UTMB News

  • A mom cooking on the stove with a dad and two children in the kitchen

    Cooking Safety for all

    Cooking is the number one cause of home fires. Have a plan before you turn on the heat.

  • A Vaccine for Birth Control?

    In its ideal form, a contraceptive vaccine could prevent pregnancy without the messy side effects of some hormonal birth control. Deploying the vaccine primarily in under-resourced populations could also raise the specter of the eradication of fertility in society’s most vulnerable subsects. Dr. Lisa Campo-Engelstein, a reproductive bioethicist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, worries that even the vaccine’s ease of administration—an ostensible benefit—could be viewed as a downside: Administering a shot without a patient’s full understanding or consent is easier than coercively inserting an IUD or forcing a daily pill.

  • Thanks to experience and dedication, IMGs could address physician shortage

    Dr. Moe Ameri, MD, MSc, a second-year resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said that international medical graduates make up about 25 percent of the U.S. health care work force, with many “going into primary care physician jobs,” including in underserved areas. “I think that IMGs tend to be tenacious in nature and have the ability to survive in underserved areas that might be lacking resources,” he said. “Their impact can be profound in addressing that shortage.”

  • I lived with a tremor disorder for decades

    Reba Smith-Weede described her experience as a patient of Dr. Patrick Karas, a neurosurgeon at UTMB, and her deep brain stimulation treatment for essential tremors. “I wish I hadn't waited so long to get help, but I'm grateful each and every day for the miracle of deep brain stimulation.”

  • Rush University administrator named finalist for UTMB president

    The University of Texas Board of Regents named a Rush University Medical Center physician as the sole finalist for the open job as the president of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Jochen Reiser, the chairperson in the department of medicine at the Chicago-based teaching hospital, was selected as the finalist for the open position in Galveston. Reiser is known for research on kidney disease, with a focus on molecular biology and genetics, according to his profile on the university’s website. He has also directed a National Institutes of Health-funded research laboratory on investigation into the kidney.

  • Learning to do handstands at age 30 healed my relationship to exercise after a lifetime of resenting it

    It turns out that being active can actually be fun. With the right approach, it can feel less like work, and more like play. “There's an opportunity to make something playful because play isn't its own thing that exists,” said Dr. Elizabeth Lyons, of the University of Texas Medical Branch. “Play is basically an attitude towards everything or anything that happens.”

  • Guest commentary: Join us in honoring UTMB's residents and fellows

    “If you visit our clinics or hospitals, you will likely encounter a resident or fellow,” wrote Dr. Thomas A. Blackwell, associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and a professor of General Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “Please remember their hard work and dedication to helping you have the best health outcome possible.”

  • image of female UTMB Health patient wearing all black and standing by "Greetings from Kemah" sign

    Deep Brain Stimulation changes life for woman with tremors

    Reba Smith-Weeden has a condition called essential tremor that prevented her from carving the Thanksgiving turkey or enjoying a cup of coffee. But thanks to the UTMB Health Neurosciences team and Deep Brain Stimulation the shaking has stopped.

  • ‘Walk to Save Black Men’s Lives’ pics and testimonials

    “At the end of the day, it’s important to have people who look like you, who have a similar experience to you kind of advocating for you,” said Chinedu Onwudebee, Student National Medical Association, UTMB Galveston.

  • Red states pressured on gun violence

    “It’s no surprise that politicians sort of blame mental illness,” said Dr. Jeff Temple, director of the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. “It’s a safe way to address the gun problem without talking about the real culprit.”

  • Why an outbreak of Ebola’s lethal cousin could help us test a new vaccine

    There are several reasons why we haven’t yet come up with an approved vaccine for Marburg, said Dr. Robert Cross, a virologist at Galveston National Laboratory. One of the most salient is that “there really have not been that many outbreaks,” Cross said. “However, as we all know, when these outbreaks occur, they come with extremely dire outcomes, often with many dead.” It’s a blessing and a curse for public health researchers that Marburg outbreaks have historically been few and far in between, as a vaccine can’t be tested if people are never infected.

  • Tranexamic acid may not prevent hemorrhage after C-section

    “The bottom line of the studies is that tranexamic acid does not decrease the risk or the necessity to receive blood products,” said Dr. Luis Pacheco of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. “So as of now, our conclusion is that there is not enough data to recommend the use of tranexamic acid to prevent obstetrical hemorrhage, because it does not translate into clinically significant improvements.”

  • Why 9 is not too young for the HPV vaccine

    Dr. Ana Rodriguez, an obstetrician, became interested in raising rates of vaccination against HPV after watching too many women battle a preventable cancer. She worked for several years in the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S. border with Mexico, an impoverished rural area with poor access to healthcare and high rates of HPV infection. “I would treat women very young — not even 30 years of age — already fighting advanced precancerous lesions secondary to HPV,” said Rodriguez, an associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

  • 4 common myths about Narcan, the ‘antidote’ to opioid overdose

    A common objection to expanding naloxone access is that it acts as a safety net for people with addiction to continue their drug habits with few repercussions. But Dr. Kathryn Cunningham, director of the Center of Addiction Research at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said research has shown no evidence that naloxone leads to more drug use. Naloxone may actually convince people to find professional help because it gives them more opportunities to seek treatment and rehabilitation later in life. “You can’t seek medical services if you’re dead,” Cunningham said.

  • The wealth of your neighborhood can affect your chances of surviving a heart attack, study shows

    Your chances of surviving a heart attack and of receiving life-saving treatment are better if you’re from a wealthy neighborhood, according to a new study in JAMA that shows mortality rates are 10 to 20 percent higher among patients in low-income areas than those with a high-income postal code. “In virtually all high-income countries, patients who reside in poor neighborhoods are less likely to receive recommended … heart attack treatments and are more likely to die than their compatriots or peers who live in wealthier neighborhoods in the same country,” said senior author Peter Cram, an adjunct scientist at ICES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) and professor of medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The Toronto Star also covered this story.

  • 6 signs you’ve got a toxic mentor

    The most important thing is to listen to and believe in yourself, says Dr. Jeff Temple, a licensed psychologist and the founding director of the Center for Violence Prevention at University of Texas Medical Branch. “If you feel drained or self-doubting or just plain gross after most interactions with your mentor, then that’s a pretty good sign that you’re in a toxic relationship,” he says. “Mentors should acknowledge the accomplishments of, and encourage, their mentees to do good work. If instead, your mentor is taking credit for, or denigrating, your work, then it may be time to question the relationship.”

  • Meet Ann and Dan: UTMB Angleton-Danbury welcomes robotic nursing assistants to hospital

    The hospital recently introduced the medical-focused robots created by Diligent Robots named Ann and Dan— a play on Angleton Danbury — to its nursing staff. It is the first facility in southern Texas to have Moxi Robots, hospital officials said. “These robots are not just convenient. They are necessary,” said Dr. Beth Reimschissel, UTMB Health Angleton Danbury administrator. “Nurses love it. When we did our time-in-motion study, I think we counted over 300 times they were leaving their patients to do a task that takes no talent. If you ask any nurse or doctor, they do want more time with their patient and the patient wants more time with them.”

  • Child holding tummy

    Are tummy aches a sign of IBS? How to find out

    Just as in adults, IBS symptoms for children include repeated pain in your abdomen and changes in your bowel movements that could cause diarrhea or constipation—or both. What’s tricky for parents is that your child could have these without any visible signs.

  • graphic of clock, pink illustration of uterus and fallopian tubes and pink stethoscope with the word menopause written on a sheet of paper

    Menopause, hysterectomies and more

    From mood swings to body composition, hormones impact a lot of things as women age, and Dr. Lucy Villarreal helps explain the science behind it all.

  • A five foot tall white robot in a hospital hallway

    UTMB Deploys Robots to Support Hospital Staff

    The University of Texas Medical Branch welcomed some new staff members at the Angleton Danbury campus this week: two nearly life-sized robots programmed to support the human staff and free up nurses from certain tasks to allow them more time to spend with patients.