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 UTMB News

  • close up of a COVID-19 spike

    'Immunity passport' might be our ticket back to normal

    The fantastic news about the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines has led many to ask when things will return to normal.

  • man holding lower pain with pain

    Spinal Stenosis: Is an Operation Worth Considering?

    Spinal stenosis, a very common neurosurgical condition, can be associated with spondylosis, ligamentous hypertrophy, and disc osteophyte complexes. Stenosis often presents as myelopathy (compression on the spinal cord) or radiculopathy (compression on the nerve root).

  • woman holding heart

    Treatment for Overactive Bladder Patients

    Overactive bladder (OAB) affects almost 50 percent of women in the United States, presenting as urinary urgency and frequency, with or without urinary leakage.

  • New Study Links Increased Risk of Cancer to Proximity to Oil Refineries

    A team of physicians, environmental scientists, and students at the University of Texas Medical Branch have completed a multi-year study of cancer rates among individuals living in close proximity to oil refineries and have found statistically significant increases in several cancers among those living nearest to these facilities.

  • close up of a COVID-19 spike

    Volunteers to purposefully get COVID-19 to help you

    It may seem crazy, but in some clinical trials volunteers are purposely infected with diseases like the flu, cholera and malaria. These types of trials are referred to as challenge studies.

  • UTMB to terminate Aetna contract

    The University of Texas Medical Branch is terminating its commercial contract with Aetna because the insurance company does not pay UTMB at a competitive rate. UTMB has sent a letter of termination to Aetna that calls for termination of the contract effective May 6, 2021.

  • Wide Awake Hand Surgery

    You may not think of hand surgery as a procedure done with the patient awake, alert, and feeling comfortable, but medical and technological innovations have made this type of surgery a preferred option for many common hand conditions.

  • confident middle aged man

    A Closer Look at Men's Health

    Men’s health has been a trending topic in popular culture recently, often referring to lifestyle, dieting and a picture of man with six-pack abs on a magazine cover. As a urologist who specializes in men’s health, however, I see a bigger picture.

  • Yes, you should get the flu vaccine annually

    The current flu vaccines aren’t similar to the swine flu vaccine of 1976; you should absolutely get your flu vaccine (and this cannot be emphasized enough with the current pandemic); and the best vaccine for you depends on your age.

  • UTMB study shows spike mutation in COVID-19

    A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has shown a dominant mutation D614G of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhances viral replication in the upper respiratory airway, which may contribute to the increased transmission of COVID-19. This finding is important in understanding the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 as well as in the development of vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. The study is currently available in Nature.

  • Dr. Suresh Bhavnani banner

    Data science driven by a family need

    Dr. Suresh Bhavnani, a biomedical informatics researcher, was used to dealing with detailed medical data and spreadsheets full of numbers and complex statistics. However, when his mother fractured her hip, the anonymous numbers suddenly became personal.

  • Foy to join UTMB as VP, Audit Services

    The University of Texas Medical Branch announced today that Desolyn Foy will join the university on Nov. 2, 2020, as vice president, Audit Services. Most recently, Foy was vice president, Advanced Analytics and Continuous Control Monitoring for Harris Health System.

  • Biological markers graphic

    Biological markers may let doctors know who gets sicker from COVID-19

    For some, COVID-19 can come and go leaving no trace and no symptoms. For others, the disease responsible for the worldwide pandemic can lead to a range of painful symptoms, a trip to an intensive care unit, and even death. How to tell who will be spared and who will be hard hit?

  • UTMB researchers identify proteins that block immune response to COVID-19

    Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered SARS-CoV-2 proteins that suppress the body's immune response, thereby enabling infection and transmission of the disease. The findings, recently published in the major research journal, Cell Reports, are paramount to understanding the biology of Covid-19 and to developing new vaccines against the disease.

  • Breast Health and Screening Mammography

    Learn more about why screening mammography is important for early detection of breast cancer and how it increases survivability with Dr. Angelica Robinson.

  • UTMB awarded $1.4 million to help reduce teen pregnancies

    The University of Texas Medical Branch has been awarded a two-year, $1.4 million grant focused on helping reduce teen pregnancies. Nearly a quarter of a million babies are born to adolescent females each year. The principal investigator of the study, Dr. Jeff Temple, says the “impacts of teen pregnancy are substantial and persist across the lifespan.”

  • 50 Experts to Trust in a Pandemic

    UTMB’s Vineet Menachery was named one of the 50 people to follow during a pandemic by Elemental, a health and science publication by Medium. Menachery leads one of the few labs in the country that was studying coronaviruses before the pandemic began.