By UTMB COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
UTMB Sealy Center on Aging’s RSVP senior volunteers and advisory council members, along with partners from ShyKatZ Deli and Galveston Elks Lodge No. 126, gathered Jan. 19 to stuff backpacks with items for homeless veterans in celebration of the Martin Luther King Day of Service. Twenty backpacks and several tote bags were filled with items like soap, shampoo, packaged food, blankets, socks, gloves, toothbrushes, toothpaste, jackets and clothing. They were distributed to homeless veterans through the VA Clinic.
New Island Pediatrics West Primary and Urgent Care Location
UTMB’s Pediatric Primary and Urgent Care Clinics in west Galveston have moved from 2027 61st St. into a new building at 6416 Broadway — in front of Home Depot in the Galvez Shopping Center. Both clinics are now open for business at the new location. Primary care hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Urgent care hours are Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The new clinic is four times larger than the old, with 6700 square feet of space, 12 exam rooms, easy access and lots of parking. For more information call 409-744-5437 or 888-886-2543.
Wagner to serve as interim psychiatry chair
Dr. Karen Wagner, vice chairwoman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry, will serve as interim chairwoman of UTMB’s department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences beginning March 1. An internationally recognized expert in the treatment of childhood disorders, Wagner has served as vice chairwoman of UTMB’s department since 1992. She will step into the position that will be vacated by Dr. Robert Hirschfeld, who has served as chairman of the department for 25 years, upon his retirement March 1.
Lyons awarded $712,000 by American Cancer Society
Elizabeth Lyons, assistant professor in the department of nutrition and metabolism, has received a $712,000 award from the American Cancer Society for a five-year project looking at whether middle-aged breast cancer survivors are more likely to exercise if they participate in narrative-based active video games. Lyons says regular physical activity is associated with a decrease in the risk of many negative health outcomes, including breast cancer recurrence and mortality, but that most breast cancer survivors don’t get enough exercise.
Valbuena wins $426,000 for Nipah virus study
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Dr. Gustavo Valbuena, associate professor in UTMB’s department of pathology, $426,198 for a two-year grant, “Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Nipah Virus Pathogenesis.” The research will test how Nipah virus infection affects human immune cell response. The research potentially could be used for the development and testing of new ways to treat and prevent the lethal disease.
Hughes named UT System Rising STAR
Grant Hughes, assistant professor in the department of pathology, has received a $250,000 Rising Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention Program award from the University of Texas System. Hughes has just come to UTMB from Pennsylvania State University, where he studied Anopheles mosquitoes and the insect-symbiotic bacteria Wolbachia. Hughes plans to use the Rising STARs award to establish a molecular laboratory where he can conduct his state-of-the-art molecular research combining techniques from medicine with current vector biology control strategies to reduce pathogen transmission.
Inside UTMB is compiled by the communications department at the University of Texas Medical Branch.