SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 7, 2008)—Thomas F. Patterson, M.D., FACP, professor of medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and director of the San Antonio Center for Medical Mycology, has been elected to a two-year term as a member of the Subspecialty Board on Infectious Disease of the American Board of Internal Medicine.
To be certified in internal medicine or any of its 17 subspecialties, physicians must meet vigorous standards through intensive study, self-assessment and evaluation. As a member of the Subspecialty Board on Infectious Disease, Dr. Patterson will work with other experts in infectious disease to determine the requirements and qualifications of candidates applying for certification in infectious disease, including the method and scope of examination and the policies pertaining to re-examination of candidates. Dr. Patterson will help develop the exam questions that cover basic aspects and clinical features of infectious diseases, disease prevention and treatment, host defense mechanisms and epidemiology.
Dr. Patterson’s expertise will help ensure that the certification process for infectious disease meets the highest standards, and that physicians are tested on the latest clinical, practice and systems developments in the field.
Medical mycology is the study of fungi that cause infections in humans. The San Antonio Center for Medical Mycology brings together medical mycology investigators at the UT Health Science Center and in San Antonio. The goal is to improve research opportunities and increase funding for mycology research and training. The UT Health Science Center, with its collaborators in San Antonio, has a growing reputation as a global center of excellence in mycology.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.