By UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH
Krishna Bhat received a $1.16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study Amyloid Precursor Protein, a protein that has shown to be important in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Bhat is a professor with the Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology.
Fry accepted for NIH research course
Christopher Fry was accepted as one of only 15 trainees to the prestigious NIH 2015 Buck Institute Summer Training Course on the Biology of Aging. The 23rd Annual Summer Training Course provides intense exposure to current concepts in experimental aging research. Fry is an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and metabolism and studies factors influencing muscle loss.
Learning more about the Angleton Danbury Campus
UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus recently hosted the Greater Angleton Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2015 Healthcare Session. More than 20 leaders from local businesses toured the Angleton Danbury Campus. Katrina Lambrecht, vice president for institutional strategic initiatives, and Ann Varghese, associate administrator for patient and support services at Angleton Danbury, gave a presentation on the past, present and future of UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus. The leadership class also met with UTMB health care professionals for a mini-health fair that included pulse-oximetry screening, balance testing, blood pressure testing, and sleep study information.
Got brain?
UTMB neuroscience students hosted more than 120 middle schoolers at this year’s Brain Fair. Sixth graders from Austin Middle School in Galveston and High Island Middle School in Bolivar took part in hands-on science experiments — from an injury station with a “phantom limb” demo to a brain anatomy station, where students got to view real mice, goat and human brains. If students were feeling especially brave, they could put on gloves and hold an animal brain. The UTMB students who took part in the event are members of the Society for Neuroscience, Galveston Chapter — a UTMB student organization affiliated with the national SFN group. This is the second year the Galveston Chapter has hosted a Brain Fair for students. Gerson says she hopes to expand the event and reach more schools next year.
Upgrading UTMB’s infrastructure
As part of the ongoing initiative to strengthen UTMB’s infrastructure, the Business Operations and Facilities department recently began a major upgrade to the Galveston campus’ west utility plant. The upgrades are part of the $289 million district heating and cooling project, set to improve the campus’ storm resilience. To complete the upgrades the west utility plant was shut down on March 30. The shutdown was scheduled to last up to two weeks, however workers finished before schedule on April 6. During the shutdown, the campus’ central utility plant provided all of the necessary heating and cooling service, and hot and cold water to Galveston campus facilities. Under normal conditions, the campus operates on both the central and west plants.