SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 24, 2012) — Two distinguished women from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio are in the 2012 class of Leadership Texas.
Julie Hensler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, and Brenda Clarke, M.S.I.S., CPM, director for academic effectiveness, are among 115 women leaders selected statewide to participate in the longest-running women’s leadership development program in the U.S.
The yearlong program enables participants to explore five Texas cities and receive information from renowned experts, government officials and other leaders. Leadership Texas is in its 30th year and is a program of Women’s Resources.
Dr. Hensler leads a laboratory team that studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which serotonin receptor systems compensate or change in disease states — such as major depressive disorder or alcoholism — or in response to repeated drug treatment.
The biology of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that enables communication among brain cells, is a crucial topic in neuroscience. Medications such as fluoxetine (Prozac®, registered trademark of Eli Lilly & Co.) treat depression and other conditions by altering serotonin activity in the brain.
Dr. Hensler received a Ph.D. degree in pharmacology from Northwestern University in 1987.
Clarke is a Texas Certified Public Manager with a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. As the director for academic effectiveness, she is responsible for budget analysis, fiscal management, review of academic programs, and external reporting to The University of Texas System, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and other agencies in Texas.
Clarke is a member of the American Society for Public Administration and the Texas Society of Certified Public Managers.
The theme for the 2012 program year is “Texas Women Leaders – On the Highway to a Fast, Forward Future.” Participants will visit Austin, El Paso, Amarillo, Houston and Dallas, where each city’s opportunities and challenges will demonstrate the state’s economic, educational and environmental issues.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $231 million in fiscal year 2011. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.