News Media
The Office of Public Affairs can arrange interviews with UT Health Science Center at Houston experts on various aspects of nursing and nursing education. News media should call the Media Hotline at 713-500-3030 or use the online form below to request an interview. Some of our available experts are:
Patricia L. Starck, DSN, RN, FAAN
Dean, UT School of Nursing
Dean Starck, the John P. McGovern Distinguished Professor, has been affiliated with The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston since 1984. Her commitment to her work as a nurse, educator and researcher is evident in her numerous leadership roles and contributions to her field. Her accomplishments include more than 20 years of educational and administrative responsibilities, combined with nearly 35 years of nursing experience. She is recognized nationally as an innovator in nursing curriculum and recruitment. More Q&A with the Dean.
Joan Engebretson, DrPH, RN
Associate Professor,
Department of Target Populations - Women and Childbearing Families
Dr. Engebretson specializes in ethnographic studies - how patients locate, interpret and personalize health information. She has conducted studies of healers and complementary or alternative therapies, which led to scholarly work on spirituality and health. Engebretson invented the "Wee Thumbie" pacifier, which is specially designed for premature/low birth weight infants.
Frank Cole, PhD, RN
Professor and Division Head,
Department of Acute and Continuing Care - Emergency Care Division
Dr. Cole is the research coordinator for The University of Texas Health Services at Houston , a clinic staffed by nurse practitioners. He holds a joint appointment with the UT School of Public Health as a professor of Occupational and Environmental Health. Dr. Cole 's current research interests focus on advanced practice nurses in emergency care. He has also conducted numerous funded research projects in the areas of HIV/AIDS, provision of care to persons with HIV/AIDS, HIV prevention, and health promotion.
Gwen Sherwood, RN, PhD, FAAN
Professor and Associate Dean for Practice and Outreach
A well-known speaker on topics related to caring, leadership, spirituality, organizational culture and pain management, Dr. Sherwood bridges education and practice through her work with The Center for Professional Excellence and her administrative and research role at the UT School of Nursing. Her research focuses on pain management, and she is currently studying acute pain management among Spanish speakers.
Sandra K. Hanneman, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Dean for Research
Dr. Hanneman currently conducts research on weaning adult patients from mechanical ventilation using a chronobiology perspective. She also has researched the clinical predictors of weaning outcomes, the effects of nursing interventions on weaning readiness, and assessments of both subjective and objective measures of weaning readiness.
Elda Ramirez, MSN, RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing,
Department of Acute and Continuing Care - Emergency Care Division
A fluent Spanish speaker, Ms. Ramirez is an experienced educator and clinician. She developed a lab that enables students to learn lifesaving procedures as well as establishing the first cadaver lab for the UT School of Nursing. She has developed ties with emergency medicine departments and physicians across Harris County through educating physicians on the advantages of having an emergency nurse practitioner with the extensive skill acquired clinically in this program.