Events
Sept. 23 [VIRTUAL] Research Forum | Live walkthrough of the First Research Learning Library unit: “Human research: Required training”

1 – 2 p.m.

Free registration

Advanced registration recommended by Sept. 16.

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Sept. 24 [VIRTUAL] IIMS |Perry & Ruby Stevens Parkinson’s Disease Center of Excellence Seminar | Autophagy: A selective eater that protects the brain | Zhenyu Yue, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

4 – 5 p.m.

Free registration

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Oct. 19-21 [VIRTUAL] STRONG STAR | 6th annual San Antonio combat PTSD conference

Registration fee: $50 per day

Free for students and active-duty military personnel

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Feb. 23-25, 2022 [IN-PERSON] MCC | 3rd biennial conference: Advancing the science of cancer in Latinos

Registration fee (early bird) until 12/13/21:

General Admission: $400
Student: $175

Patient Advocate: $150

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Research Stories
$1.6 million UT System STARs award to advance research on aging and breast cancer

David Gius, MD, PhD, professor and Associate Cancer Director of Translational Research, has been awarded a $1.6 million UT System Faculty STARs award to support his research on aging and breast cancer. The award will be used to purchase equipment to conduct more in-depth experiments in his laboratory at the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies. Dr. Gius said one vital tool is a scanning electron microscope that creates a 3-D reconstruction of the mitochondria.

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$1 million UT System STARs award helps launch Center of Excellence for the Structural Biology of Human Diseases

Shaun K. Olsen, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology, is the recipient of the UT System Faculty STARs award. This award will allow him to obtain next-generation structural biology equipment, such as cryo-electron microscopy, enhancing the infrastructure for researchers and pre-clinical drug development. The funding further advances his goal to establish an interdisciplinary, collaborative center for cancer, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders by next summer.  

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Trauma surgeon and inventor advances redesigned retractor to patient testing in hospitals in San Antonio and Austin

 

Ramon Cestero, MD, MBA, FACS, FCCM, clinical professor in the Department of Surgery, invented the Titan CSA, a retractor, disrupting current surgical instrument technology that has remained the same for more than 100 years. His frustration led him to develop a pathway from concept to reality, with support from Office of Technology Commercialization and the President’s Translational and Entrepreneurial Research Fund. Dr. Cestero’s retractor has undergone patient testing at University Hospital, achieving efficacy — and is now being tested in Austin at the Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas.

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Institutional core labs secure $4.6 million for technology to accelerate research discoveries

 

“Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Shared Instrumentation program and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute (CPRIT) Core Facility Support program allows state-of-the art technology to be purchased for highly used institutional core labs by UT Health San Antonio researchers, but also made available to external research partners,” said Ramiro Ramirez-Solis, PhD, director of the institutional core labs. He added, “Writing these grants is very time intensive, so I am delighted that Michael Berton, PhD; Alex Taylor, PhD, and Exing Wang, PhD, were successful in their efforts to support the research enterprise.”

 

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Research Roundup
The Institutional Biobank: Scaffolding Precision Medicine

 

“With the goal to educate the South Texas communities we serve on what is a biobank, what role does it play in precision medicine, and how the community can partner with us in this new era of science, a video was created,”explained interim Vice President for Research Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH.  Dr. Potter credits her predecessor, Andrea Giuffrida, PhD., for his accomplishment of this strategic priority during his tenure.  Securing a $2.5 million gift from the J.M.R. Barker Foundation in partnership with Debbie Morrill, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, was instrumental in funding the space renovation in the Research Administration Building on the Greehey Campus.  

The Institutional Biobank is a member of the University of Texas System Health Biobank (UTSHB) Consortium, an initiative designed to bridge the gap between researchers seeking biospecimens/related data and researchers with biospecimens /related data consented for sharing. Click here to view the video.

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Briscoe Library seeks to foster community dialogue on DEI

Artist Lionel Sosa

 

A more localized understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and systemic social injustice has been captured with a traveling exhibit created by renowned Hispanic national leader and artist Lionel Sosa.  From Sept. 27-Oct. 4, “Living in My Skin,” a collection of more than 30 oil paintings can be viewed at the Briscoe library. As health care professionals and scientists, you are invited to engage in a social media conversation on the impact of racial and social injustices. Stay connected by following the library’s social channels — Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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School of Dentistry places #34 in international ranking

 

The School of Dentistry ranked 34th worldwide in the annual Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the ShanghaiRanking, in the category of Dentistry & Oral Sciences.  The global rankings contain comparisons in 54 subject areas and use a range of data to measure performance including research quality, research influence, international collaboration and international academic awards. The School of Dentistry’s innovative research also ranks it as the leading dental school in Texas and #13 nationally, according to the latest Blue Ridge Annual Report, which tracks National Institutes of Health funding.

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Researchers: Get ready to explore your ideas and test your business proposition

 

The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) launched TechNovum-GO earlier this month. This is a guided online and self-paced program designed to encourage researchers and faculty entrepreneurs to explore the full business potential of their creative biomedical research ideas. The online sessions, which can be accessed on demand, include design tool tutorials, video tips, pitch templates and much more. The self-paced modality enhances the current in-person entrepreneurship programming offered by the OTC and life science partners.

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What did you say about the Navigating the Research Lifecycle website?

 

This summer, we solicited your input on the redesigned research administration website, “Navigating the Research Lifecycle,” that launched in February. We appreciate the responses, which overall were positive. Users, particularly those who used the website heavily, commented that they were experiencing a learning curve to find content now curated in a new format. New customer service functionalities, such as the help feature and scheduling a concierge appointment, were viewed as positive enhancements. Website development is an iterative process, and your suggestions will inform additional changes in the year ahead.

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Clinical Research & Clinical Trials
Revised advertising guidelines aim to leverage social media platforms

 

In response to the increasing use and effectiveness of social media for marketing and recruitment of participants for clinical studies, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) partnered with the Marketing, Communications and Media (MCM) department to revise the institution’s advertising guidelines. The goal is for investigators and research teams to understand their role and responsibilities when using social media for clinical trials recruitment and to submit plans for expeditious review by the IRB.

 

Last month more than 55 participants joined the Research Forum (held virtually). The forum covered advertising and social media guidelines, e-Velos features for tracking recruitment, budget analysis, sponsor reimbursements and marketing services. A marketing plan developed for the Topical RAPA clinical trial led by Ellen Kraig, PhD, and co-principal investigator Dean Kellogg, MD, PhD, was shared with forum participants to illustrate the new marketing service.  To access the webinars, click webinar series archives.

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Gamechanger: Texas’ only National Institute on Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

 

As an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), the South Texas center immediately becomes “part of the national conversation,” said Sudha Seshadri, MD, professor of neurology at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and founding director of its Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases. “Our research discoveries and the insights we learn from our patients and families about what is important to them will become part of a very large national dataset for ADRC scientists and health policy experts to use, and we will be part of shaping the research as well as rapidly learning from the wisdom of all our colleagues at the other centers. It will be a gamechanger that will take our research and care to the next level,” she said. Read more here.