Report from the Executive Vice President,
Provost and Dean of the School of Medicine
For the Faculty Senate Meeting, 01/13/14
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 2
CONTENTS
Letter from the Provost
3
Faculty Recognition
4
UTMB Professor Honored for Promoting Global Health
Education
5
2014 Commencement Ceremonies – Save the Date!
Research
6
Recent Grant Highlights
UTMB To Expand Research Facilities
Second Annual Clinical & Translational Research Forum
Patient Care
9
UTMB Family Medicine Receives Highest Level of National Certification in Patient-Centered Care
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 3
Letter from the Provost
Dear Colleagues,
Happy New Year! I hope that you had a restful and restorative break and are off to a great start in
2014. This is a good time to reflect on what we have achieved and begin building on areas of
excellence and values we share at UTMB. To this end, you will be hearing about the development of
our tactical plans to achieve “UTMB Health 2020-The Academic Enterprise,” a major collaborative
effort that is being accomplished with the assistance of the Cirra® Group. Last month we held our first
AE Tactical Planning Workshop and will expand participation at our second workshop that is
scheduled for January 30th. These workshops are an opportunity for us to work together to define the
future of the Academic Enterprise.
It has been a privilege for me to meet with a large number of you during the past year and I look
forward to additional opportunities in 2014. Currently, I am holding a series of events for employees
across the Academic Enterprise including “Luncheons with the Provost” and “Fireside Chats” to
discuss important activities that are in progress or upcoming. These events offer an opportunity for
constructive dialogue to help us frame our challenges and create a game plan to act decisively on
things that matter to all of us.
As always, thank you for your contributions to our missions. I look forward to continuing the great
work of bringing UTMB to a new level of excellence.
Sincerely yours,
Danny O. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine
Thomas N. & Gleaves T. James Distinguished Chair
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 4
Faculty Recognition
UTMB Professor Honored for Promoting Global Health
Dr. Clinton White, Professor and Director of the Infectious Disease Division
in the Department of Internal Medicine, has won a prestigious award for his
work in promoting global health.
Dr. White was presented the Ben Kean Medal by the American Society of
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene which bestows the medal every three years
to a clinician or educator for clinical and educational excellence in tropical
medicine.
“I’m very honored,” Dr. White said. “For me, this is an outgrowth of my father’s legacy and my desire
to do something to give back, a way to be involved in helping poor countries.”
Read full story here: http://www.utmb.edu/newsroom/article9134.aspx.
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 5
Education
2014 Commencement Ceremonies
– Save the Date!
Commencement is a significant
milestone in the lives of our students –
the culmination of years of work toward
their degree and the beginning of a
promising future. Our faculty members
play a vital role in the success of our
students, instilling in them the value,
moral and ethical obligations of their
respective profession. It is important and
meaningful to our students to have faculty representation at these events. Please see the 2014
commencement dates below for each school.
Faculty members participating in commencement are required to wear appropriate academic regalia.
Watch for an announcement from the UTMB Bookstore regarding cap and gown rentals.
Commencement Ceremonies
School of Nursing
Friday, Apr. 25, 2014
3 p.m.
Moody Gardens Convention Center
School of Medicine
Saturday, May 31, 2014
10 a.m.
Moody Gardens Convention Center
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Friday, May 2, 2014
4 p.m.
Levin Hall Main Auditorium
School of Health Professions
Friday, Aug. 15, 2014
2 p.m.
Moody Gardens Convention Center
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 6
Research
Recent Grant Highlights
The following is a list of grant recipients for the month of December 2013.
Principal
Investigator/Project
Director
Title
Sponsor
Amount
Dr. Naseem Ansari, Professor,
Biochemistry & Molecular
Biology
Localized Topical Metal
Modulation to Inhibit Burn
Progression
$740,001 over
three years
Dr. Jiyang Cai, Assistant
Professor, Ophthalmology &
Visual Sciences
Virtual Opto-Kinetic Testing
System
Dr. Tasnee Chonmaitree,
Professor, Pediatrics
Respiratory Tract Microbiome
and Acute Otitis Media
Development in Young Infants
Dr. Naomi Forrester, Assistant
Professor, Pathology
Effects of Arboviral Population
Diversity on Transmission
Livionex
Incorporated
(DOD flow
through)
Carl Marshall &
Mildred Almen
Reeves
Foundation
National Institute
on Deafness and
Other
Communication
Disorders
National Institute
of Allergy &
Infectious
Diseases
$25,000 (eight
months)
$308,874 over
two years
$1,732,815
over five years
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 7
Principal
Investigator/Project
Director
Title
Sponsor
Amount
Dr. Roberto Garofalo,
Professor, Pediatrics
Antiviral Innate Pathways and
Superoxide Dismutase in RSV
Bronchiolitis
$383,119 over
two years
Dr. Tomoko Makishima,
Associate Professor,
Otolaryngology
Vestibular Stimulation: A
Countermeasure for Bone Loss
During Long-term Space
Mission
Medical Warriors: Physicians
and Nurses Engaged in French
Resistance During the
Holocaust
A Multiomics Approach
Towards Deciphering the
Influence of the Microbiome
on Preterm Birth
Training and Consultant
Center (TRACC)
National Institute
of Allergy &
Infectious
Diseases
Vanderbilt
University (NASA
flow through)
Verbe et Lumière
- Vigilance
$9,500 (one
year)
Baylor College of
Medicine
$354,330 over
five years
National AHEC
Organization
Incorporated
$108,831 (one
year)
National Institute
of Diabetes &
Digestive &
Kidney Diseases
$1,684,538
over five years
Dr. Darlene Martin, Professor,
School of Nursing
Dr. Ramkumar Menon,
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics
& Gynecology
Mary Wainwright, Director,
AHEC Rural & Regional
Program and Clinical Assistant
Professor, School of Nursing
Dr. QiQi Zhou, Assistant
Professor, Internal Medicine
and Dr. Nicholas Verne,
Professor, Internal Medicine
Mechanisms of Altered
Gastrointestinal Dysfunction
$26,012 ( one
year)
UTMB To Expand Research Facilities
President David Callender recently announced that UTMB will expand its current research facilities to
include 93,000 square feet of critically needed space for its growing research activities. On December
12th, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the amendment of the UTMB Capital
Improvement Plan to include a $42 million addition to its research facilities at Building 17 on the
Galveston campus. UTMB lost one of its critical research facilities, Building 18, to irreparable damage
in Hurricane Ike in late 2008. That building was recently demolished, making room for the new facility
at 11th and Strand. UTMB expects to complete design and obtain final approval to begin construction
by March 2015. The new research building should be complete and occupied by March 2017.
Read full story here: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/12/20/utmb-to-build-42mfacility-to-replace.html.
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 8
Second Annual Clinical & Translational
Research Forum
The Office of the Provost and Institute for
Translational Sciences are hosting the 2nd Annual
Clinical & Translational Research Forum on
Wednesday, February 12, 2014 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
in the Levin Hall Dining Room and Foyer. The forum
provides a venue for:



exchanging information about the full spectrum of
research at UTMB;
identifying resources provided by UTMB Institutes,
Centers, and core laboratories; and
exploring the process of translation and its role in
developing interventions to improve human
health.
Everyone is invited to participate in this showcase of
UTMB’s research and learn about the facilities and
services available to investigators. All UTMB faculty
members, fellows, staff and students are invited and
encouraged to present a research poster. To submit an abstract, go to:
https://redcapproject.utmb.edu/surveys/?s=i9pweQ.
If you have questions, please contact Marie Carr, 2-1484 or email mcarr@utmb.edu.
Report from the Executive Vice President, Provost and
Dean of the School of Medicine | 9
Patient Care
UTMB Family Medicine Receives Highest Level
of National Certification in Patient-centered Care
The Department of Family Medicine was recognized by the
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its
commitment to quality care, receiving the highest level of
certification for its new model of primary health care
delivery known as the Patient-Centered Medical Home.
This patient-centered model is being adopted by progressive health care institutions nationwide as
they strive to meet new standards.
All three UTMB Family Medicine clinics — Island East Family Medicine, Island West Family Medicine
and Dickinson Family Medicine — are now official NCQA Level-Three Certified Patient-Centered
Family Medical Homes.
Level three certification standards include short waiting-room times; full, unhurried attention from
health professionals; specific protocols for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart
disease; and an electronic medical record system accessible to everyone on the medical team as well
as the patient and/or his or her family.