Kudos

Submit information for consideration for Kudos. Please include complete titles and doctoral degrees.

Awards and Honors

Francisco Fuentes, M.D., the Theodore R. and Maureen O’Driscoll Levy Endowed Professor in Cardiology Research, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School (MS), and Samia Khalil, M.D., professor of anesthesiology, MS, were honored as Memorial Hermann Hospital Distinguished Physicians at the Dec. 16 annual medical staff meeting. Jeffrey Katz, M.D., president of the medical staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, and the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology, MS, announced the selections.

Adelaide A. Hebert, M.D., vice chairman of the Department of Dermatology, MS, has been named one of six founding members of the board of directors of the International Hyperhidrosis Society, a non-profit advocacy group that promotes research and public awareness about excessive sweating.

Arthur H. Jeske, D.M.D., Ph.D., professor of integrative biology and pharmacology, MS, has been named section editor, pharmacology, for Cranio: The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice, for 2004-07.

Sudarat Kiat-Amnuay, D.D.S, assistant professor of restorative dentistry, Dental Branch, was named co principal investigator of a study that will develop new materials for facial reconstruction for people who need rehabilitation after cancer. The five-year study will involve researchers at the Health Science Center, the University of Louisville, the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Center, the Mayo Cancer Center and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. The Dental Branch will receive about $350,000 over five years for the study, funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research as a subcontractor through the University of Louisville.

Kristin Ownby, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing for target populations, School of Nursing (SON), received the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation/Aventis Research Fellowship to support her project “Biochemical Markers for Symptom Management Research.” The award provides $13,700 to support training in immunologic measurement. Ownby will receive training from mentor Gailen Marshall, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and pathology and director, Division of Allergy and Immunology, MS.

Kevin D. Pereira, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, MS, has been selected to serve a three-year term on the American Academy of Otolaryngology’s Committee on Tonsils and Adenoids.

Pedro Ruiz, M.D., professor and vice chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MS, has been appointed to the editorial board of the Egyptian Journal of Psychiatry.

Chase Untermeyer, vice president for governmental relations, Health Science Center, has been asked by Kaye Stripling, Ed.D., superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, to become a member of the Graduation Oversight Committee, which will monitor the district’s efforts to increase the graduation rate.

Presentations

Joseph B. McCormick, M.D., assistant dean and the James H. Steele, D.V.M., Professor in Public Health, and Susan Fisher-Hoch, M.D., Ph.D., professor of biological sciences, both at the Brownsville Regional Campus, SPH, gave a presentation on “Virus Hunters in Action” in November to high school students in Austin. They discussed investigations they had conducted of ebola, HIV, lassa, hepatitis C, Congo Crimean hemorrhagic fever and cholera. Fisher-Hoch also holds a faculty appointment in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS).

Publications

Marianne T. Marcus, Ed.D., the John P. McGovern Professor in Addictions Nursing and chair, Department of Nursing Systems, SON, is lead author on the article “Change in Stress Levels Following Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in a Therapeutic Community” in the December issue of Addictive Disorders and Their Treatments. Co-authors include F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, MS and GSBS; Paul Swank, Ph.D., professor of developmental pediatrics, MS; Myrna Khan, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing, Center for Nursing Research, SON; Kathleen Pitts, student, SON and SPH; and Patricia Liehr, Ph.D., professor of nursing systems and technology, SON. The article reports on a pilot study showing that mindfulness-based stress reduction, a meditation therapy, signifi- cantly reduced awakening cortisol levels in subjects recovering from substance abuse in a therapeutic community environment.

Austin Stack, M.B.B.Ch., assistant professor; Donald A. Molony, M.D., professor; S. N. Rahman, M.D., associate professor; Akinsan K. Dosekun, M.B.B.S, assistant professor; and B.V.R. Murthy, M.B.B.S., M.D., D.M., assistant professor, all from the Department of Internal Medicine Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, MS, authored an article describing the detrimental impact of peritoneal dialysis over hemodialysis among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with preexisting congestive heart failure. The results were contrary to the prevailing opinion that peritoneal dialysis might be more gentle and offer better control of fluid status among patients with congestive heart failure. The study, one of the largest ever, was based on national cohort of 107,922 patients who were started on dialysis from 1995-97. It was published in the September edition of Kidney International.