UTHSC professor earns national recognition for community service

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(Dec. 9, 2003) The Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) has awarded Vidal Balderas, D.D.S., clinical assistant professor in the department of community dentistry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC), its prestigious President’s Award for community service.

The President’s Award is granted to individuals who have excelled in their efforts to improve the oral health of the community. For more than 15 years, Dr. Balderas has worked with dental students in a mobile van unit to provide care to children of migrant farm working families, many of whom are Hispanic.

Dr. Balderas has been a faculty member at the UTHSC for 16 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 1980 and his doctor of dental surgery degree from the UTHSC Dental School in 1984. He is pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health Administration at the UT-Houston Health Science Center School of Public Health, San Antonio campus.

“Vidal’s dedication, devotion and interest in sensitizing students to community needs and in providing care to children who may not have access to care otherwise, certainly deserves to be commended,” said Martha Baez, R.D.H., M.P.H, assistant professor of community dentistry at the UTHSC and president of the HDA.

Founded in 1991, the mission of the HDA is to optimize the oral health of the Hispanic community. Membership has grown to 2,600 members who come from 35 dental school chapters and professional chapters around the country.

Children’s Cancer Research Institute poised to become one of the greatest

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San Antonio (Dec. 2, 2003) – Three-hundred South Texas leaders including former Texas Gov.  Dolph Briscoe Jr. received a red carpet welcome Nov. 19 to the sneak preview of a stellar $50  million research institute at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC) where top scientists will study the biology of children’s cancer and extend the findings  to adult cancer.

The knowledge and treatments that will emerge from the Children’s Cancer Research Institute  (CCRI) will improve the lives of children and adults alike, said Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.,  UTHSC president. The center is built on a firm foundation – a $200 million endowment fund that is the nation’s single largest endowment for cancer. Another cornerstone for success is the CCRI’s founding director, Sharon B. Murphy, M.D., who came to the UTHSC in 2002 from Northwestern University School of Medicine and is recruiting the CCRI’s faculty.

“The CCRI is poised to become one of the greatest cancer institutes in the nation,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “The $200 million endowment enabled us to build a state-of-the-art environment where scientists can collaborate on major cancer research.”

San Antonio philanthropists Toby and Barbie O’Connor, who hosted the gathering of community leaders in the CCRI’s majestic ground-floor atrium, said they were proud to support the new institute, which will work toward a lofty goal – “a future in which the words ‘children’ and ‘cancer’ will never again appear in the same sentence.” The O’Connors are the founding presidents of the CCRI Ambassadors’ Circle, a group of outstanding community leaders who are key proponents of the new institute. Texans who are interested in the group may call the UTHSC external affairs office at (210) 567-3078.

Dr. Cigarroa introduced Dr. Murphy as a researcher of international stature who united 238 institutions in pediatric cancer research through the Pediatric Oncology Group. He said he and the community leaders are proud she is now a citizen of Texas.

“This is a new jewel in the crown of the Health Science Center,” said Dr. Murphy, who pledged to “work her heart out” to make the CCRI a point of pride for the state, nation and world. Six of the nation’s most prominent scientists in children’s cancer research lead the CCRI External Advisory Board.

The CCRI building is 100,000 square feet and has four stories that include laboratories, offices, a vivarium and auditorium. The formal dedication is set for February 2004.

“As many of you know, my career has been spent giving children a second chance at life,” said Dr. Cigarroa, a noted pediatric and transplant surgeon. “Tonight is about giving physicians the hope that they will see the day when no child loses his or her life to cancer. Tonight is about hope!”

Dr. Cigarroa ended the night with these words: “This evening is about giving you a glimpse of San Antonio’s newest research treasure. This is a magnificent building for a magnificent cause.”

UTHSC, UTSA ink San Antonio Life Sciences Institute pact

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President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., (right) and UTSA President Ricardo Romo, Ph.D., sign the SALSI agreement at the UTHSC Dec. 1.

San Antonio (Dec. 9, 2003) – Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president of The University of Texas  Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC), and Ricardo Romo, Ph.D., president of The  University of Texas at San Antonio, signed an agreement Monday (Dec. 1) that provides  governing guidelines for the new San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI), an initiative  designed to strengthen collaboration between the two institutions and enhance their research,  teaching and service missions.

In a ceremony at the UTHSC, Presidents Cigarroa and Romo recognized Sen. Leticia Van de  Putte and Rep. Robert Puente, the members of the Bexar County legislative delegation who  authored H.B. 1716 and its companion bill, S.B. 728, during the 77th session of the Legislature.  This legislation authorized creation of the SALSI. “The entire Bexar County delegation supported  the effort, and we thank each member,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “We especially commend Sen. Van de  Putte and Rep. Puente, who with great vision and determination championed the establishment of the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute.”

“We are grateful to be partners with the Health Science Center and grateful to have such outstanding legislators who represent Bexar County and surrounding areas,” Dr. Romo said. “They have come through time and again for education and research in San Antonio.”

Expanded collaboration between the UTHSC and the UTSA is expected to enhance research funding at both institutions and provide new education and advanced degree opportunities for students, such as a graduate program in biomedical engineering that the two universities began this fall. “We also want to look outside our institutions,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “The emergent biomedical/biotechnology industry offers a unique opportunity for us to develop university/industry partnerships, to help San Antonio become a major player in the industries of the future, and to become major drivers of the San Antonio economy.”

SALSI will have no employees on its payroll. All persons participating in the Institute will be employees of either the UTHSC or the UTSA.

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(L-R)President Cigarroa, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, Rep. Robert Puente, UT System Regent Cyndi Taylor Krier and UTSA President Ricardo Romo celebrate the signing of the SALSI agreement. Van de Putte and Puente are members of the Bexar County legislative delegation who authored H.B. 1716 and its companion bill, S.B. 728, during the 77th session of the Legislature. This legislation authorized creation of the SALSI.

The primary revenue sources for SALSI projects will be externally funded grants and contracts. Additional sources may include direct appropriations from the Texas Legislature, congressional set-asides, The University of Texas System Board of Regents, and private contributions. Both federal and state legislative special item requests for the SALSI will be made jointly by the UTHSC and the UTSA.

A SALSI subcommittee with equal representation from both institutions has been formed and is functioning as a part of the UTHSC’s Executive Research Committee, which has considerable experience in managing this type of program. Soon the Life Sciences Institute will issue requests for proposals of collaborative projects. Initial SALSI funding of $4.5 million for operating expenses is from the universities ($1 million each) and The University of Texas System ($2.5 million). The UTSA will commit $2 million from its Lutcher Brown Endowment to support two faculty members who will have joint appointments at the two institutions.

Areas of study in the SALSI will only be limited by the imaginations of the faculties of the two institutions, leaders said.

UTHSC selects Denver partner for $2.8 million asthma study

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San Antonio (Dec. 8, 2003) – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC) has contracted with National Jewish Medical and Research Center of Denver, Colo., to provide telephone and mail patient support for a large-scale study evaluating the benefits of disease management among individuals with moderate to severe asthma.

“Asthma is an increasing problem across the United States, and data suggest it is growing at a faster rate in South Texas than nationally,” said Autumn Dawn Galbreath, M.D., director of the Disease Management Center at the UTHSC. “We believe this research is timely and important and will improve quality of life for asthma patients in South Texas and beyond.”

U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla of Texas successfully obtained $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the first year of the study, which is enrolling 1,053 patients in three study groups.

The study control group will receive conventional care. A second group will receive National Jewish disease-management education and support by telephone and mail. The third group will receive these services, along with four home visits by respiratory therapists. At the conclusion of the study, Dr. Galbreath and the other investigators will assess the effect on quality of life, lung function, patient satisfaction and health care usage.

The disease-management services include a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week telephone center to take calls from patients who have questions or problems regarding their asthma.

Patient enrollment began in late October. The study population will include uninsured patients, patients on Medicaid and Medicare, Veterans Administration patients, and military beneficiaries. “Individuals with asthma in these groups are underserved and have a more difficult time controlling their disease,” Dr. Galbreath said. “Therefore, they may benefit more from asthma disease management than subjects included in previous research studies.”

To ask about enrolling, call (210) 567-9700. Families in counties surrounding San Antonio may call 1-888-699-4877.

Cigarroa announces $300 million capital campaign for UTHSC

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San Antonio (December 9, 2003) – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC) is embarking on its first capital campaign – a $300 million private-public initiative to build a landscape-changing Research Tower in the South Texas Medical Center and recruit leading scientists for it. Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president of the Health Science Center, made the announcement Dec. 8 during his annual State of the University address.

“For possibly the first time in South Texas history, a dazzling array of community and South Texas leaders has joined forces to support a project of this magnitude,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “This campaign will raise $150 million for a Research Tower in the Medical Center and, equally important, $150 million for an endowment to attract and retain the most outstanding scientists. This initiative will result in a quantum leap in intellectual power in San Antonio and move the UT Health Science Center to its rightful status as a top-tier research institution.”

The Research Tower proposal calls for a building of up to 300,000 square feet and as many as 20 stories tall. “It will be a building that will transform the South Texas Medical Center,” Dr. Cigarroa said. The Medical Center is the hub of health care and research in San Antonio and is a major site for the $11 billion-a-year biosciences industry, the largest sector in the city’s economy. The UTHSC is the premier health research institution in South Texas.

“The success of the campaign will allow us to recruit members of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine who will work on world-changing research including vascular and metabolic biology, neurobiology, developmental and regenerative biology, cancer biology, and biodefense and infection,” Dr. Cigarroa said.

The five-year campaign is scheduled to begin in January and conclude in 2008.

A video about the Research Tower and capital campaign stated: “The time is here … the leaders are among us … we will build the most dominant research building South Texas has ever seen.” Dr. Cigarroa said the campaign would be statewide in scope.

Dr. Cigarroa praised the UTHSC faculty for a substantial increase in grant awards from the National Institutes of Health. NIH awards rose from $51 million in Fiscal Year 2000 to $82 million in Fiscal Year 2003 and all Health Science Center awards, including other federal grants and non-federal grants, increased from $137 million to $166 million during the three-year period.

The president applauded university partners such as the University Health System, the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, the Cancer Therapy and Research Center, Wilford Hall Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center. “The Health Science Center, long actively involved with military partners, is entering new levels of collaborations in the post-September 11 era,” he said. “We are proud to have an active Center for Public Health Preparedness and Biomedical Research. We are also proud that Gov. Rick Perry selected our campus as the home of the first unit of the Texas State Guard Medical Reserve Corps.”

Dr. Cigarroa thanked U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for leading initiatives that resulted in multimillion-dollar funding for UTHSC projects. He also thanked state leaders including Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick for their recent announcement of enhanced support for the RAHC.

Dr. Cigarroa said the UTHSC has more than $120 million in ongoing construction projects that will boost the institution’s ability to serve South Texas. These include the Laredo Extension Campus, the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) Medical Research Division under construction at Edinburg, the Children’s Cancer Research Institute in the South Texas Medical Center, the Sam and Ann Barshop Center for Longevity and Aging Studies under construction in the Texas Research Park near San Antonio, and the Student Services/Academic Administration Building rising on the UTHSC Central Campus in the Medical Center. He said administrators are developing a five-year strategic plan for the Laredo campus and envision the Edinburg campus as a site for research to eradicate diseases affecting the border region.

TIME magazine highlights UTHSC research on ADHD

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Timemag_BODYSan Antonio (Dec. 3, 2003) – The cover story in the Nov. 3 issue of TIME magazine, “Medicating Young Minds,” discusses the benefits and risks of medicating children with mood and behavior problems. The article highlights the current research in this area being conducted by scientists around the nation – including Steven Pliszka, M.D., chief of child psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The article explains that Dr. Pliszka conducted brain scans of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were untreated, as well as children who had been medicated for at least a year, and then compared the brain scans of these two groups. According to TIME, “The treated group showed no signs of any deficits in brain function as measured in blood flow.”

In his research, Dr. Pliszka uses technology called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to take active pictures of the brain. His groundbreaking ADHD studies are aimed at determining the cause of this mysterious disorder, which has baffled both parents and doctors for years. In 2002, Dr. Pliszka received an $870,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance his research.