Kudos

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Awards and Honors

William Margolin, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Medical School (MS), was appointed a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Molecular Microbiology. This appointment begins January 2008.

Kevin Morano, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, MS, was awarded the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teaching Award by the Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) in June.

John H. Byrne, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, MS, and holder of the June and Virgil Waggoner Chair has received the Association for Neuroscience Departments and Programs (ANDP) Award for Neuroscience Education. Since 1991, the ANDP has bestowed the award to an individual in recognition of exemplary education that shapes the discipline of neuroscience.

Peter Davies, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has been asked to serve as one of four University of Texas System representatives to the Texas Alliance for Nanotechnology, a statewide alliance of university systems, academic institutions and industry, being promoted by the Governor's office to advance the development of Nanotechnology in Texas.

Alisa Niederstadt, R.N., board-certified lactation consultant in the WIC (Woman, Infants and Children) program in the Department of Pediatrics MS, has been elected co-chair of the Texas Breastfeeding Coalition, or TXBC. The TXBC's goals include improving the breastfeeding rate and ensuring that all state and local laws and policies protect breastfeeding. The coalition is in its second year of service to the community.

Hector Balcazar, Ph.D., Regional Dean of the El Paso campus of The University of Texas School of Public Health, received a 2007 Cheerios' "Angel de mi Corazón" award for his work to combat heart disease in the Hispanic community. Five recipients were honored for wide-reaching contributions to educating communities across the country about heart disease and working to eradicate it. Balcazar helped launch "Salud Para Su Corazón," an initiative in North Texas for Latinos that uses "promotores" (lay health workers) to promote heart-healthy behaviors. A similar initiative is being launched in El Paso under the co-leadership of Balcazar. Balcazar donated the $5,000 grant that comes with the award to the Adults and Youth United Development Association (AYUDA), a nonprofit organization that helps the citizens of San Elizario, Texas with home improvements.

Recognizing his more than 13 years at the forefront of patient safety, Eric Thomas, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the Griff T. Ross Professor in Humanities and Technology in Health Care, has received the 2007 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for Research. Established in 2002 by the National Quality Forum (NQF) and the Joint Commission, the awards honor the memory of John M. Eisenberg, M.D., former director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a member of the founding board of directors of the NQF, and an advocate for health care quality improvement. The awards recognize major achievements of individuals and organizations in improving patient safety and health care quality.

Faculty member winners of the 2007 International Programs Awards are: Anil D. Kulkarni, M.Sc., Ph.D., professor of Surgery, MS; Teng-Yuan (Erica) Yu, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor, coordinator for Simulation Laboratory, School of Nursing; Shreela Sharma, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health; Chung How Kau, B.D.S., M.Sc.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Orthodontics and director of the Imaging Facility, Dental Branch; Xiaodong Zhou, M.D., M.S., associate professor of Medicine, director of Research Laboratory for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunogenetics, MS; Nuria Homedes, M.D., Dr.P.H., associate professor of Management, Policy and Community Health, SPH; Rolf O. Montalvo, M.D., assistant professor of Family and Community Medicine, MS; Student winners are: Ha Thi Thu Phan, M.D., M.P.H., student, SPH; Ramona Finnie, M.P.H., student, SPH; Scott Tolan, student, MS.

The award, established in 2005 from a benefactor, is intended to encourage academic projects that promote exchanges of health and sciences on a global perspective and recognizes faculty and students of the health science center who actively engage in international academic collaborations.

Publications

Kathleen Becan-McBride, Ed.D., director of Community and Educational Outreach and Family Medicine and professor at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston (MS) is coauthor of the book Phlebotomy Simplified published by Prentice Hall Publishers.

Samuel Kaplan, Ph.D., professor and chair and Xiaohua Zeng, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, MS, collaborated on "Proteomic Characterization of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1 Photosynthetic Membrane: Identification of New Proteins" which appeared in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of Bacteriology. A different study was published in the same journal coauthored by Kaplan in collaboration with Pusan National University, Korea on "The Dominant Role of the cbb3 Oxidase in Regulation of Photosynthesis Gene Expression Through the PrrBA System in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1" in the August 2007 issue.

"A Genomic Screen in Yeast Reveals Novel Aspects of Nonstop mRNA Metabolism" was published in the July issue of Genetics by Ambro van Hoof, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG)MS; Marenda Wilson, graduate student, and Stacie Meaux, graduate student.

Patricia Dolan Mullen, Dr.P.H., professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, (SPH), is a co-author with others from other institutions on the article, "Psychiatric Distress in Incarcerated Women with Recent Cocaine and Alcohol Abuse," published in the August issue of Women's Health Issues.

Kishore Shetty, D.D.S., associate professor in Diagnostic Sciences and director of the Medically Complex Patient Clinic at The University of Texas Dental Branch, is lead author of "Oral Lipomatosis in Antiretroviral Therapy-Associated Lipodystrophy Syndrome," published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The paper reports an unusual presentation of antiretroviral therapy-induced intraoral lipodystrophy not reported previously in the medical literature.

Amitava Dasgupta, Ph.D., and Jeffrey K. Actor, Ph.D., both professors of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, MS, published an article titled "Interference of Asian, American, and Indian (Ashwagandha) Ginsengs in Serum Digoxin Measurements by a Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay Can Be Minimized by Using a New Enzyme-Linked Chemiluminescent Immunosorbent or Turbidimetric Assay" in the April issue of Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (MS), served as a site principal investigator providing data for a national study of a promising medication for alcoholism called topiramate. Published in the October 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, findings suggest that alcohol-dependent patients who received the medication had fewer heavy drinking days, fewer drinks per day and more days of continuous abstinence than those who received a placebo. The study, which included 371 men and women age 18 to 65 years diagnosed with alcohol dependence, was conducted between January 2004 and August 2006 at 17 U.S. sites.