UTMB News

The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing will launch a nursing certificate program in January that aims to improve care for patients in rural areas where there are not enough professionals to care for these communities. “For telehealth to be a widely adopted solution across Texas, providers need resources, education and support to eliminate barriers and successfully implement telehealth tools into modern health care practice,” said Dr. Kristen Starnes-Ott, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor at UTMB School of Nursing.

For about three years, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol has been working toward a leadership program. Partnering with the Occupational Therapy team from the University of Texas Medical Branch, its leadership committee modified an existing program that was based on a program generated from a Navy SEAL team.

The Novavax vaccine is an excellent option for unvaccinated individuals hesitant or unable to receive the mRNA vaccines. Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp explain why in this Vaccine Smarts column.

Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel summarize Florence Bell’s biography in this Medical News Discovery column.

“Studies have shown that both giving and receiving forgiveness can improve blood pressure, decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety, improved mental resilience and even improve our immune system and how we respond to illness,” writes Dr. Samuel Mathis

The Austin television station reported researchers at UTMB developed a COVID-19 vaccine delivered through the nose. It can add extra protection against COVID-19 since it can “effectively” kill the virus where it enters the body— the respiratory tract. The vaccine can be delivered in a nasal spray. Researchers found the new vaccine is stable, but they need to do further animal and human trials. “These efforts are underway and crucial since more than 10 billion doses of vaccines are needed across the globe, particularly in middle- to low-income countries, where the affordability of the current vaccines is a big concern,” said Dr. Ashok Chopra, UTMB microbiologist and co-author of the study. World Pharma News reported this news as well, and i45now interviewed Dr. Chopra about this second-generation vaccine.

Dr. Jeff R. Temple, from the University of Texas Medical Branch Health at Galveston, and colleagues assessed whether COVID-19-induced financial impact, stress, loneliness, and isolation were related to perceived changes in adolescent mental health and substance use. Dr. Temple also appeared on KHOU’s Sunday morning news program July 24 to discuss this research.

Scott Weaver, director of science at Galveston National Laboratory, told The Paper that he believes a Nature study more formally confirms what many virologists intuitively suspected: that climate change will redistribute many habitats for zoonotic virus hosts, promoting the risk of virus cross-species transmission. In addition, the concentration of less diverse animal populations in smaller areas may facilitate zoonotic outbreaks, which would increase the risk of epidemics spreading to humans. However, Weaver also said that it is difficult to pinpoint climate change as “conclusive evidence” of known cross-species shifts, as several other important factors are involved, such as deforestation and land use. “We need better monitoring of viruses and their hosts to identify projected changes in virus distribution before we can directly determine the direct impact of climate change on humans,” he said.

The Brazoria County newspaper reported that the U.S. cases of monkeypox appear to be transmitted more along sexual network pathways, quoting UTMB Biocontainment Care Unit Medical Director Dr. Susan L.F. McLellan. “That is one way it can be transmitted and the most common in the current outbreak,” she said. “It can be transmitted through other means, such as skin-to-skin between people who have contact with someone with a lesion and someone without. It is commonly spread through networks where individuals are having high-frequency sexual encounters with new partners.” Dr. McLellan also joined the July 26 Town Square program on Houston Public Media to answer questions about monkeypox.

George Sealy, an island native from one of Galveston’s most distinguished families and a longtime member of the Sealy & Smith Foundation board, died July 23. “George Sealy will long be remembered for his visionary advocacy and support for UTMB’s mission,” said Dr. Ben Raimer, medical branch president. “And, for everyone who was fortunate enough to meet him personally, George’s wisdom and legendary sense of humor will be greatly missed.”

“Of the thousands of medical articles published annually, of most interest to those of us in primary care are the ones that have an impact on how we practice,” wrote Dr. Victor S. Sierpina in his column. “These are the studies that show how to improve patient outcomes in morbidity and mortality, reduce risk, improve safety and lower costs.” And he lists some top studies.

The current COVID-19 variants are more transmissible than ever, leading to a higher rate of infection throughout the country and increased risk associated with most activities. “The current variants, which are BA.4 and BA.5, constitute for about 82% of our current variants within our health system,” Dr. Janak Patel, director of the Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, told HuffPost.

We are in the midst of another COVID-19 wave driven by the highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which have a mutation in the spike protein of the coronavirus that causes these variants to more easily attach to (and infect) people. “Even small quantities of the virus floating around could infect you if you are not wearing a mask,” said Dr. Janak Patel, director of the Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, adding that this could be the case for certain outdoor settings, too — a situation that was generally considered OK for the past two-plus years of the pandemic.

With monkeypox spreading globally, many experts believe the virus can’t be contained STAT, July 19, 2022 It has been a mere nine weeks since the United Kingdom announced it had detected four cases of monkeypox, a virus endemic only in West and Central Africa. In that time, the number of cases has mushroomed to nearly 13,000 in over 60 countries throughout Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, new parts of Africa, South Asia, and Australia. The growth in cases and the geographic spread has been rapid and relentless. Now, even as global health officials race to curb spread of the virus, most experts polled by STAT said they don’t believe it will be possible to contain it. “I think we missed that train at this point,” said Gary Kobinger, director of the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch and a member of an expert committee that advises the World Health Organization’s Emergencies Program. Kobinger also discussed monkeypox on the The Dave Glover Show on KMOX radio in St. Louis, Missouri.

New research from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston shows that while lockdowns early in the pandemic were necessary to prevent the spread of the virus, keeping young people out of schools put an unprecedented mental health strain on this generation. “The lockdowns, while necessary, kept teens and children away from the developmental milestones that we expect at that age: developing autonomy away from your parents, making mistakes, all those normal things that are supposed to happen around that age was interrupted,” said Dr. Jeff Temple, vice dean for research at UTMB’s School of Nursing and the director of the Center for Violence Prevention. “This was all a perfect storm that we’re going to see dramatic effects for a generation to come.” ABC 13 Houston also reported on this study with reporter Nick Natario’s interview with Temple.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have achieved success with a new vaccine developed to fight Lassa Virus, a pathogen that causes Lassa fever. Lassa fever is lethal in humans and nonhuman primates with a mortality rate as high as 70% in hospitalized cases. “Different countries have different lineages of Lassa virus, and a fast-acting vaccine that can prevent the disease is a major goal when dealing with an outbreak,” said Dr. Robert Cross, one of the lead researchers. “Several vaccine candidates to treat Lassa have been under development since 2005, but most require multiple injections and can take up to four weeks to become effective. There are no vaccines currently licensed for the prevention of Lassa fever."