NIH mobile exhibit coming to campus Feb. 19-20

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The All of Us Journey traveling exhibit is making a stop at UT Health San Antonio Feb. 19-20, during its national tour. This mobile unit provides the community a hands-on educational experience and builds awareness and excitement about the All of Us Research Program, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The NIH research program is part of an effort to advance individualized health care by enrolling one million or more participants to contribute their health data.

During this event, community members will get the opportunity to learn about the NIH program and to see what other types of research projects are being worked on at UT Health San Antonio.

All of Us aims to reflect the diversity of the United States and to include participants from groups that have been historically underrepresented in health research.

Dr. Yang receives UT System award to support blood cancer research

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Feng-Chun Yang, M.D., Ph.D., professor and A.B. Alexander Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research in the Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, has been awarded a $1 million UT System Faculty STARs award to support her epigenetic research on blood cancer.

The funding will be used to purchase equipment that will enhance collaborative research activities in her lab at UT Health San Antonio, throughout the Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy and the Mays Cancer Center.

Dr. Yang has dedicated her career to researching the genetic and epigenetic regulation of cancer.

She has a special interest in myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and the discovery of therapeutic targets to treat it.

Her team’s recent work led to the discovery of the role of gene mutations, called ASXL1/2, in the development of myeloid leukemia.

“This STARs award will enhance our ability to tackle questions about stem cell biology, epigenetics, biochemistry and animal modeling of myeloid malignancies,” she said. “It will have a strong impact on our research productivity and our competitiveness for grants from federal agencies, private foundations and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.”

State-of-the-art equipment will be purchased and used to provide hands-on training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral and clinical fellows.

Dr. Yang said this award will be used to create a world-class research and training program in hematologic malignancy, cancers that begin in the cells of blood-forming tissue or in the cells of the immune system, within the Mays Cancer Center.

“This fund will greatly facilitate our translational program to develop novel therapeutics and improved care in South Texas,” explained Dr. Yang.

The UT System Board of Regents authorized the STARs program in 2004. Multiple types of STARs awards support enhancement of UT institutions across the state.

Tuesday, Feb. 11: Annual Bryant Lecture finds inspiration in judge who helped end segregation

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Join us from noon to 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, to be inspired by the example of legendary federal jurist Frank Minis Johnson Jr., whose landmark rulings helped end segregation. His story will be told by fellow Alabamian Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., School of Medicine dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. By describing the far-reaching impact that one person had on equity and diversity, Dr. Vickers delivers an ethical call to action to confront today’s challenges. He seeks to instill the courage to question the status quo and change our world.

The event is the 2020 Frank Bryant Jr., M.D., Memorial Distinguished Lecture, an annual event of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at UT Health San Antonio. A catered reception will follow the event.

Date: Tuesday, Feb.11, 2020
Time: Noon-1 p.m. presentation | 1 p.m. reception
Place: UT Health San Antonio Holly Auditorium, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229
The event is free and open to all. Register here.

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The Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is named for Texas philanthropists Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long. The school is the largest educator of physicians in South Texas, many of whom remain in San Antonio and the region to practice medicine. The school teaches more than 900 students and trains 800 residents each year. As a beacon of multicultural sensitivity, the school annually exceeds the national medical school average of Hispanic students enrolled. The school’s clinical practice is the largest multidisciplinary medical group in South Texas with 850 physicians in more than 100 specialties. The school has a highly productive research enterprise where world leaders in Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cancer, aging, heart disease, kidney disease and many other fields are translating molecular discoveries into new therapies. The Long School of Medicine is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center known for prolific clinical trials and drug development programs, as well as a world-renowned center for aging and related diseases.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, dba UT Health San Antonio, is one of the country’s leading health sciences universities and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. With missions of teaching, research, patient care and community engagement, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have graduated more than 37,000 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields, and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.

Stay connected with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

New Ph.D. program to launch in Fall 2020

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By Kate Hunger

The School of Health Professions is adding a Ph.D. in Health Sciences to meet the demand for allied health faculty and researchers with doctoral degrees.

The program will support evidence-based practice and outcomes research in allied health, said School of Health Professions Dean David C. Shelledy, Ph.D., RRT, FAARC, FASAHP.

“This will be helpful for our school, other schools of allied health in Texas and for colleges and universities around the country,” Shelledy said.

The program will be offered online and in face-to-face blended formats to students accepted throughout Texas and the United States.

Core courses will be offered online and specialty courses will be able to be completed remotely. Elective courses will be taken at approved colleges and universities.

“Most students in this program will already be allied health professionals,” Shelledy said.

The program’s coursework falls into three core areas: teaching and education, research methods and statistics, and leadership.

Students will be required to complete a doctoral dissertation that involves designing and completing a research study that contributes significant new knowledge to their discipline, Shelledy noted.

“That will be a game-changer for our school,” he said of the dissertation requirement.

Plans call for the program, which is expected to take three years for most students to finish, to enroll five students in its first year and add five students each successive year, bringing the program to a total of 20 students by its fourth year.

The program is pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in spring 2020.

Learn more about the program.

News 4: Researchers obtain stunning results using tree bark extract for prostate cancer

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Darpan Patel, Ph.D., from the School of Nursing, and Pratap Kumar, Ph.D., from the Department of Molecular Medicine in the School of Medicine, were interviewed about the results of their recent study.

The comparative study showed that both a tree bark extract, called Nexrutine, and exercise nearly equally reduced the spread of aggressive prostate cancer in mice. The results were published in the high-impact journal PLOS ONE.

Watch the full story at News 4.

KSAT 12: Why Deep Inspiration Breath-Hold is the weapon to fight cancer

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Deep Inspiration Breath-Hold radiation therapy is being offered to enhance the ability to treat cancer patients. This type of therapy is only being offered here in San Antonio at the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson.

The Mays Cancer Center sees around 30,000 patients a year, with roughly 4,500 newly diagnosed cases.

Dr. Timothy Wagner, M.D., radiation oncologist, explains the importance of this procedure for cancer patients.

Watch the full KSAT 12 story