • Institutional Ethics Committees Move Too Slowly, Critics Say

    All human research is reviewed by an IRB — researchers submit proposals detailing the purpose of the investigation, the procedures, the risks and benefits, consent forms, and more. The committee decides whether or not the proposal is acceptable and may ask for revisions, which can take weeks or months depending on how often a given IRB convenes. “If I’m doing a project on something related to reproductive technology in Texas, versus Massachusetts, they might be really different considerations,” said Emma Tumilty, a bioethicist at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

  • Water is life

    We generally think of good health in terms of diet, exercise, sleep and mental attitude. We also need to consider as fundamental the amount of water that we drink. Dr. Victor S. Sierpina writes about importance of drinking enough water and why it might be better to have a glass of water before your morning coffee.

  • AI generated image of a woman with curly hair holding her hands in front of her in a heart shape

    What Women Need to Know About Heart Disease

    The UTMB Cardiology team is committed to combating heart disease, which remains the number-one killer in women ahead of all cancers combined – including breast and ovarian cancers. To increase awareness, Cardiology lead Dr. Hani Jneid and three female clinicians shared their insights on the matter.

  • Acupuncture has areas of great benefit

    Research has shown that acupuncture may be beneficial for a number of pain conditions, writes Dr. Hasan Yasin in a column for the GCDN. Yasin suggested patients speak to their doctor about alternative or complementary treatments.

  • Calcineurin inhibitors and reduced incidence of dementia

    A neuroscientist and transplant surgeon at UTMB stumbled upon the realization that transplant patients exhibited a low frequency of dementia, write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their latest Medical Discovery News column. The discovery could have huge implications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and dementia, they write.

  • Should the CDC cut the 5-day COVID-19 isolation guidelines? Experts weigh in.

    UTMB’s Dr. Janak Patel spoke to CBS News about the CDC’s potential elimination of isolation requirements after testing positive for COVID-19. "We have to be very cautious that perhaps another variant that escapes our immunity completely may emerge and may require different precautions," Patel says. "Once we make policy in this forward manner, if we had to have a situation where we would need more caution, it will be very hard to go back to more prolonged isolation."