Congratulations to the UTMB Health Pediatric Clinic in Alvin for placing first place in the Best Public Service Entry category for their float in the Frontier’s Day Parade in Alvin.
Elizabeth J. Protas, vice president and dean of the School of Health Professions, George T. Bryan Distinguished Professor, and Senior Fellow in the Sealy Center on Aging, was recently elected a member of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) Board of Trustees for a three year term. USRA is an independent, nonprofit research corporation and engages the creativity and authoritative expertise of the research community to advance space science and technology. As part of USRA's governance structure, 105 PhD granting universities oversee USRA to ensure that it meets its public purpose. University members elect an independent Board of Directors (known as the Board of Trustees) which governs USRA.

UTMB, its police department and the Southeast Texas Poison Center located on campus hosted another successful drug take-back event at the UTMB Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes in League City and, for the first time on the island, at the UTMB Eye Center. The effort brought in 642 pounds of medications in League City and 169 pounds in Galveston.

Across the country, the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day brought in 742,497 pounds, or 371 tons, of prescription medications at more than 5,800 locations. This was the sixth national event since the Drug Enforcement Administration launched the initiative in October 2010. In total, more than 2.8 million pounds, or 1,409 tons, of prescription medications have been removed from circulation in a safe and convenient way.

Congratulations to all who participated!

 
UTMB’s Dr. Egle Bytautiene, a scholar in the Building Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health program, is one of nine women who have been nominated for this year’s Kathryn Stream, Ph.D. Award for Excellence in Women’s Health. The annual award recognizes a Houston-area researcher, educator, practitioner or community leader who has attained an outstanding record of achievement in advancing women’s health through collaborations in education, research or advocacy.

 

Elizabeth Latiolais, Liver transplant social worker, Erin Yates, UTMB Liver Program manager, Dr. Andrea Duchini, UTMB Liver Program medical director, Leonardo Duchini and Jane Louis, Transplant Dietician. Members of the UTMB Texas Transplant Center participated in a 5K/1K walk sponsored by the American Liver Foundation at Terry Hershey Park in Houston and raised $1610 in support a future free of liver disease.

The event raised a total of $98,000 in the fight against liver disease.

 
Atascocita Compton of the UTMB Blood Bank and Lindsey White, United Way at Blood drive for victims in West, Texas.Tanger Outlets partnered with United Way Galveston County Mainland and UTMB Blood Center to host an emergency Blood Drive in response to the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.
 
“We understand the importance of being a good community partner. Whether we are helping people in our own backyard or across the state of Texas, we are happy to do what we can to assist,” said Aimee Braswell, General Manager of Tanger Outlets Houston/Galveston.

 

 

 

Meeting attendees at the 5th annual NBL-RBL Network Meeting at the Galveston National Laboratory at UTMB.The Galveston National Laboratory recently hosted the 5th annual meeting if the U.S. national and regional biocontainment laboratories (NBLs-RBLs).  This network of laboratories was commissioned by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) following the events of 9/11 to provide BSL-4/3/2 and BSL-3/2 biocontainment facilities, respectively, for research on biodefense and emerging infectious disease agents.  The labs are located on academic campuses across the country.  This team of researchers, engineers, biosafety professional, lab animal staff and communications personnel meet yearly – and UTMB was proud to host the 2013 meeting in April.