The 16th Annual Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day Award Winners 

Anjali Sivaramakrishnan (Faculty) UT Health San Antonio 
Exercise training combined with virtual reality-based games can improve balance in Parkinson’s disease

Mahanaz Syed (Faculty) UT Health San Antonio

AI-Based Eligibility Reasoning over EHR Data for Clinical Trial Recruitment

Sarai Llamas (Other) UT Health San Antonio

Therapeutic Yoga Improves Quality of Life and Reduces Perceived Stress in Women with Breast Cancer: A-6 Month Intervention in South Texas Communities

Emi Varfaj (Other) UT Health San Antonio

Validation of Dried Plasma Spot Sampling for Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers in Diverse and Resource-Limited Settings

Zoe Hauffpauir (Postdoctoral) UT Health San Antonio

Characterization of lumazine synthase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to inform drug design

Matteo Maria Lalovich (Postdoctoral) UT Health San Antonio

Short-Term Glucagon Adaptation to an Isocaloric Ketogenic Diet in Obese Individuals with Type-2 Diabetes

Chloe Chui (Student) UT Health San Antonio

AI-Assisted Clinical Data Extraction: Evaluating AI Limits and Utility in Clinical Decision Support

Nahid Iftkihar (Student) UT Health San Antonio

Pharmacologic Activation of Estrogen Receptor β Supresses Tumor Growth and Enhances Chemosensitivity in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Durga Meenakshi Pannerdoss(Student) UT Health San Antonio

LIPA Inhibition Enhances the Therapeutic Efficacy of DNA-Damaging Agents in Ovarian Cancer Through Induction of ER Stress and Enhancing DNA Damage

Athena Santi (Student) UT Health San Antonio

Chemomagnetic Capsaic in Delivery for TRPV1 Modulation in Chronic Pain and Neural Repair

Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science Clinical & Translational Science
Mentor of the Year Award Winners

Audrey Lamb

Daniel Lodge

Sudha Seshadri

Ratna Vadlamudi

Congratulations to Magdalena Ontiveros, MPH, GC-GB, MSCI-TS Academic Coordinator, on earning her Master of Public Health degree from the UT Health Houston School of Public Health. Magdalena completed her MPH in Community Health with a concentration in Genomics and Bioinformatics. We are proud to celebrate this outstanding achievement and her continued dedication to advancing public health and translational science education.

The San Antonio Postdoctoral Research Forum is an annual research and networking symposium that highlights the diverse and innovative work of postdoctoral research fellows across a wide range of disciplines, including biomedical sciences, public health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, business, and beyond.

Drawing participants from across the various UT San Antonio campuses as well as other research-intensive institutions across San Antonio, the one-day forum serves as a platform for sharing interdisciplinary discoveries, fostering collaborations and promoting professional development.

Friday, June 12, 2026 by 5:00 PM

Please click on the link below to submit your Abstract.

https://uthscsa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_77mPl2kOjUqTAP4

The Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) is now accepting applications for Translational Technology Resource (TTR) awards to support genetic analyses at the single-cell level and spatial level. The proposed research must have relevance to clinical and/or translational science.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Proposals received on or before the 15th of a given month will be reviewed by the 15th of the following month. 

For more information click here.

Next application deadline is June 15.

Cures Within Reach (CWR) is now accepting submissions for its Clinical Trials to Validate AI-Driven Drug Repurposing Request for Proposals (RFP). Multiple awards are available, including funding specifically for Texas-based clinical trials and/or Texas-based AI models.

LOI deadline: June 26, 2026

Funding: Up to $100,000 per project

Who can apply: Investigators at any career stage

Focus: Phase I/IIA clinical trials using approved drugs, biologics, or eligible cellular/gene therapies for new indications in unsolved diseases

Requirement: AI model data must be included as supporting evidence

CWR encourages submissions from Texas institutions and welcomes multiple applications from the same institution or PI.

Interested applicants can join an AI Validation RFP information session on June 4 to learn more. Questions about eligibility, budget, or project ideas are encouraged.

Learn more and sign up: https://bit.ly/cwrrfps

NCATS Updates

Mike's Blog - Is Anyone Really Suprised? 
A recent Stat article highlighted early results from CMS’ WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) Model, an AI-enabled prior authorization pilot now underway in six states. The program is being piloted in Arizona, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, and Washington, which includes ten CTSAs. Continue Reading

CTSA Updates

New CTSA Impact Page