Cancer institute atrium named for Tom and Nancy Loeffler

Shared by

CCRIbrunch1_BODY
(Left to right) Cyndi Taylor Krier, vice chair of The University of Texas System Board of Regents; Nancy Loeffler; Graciela Cigarroa; Barbie O’Connor; Toby O’Connor; Dr. Sharon Murphy, director of the Children’s Cancer Research Institute; Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; and Tom Loeffler, former U.S. representative and former chair of the UT System Board of Regents, unveil a plaque commemorating the naming of the Loeffler Atrium at the Children’s Cancer Research Institute, which is part of the Health Science Center. The O’Connors head the Ambassadors Circle, a group of supporters who have raised $100,000 for the institute.

San Antonio (Oct. 12, 2004) – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio honored Tom Loeffler and his wife, Nancy, on Oct. 8 with the naming of the Loeffler Atrium at the Health Science Center’s new Children’s Cancer Research Institute. Tom Loeffler is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former chair of The University of Texas System Board of Regents.

“Tom, few people have had the impact on Texas that you have had, not just as a Congressman, but as one of the top leaders in Congress, and not just as an adviser and friend to one president, but to many,” said Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., Health Science Center president. He called Loeffler “a great leader for education, and a great leader in the communitywide effort to bring this Children’s Cancer Research Institute to San Antonio.”

Loeffler, a cancer survivor, recalled the doctor’s pronouncement, “You have cancer,” as the “three most deafening words.” He and Mrs. Loeffler are among a group of community leaders who are supporting the new research institute. The naming of the atrium “is a great honor for Nancy and me,” he said.

Cyndi Taylor Krier, vice chair of the UT System Board of Regents, said she and Loeffler both worked for former U.S. Sen. John Tower in the 1970s. She recalled that Loeffler, a University of Texas football player for Darrell Royal and champion cutting horse rider, was about to make his first speech as a candidate for Congress at a home in San Antonio.

“There was a swimming pool in the back yard, and somebody got the idea to have Tom make his first speech on the diving board,” Krier said. “His legs were bending as he spoke. Jim McCrory of the San Antonio Express-News leaned over and said to me, ‘I can see the headline tomorrow: ‘Loeffler makes big splash.’”

That light-hearted remark proved to be prophetic. “He and Nancy have made many big splashes in the years since then,” Krier said.

Sharon Murphy, M.D., director of the Children’s Cancer Research Institute, underscored her commitment to make it a world-class research institute. She invited Ambassadors’ Circle members, who are headed by philanthropists Toby and Barbie O’Connor of San Antonio, to attend future events to hear about science conducted at the institute.

“Since February (2004), we have moved in four research groups (into the institute’s new building at 8403 Floyd Curl Drive),” Dr. Murphy said. “Recently, we have seen the acceptance of three more offers to researchers, one from Harvard, one from the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, and one from Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.” She said they are expected to arrive in January.

Atrium at Children’s Cancer Research Institute named for Loefflers

Shared by

San Antonio (Oct. 8, 2004) – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio honored former U.S. Rep. and University of Texas System Regent Tom Loeffler and his wife, Nancy, on Oct. 8 with the naming of the Loeffler Atrium at the Health Science Center’s new Children’s Cancer Research Institute.

“Tom, few people have had the impact on Texas that you have had, not just as a Congressman, but as one of the top leaders in Congress, and not just as an adviser and friend to one president, but to many,” said Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, Health Science Center president. He called Loeffler “a great leader for education, and a great leader in the communitywide effort to bring this Children’s Cancer Research Institute to San Antonio.”

Loeffler, a cancer survivor, recalled the doctor’s pronouncement, “You have cancer,” as the “three most deafening words.” He and Nancy are members of the Ambassadors Circle, a group of community leaders who are supporting the new research institute.

The naming of the atrium “is a great honor for Nancy and me,” he said. “I truly believe it is undeserved, but we will accept it.”

Cyndi Taylor Krier, vice chair of the UT System Board of Regents, said she and Loeffler both worked for former U.S. Sen. John Tower in the 1970s. She recalled that Loeffler, a University of Texas football player for Darrell Royal and champion cutting horse rider, was asked to make a speech at his first fund-raiser for Tower. “There was a swimming pool in the back yard, and somebody got the idea to have Tom make his first speech on the diving board,” Krier said. “His legs were bending as he spoke. Jim McCrory of the San Antonio Express-News leaned over and said to me, ‘I can see the headline tomorrow: ‘Loeffler makes big splash.’ “

That light-hearted remark proved to be prophetic. “He and Nancy have made many big splashes in the years since then,” Krier said.

Loeffler added: “I will truly never forget getting to the end of that diving board and looking down.”

Dr. Sharon Murphy, director of the Children’s Cancer Research Institute, underscored her commitment to make it a world-class research institute. She invited Ambassadors Circle members, who are headed by philanthropists Toby and Barbie O’Connor of San Antonio, to attend future events to hear about science conducted the institute.

“Since February, we have moved in four research groups (into the institute’s new building at 8403 Floyd Curl Drive),” Dr. Murphy said. “Recently, we have seen the acceptance of three more offers to researchers, one from Harvard, one from the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, and one from Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.” She said they are expected to arrive in January.

“Sharon has been hard at work,” Dr. Cigarroa said.

Health Science Center publishes Web database of clinical studies

Shared by

San Antonio (Sept. 30, 2004) – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has begun publishing descriptions of its clinical studies on the World Wide Web. Listings that involve more than 20 diseases or disorders are available by searching the new Web site, studies.uthscsa.edu.

“There is intense public interest in clinical studies and trials,” said Brian Herman, Ph.D., vice president of research for the Health Science Center. “Our cutting-edge studies are leading to the most up-to-date treatments for a variety of different diseases. We receive hundreds of calls from people asking to participate in our clinical studies or looking for experimental therapies for an ill loved one.”

The Health Science Center’s Web site lists studies being conducted in San Antonio and covers many diseases. National Web sites often are clearinghouses for studies across the country, and focus on one disease only. “We wanted to make the information easy to find for the people of our region, state and nation who wish to participate in the studies,” Dr. Herman said.

The Web site gives a summary of each study, its source of funding and names of contacts. All studies are supervised by the university’s Institutional Review Board, which enforces standards and reviews procedures to maintain patient rights and safety.

The studies include medical and dental conditions, and specialized research into diabetes, cancer, genetic disorders, mental illness and other diseases. The number of studies on the Web site will increase over the next year as the Health Science Center moves to an electronic database of its studies, Dr. Herman said. Currently there are about 1,200 studies under way in San Antonio that involve human subjects.

The Health Science Center is the first Texas university to offer a centralized Web repository of general medical studies. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston maintains a Web database for cancer studies.

“Our goal is to promote public understanding of clinical studies and provide information to the public and the medical care community about areas in which clinical studies are being performed, as well as who to contact to learn more about the study or to potentially enroll in the trial,” Dr. Herman said.

Editors: Here are some other university-based clinical studies sites:

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
www.mdanderson.org/patients_public/clinical_trials/

Baylor College of Medicine
www.bcm.edu/research.htm

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
www.hopkinsclinicaltrials.com/

Health Science Center announces record $2.5 million in scholarships

Shared by

San Antonio (Oct. 5, 2004) – Students learning the art of health professions and bench research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are benefiting tremendously from a number of significant recent philanthropic contributions.

Health Science Center President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., on Oct. 5 announced that private donors gave a record $2.5 million for scholarships during recent months. The funding includes $1.5 million from The Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg, Jr. Foundation in support of residents in the School of Medicine, and $240,000 from the San Antonio Livestock Exposition Inc., which operates the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. The San Antonio Livestock Exposition scholarships aid medical and nursing students at the Health Science Center.

Donors who gave $100,000 or more also included The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Foundation, which is supporting the education of South Texas medical students; The Mrs. Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation, also supporting medical students; Herbert Pearce and Dr. Martha Wood, whose gifts are aiding students in the Health Science Center Dental School; and the South Texas Academic Rising Scholars (STARS), supporting medical students.

Other donors include Dr. William and Mrs. Rita Head, whose scholarships are helping medical and nursing students; the Dental School Alumni Association; the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. and Congressman Henry Bonilla; Howard A. Halff; members of the Health Science Center President’s Council; and the Allied Health Student Scholarship Fund.

“Our generous donors have made a strong commitment to stand by the physicians, nurses, dentists, bench researchers and allied health professionals we are educating for the future,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “We have huge unmet needs for health and science education, and these donors are doing something about it. This $2.5 million will truly change the lives of South Texas students and will, through them, promote the health and well-being of our city, region and state.”

Health Science Center’s RAHC library shares blue ribbon award

Shared by

San Antonio (Sept. 23, 2004) – A national award that highlights exemplary health promotion activities of U.S. libraries was awarded Sept. 20 to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) library, located in Harlingen, and the Biblioteca Las Américas (BLA) library, located in Mercedes.

The two libraries received the 2004 Blue Ribbon Consumer Health Information Award from the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS). Debi Warner, director of the RAHC library, and Lucy Hansen, lead librarian of the BLA library, accepted the plaque at a ceremony at the BLA library. Margaret Whitehead, library systems administrator from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa presented the award.

The two libraries were recognized for the MEDLINEplus Peer Tutor Project. The educational program is a partnership between the RAHC library, the South Texas High School for Health Professions (Med High) at Mercedes and the BLA library. Mercedes is in Hidalgo County.

Through this alliance, Med High students learn how to access the latest Internet search engine sites used by RAHC medical students to research various medical conditions and diseases. The Med High students, in turn, regularly teach people throughout the Rio Grande Valley how to research their own medical conditions through MEDLINEplus and other online sources.

The Health Science Center operates the RAHC Medical Education Division at Harlingen and the Medical Research Division under construction at Edinburg. The RAHC library is operated by the Health Science Center’s Dolph Briscoe Jr. Library. Mary Moore, Ph.D., director of libraries at the Health Science Center, was on hand for the presentation, along with Leonel Vela, M.D., regional dean of the RAHC in the Health Science Center School of Medicine.

Dr. Vela said he hopes this is the beginning of many more collaborative projects between the RAHC and Med High.

Marla Guerra, Ed.D., superintendent of the South Texas Independent School District that includes Med High and the BLA library, also participated in the ceremony. Dr. Guerra read a statement on behalf of Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president of the Health Science Center, and Steven A. Wartman, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for academic and health affairs and dean, School of Medicine, recognizing Virginia Bowden, Ph.D., former director of Health Science Center libraries who helped obtain funding for the project. The statement also recognized the project leaders, Warner, Hansen and Cindy Olney, and Med High students, and cited the project’s potential to grow to impact the health of many in South Texas and beyond.

The MEDLINEplus Peer Tutor Project received the 2003 Library Project of the Year award by the Texas Library Association. Upon invitation, Hansen and Warner made a special presentation to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Board of Regents in May 2004. The NLM funded the program its initial year.

The success of this consumer health project has spawned more project funding. The Briscoe Library received an award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine South Central Region to expand the MEDLINEplus Peer Tutor Project to San Antonio and Laredo schools.

The BLA library received a grant from the NLM to expand the program to The Science Academy of South Texas (Sci Tech), Med High’s sister school, and Spanish-speaking student organizations.

“This was an exemplary example of health information outreach at its finest,” said Dr. Fred Wood of the National Library of Medicine. “We are delighted that there will be follow-up work to the Med High Peer Tutor Project, both at Med High and elsewhere in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and in the San Antonio and Laredo areas.”

The NCLIS is a permanent, independent agency of the federal government that is responsible for addressing the information and learning needs of the American people.

The RAHC library would not be a reality without the leadership of Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., author of the bill that established the RAHC. Sen. Juan Hinojosa, at the time a state representative, sponsored the bill in the House.

School-based diabetes program stems normal childhood rise in blood sugar

Shared by

San Antonio (Sept. 7, 2004) – A school-based program to instill healthy habits in low-income, Mexican-American children resulted in a dramatic drop in blood sugar levels of 1,200 fourth-graders, according to a randomized, controlled trial released Sept. 6 in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Students in 13 San Antonio elementary schools participated in the Bienestar Health Program over an eight-month period in 2001 and 2002. Bienestar means “well-being” in Spanish.

“All children ages 9 to 13 go through a prepubertal stage that includes a physiological increase in blood sugar, which mimics type 2 diabetes,” said lead investigator Roberto P. Treviño, M.D., of the Social and Health Research Center in San Antonio. “The Bienestar intervention of diet, exercise and education, on the other hand, lowered blood sugar by 2.24 miligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). It sounds like a small decrease, but the reason this is so exciting is that it is very difficult to drive down blood glucose during the prepubertal stage.”

Type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disease once seen almost exclusively in adults, has been linked to poor diet and lack of fitness in children with the disease. These factors are addressed in the Bienestar study, which was conducted in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) and at the Texas Diabetes Institute by researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, The University of Texas at San Antonio and the Social and Health Research Center.

The Bienestar Health Program consists of a health class and physical education curriculum, a family program, a school cafeteria program and an after-school health club. The objectives are to lower dietary saturated fat intake, increase dietary fiber intake and boost physical activity.

Students in Bienestar intervention schools were compared with peers in 14 non-Bienestar schools to assess the program’s effect on several measures, including fasting capillary glucose.

In addition to lower blood sugars, Bienestar participants exhibited improved fitness scores and an increase in dietary fiber intake. Non-participants showed the reverse trend of increased blood sugar, lower fitness and diminished dietary fiber intake. Body fat percentage and dietary saturated fat intake did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Nearly 20 million Americans, including an estimated 125,000 in San Antonio, have diabetes. The cost to treat one person with type 2 diabetes may run as high as $13,000 a year, according to the American Diabetes Association. “The Bienestar intervention cost only $9 per student,” Dr. Treviño said. “That’s very low, considering that the 2.24 mg/dl decrease, if maintained for several years, might be enough to save a child from going blind.”

Daniel Hale, M.D., professor and chief of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes at the Health Science Center and co-author of the Bienestar paper, said: “It is becoming increasingly apparent that we need to control glucose levels in children as early as possible, especially those from families where diabetes is present. Diabetes and its complications are best prevented, rather than treated much later down the line when there is not as much we can do.”