UTMB News Articles

“We have the science. Now it’s about infrastructure, education, and delivery,” UTMB’s Dr. Scott Weaver said at gathering of scientists at The University of the West Indies that came together to discuss the resurgence of mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika.

Dr. Giulio Taglialatela coauthored an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle on how “Houston region is positioned to become the global leader in the emerging brain economy.”

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times when measles began to spread in Texarkana in 1970. The city straddles the state line between Texas and Arkansas and provides a lesson for today on the importance of vaccination, write Drs. Richard Rupp and Megan Berman in their Vaccine Smarts Column.

UTMB’s innovative uses of AI are featured in this article by VentureBeat. “The data is just sitting out there,” UTMB’s Dr. Peter McCaffrey told VentureBeat. “What I love about this is that AI doesn’t have to do anything superhuman. It’s performing a low intellect task, but at very high volume, and that still provides a lot of value, because we’re constantly finding things that we miss.”

In his latest column, Dr. Victor S. Sierpina delves into the role of the naturopathic doctor. “Naturopathic Medicine emphasizes prevention, lifestyle counseling, nutrition, botanicals, and other non-invasive, natural methods of care,” Sierpina writes.

“Despite the progress made, many challenges remain in providing life-saving screening imaging to underserved populations,” said UTMB’s Dr. Lidiya Biltibo at the recent American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting. Biltibo highlighted the success of UTMB’s mobile mammography van as well as the challenges.

“With everything else going on in the world, it can be easy to miss new discoveries in biomedical science,” write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their weekly Medical Discovery News column. Herzog and Niesel go over some of the past year’s biggest breakthroughs.

"If people would just get the standard vaccination, none of this would be happening," Dr. Scott Weaver tells 4029 News as the Arkansas Department of Health reports the state's first confirmed in-state case of measles transmission of 2025.

UTMB’s Dr. Shikha Wadhwani was one of three experts invited to a roundtable discussion organized by MedPage Today to discuss new guidelines released by The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes group.

“I think a billion-dollar question is: how can we sustainably balance rising drug costs, access to high-cost therapies, and evolving reimbursement models, while maintaining clinical excellence and financial viability?” UTMB’s Michael Eagon tells Becker’s. Eagon was one of 14 executives featured in the article.

A new study coauthored by UTMB researchers Dr. Scott Weaver and Dr. Nikos Vasilakis says yellow fever could be the next big global health scare—especially in Asia. A century after public health pioneer H.R. Carter first warned of yellow fever spreading to Asia, this recent study published in Nature, outlines how rapid urbanization, low vaccination rates, and global travel could set the stage for a yellow fever outbreak in the Asia-Pacific region.

Despite growing legalization and widespread use, marijuana has been shown to cause changes in the human epigenome—chemical modifications to DNA that can influence gene activity and be passed down through generations. In this week’s Medical Discovery News column, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel explain recent findings on how cannabis use can alter the human epigenome—chemical changes to DNA that may impact health and be passed to future generations.

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston is named No. 5 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas: No. 76 nationally. U.S. News & World Report published its annual national "Best Graduate Schools" rankings on April 8. They look at several programs including business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, and many others. Several graduate programs also appeared among the top 10 in a Texas-wide comparison.

Think you’re done with Covid vaccines? Think again, write Drs. Richard Rupp and Megan Berman. There is moderate Covid activity in the South and now is a good time for those 65 or older or people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised to get a booster.