Kudos

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Awards and Honors

Rena D’Souza, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor of orthodontics, Dental Branch (DB), and a faculty member in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), served on the scientific board for the Eighth International Conference on Tooth Morphogenesis and Differentiation July 17-22 at the University of York, United Kingdom. D’Souza chaired the Genetics Anomalies Session that included a presentation of her research on “How Transcription Factors Control the Patterning of Dentition through Protein-Protein Interactions.” She also presented a short talk on “Use of Autologous Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Gingival and Periodontal Regeneration.” Other presenters from the laboratory were Hitesh Kapadia, D.D.S., who is training toward a certificate in orthodontics and a Ph.D. from GSBS, and Julia Javarone, who is enrolled in Year 2 of the integrated D.D.S./Ph.D. Program.

Yong-Jian Geng, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Biology and Atherosclerosis Research, Medical School (MS) and GSBS, was invited to give a keynote address on “Stem Cell Therapy in Cardiovascular Disease” at the Turkish Cardiovascular Surgery Society-VIII National Congress Sept. 1-4 in Kapadokya, Turkey. Geng was a member of the international steering committee and a distinguished speaker at the International Heart Forum Sept. 4-6 in Beijing, China. Geng lectured on “Inflammation, Atherosclerosis and Acute Coronary Syndrome.”

Sheila Koh, D.D.S., associate professor, and Ralph Cooley, D.D.S., clinical assistant professor, both in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials, DB, and Scott Makins, D.D.S., clinical assistant professor in the Department of Endodontics, DB, were inducted into the International College of Dentists. The International College of Dentists is an honorary dental organization dedicated to the recognition of outstanding professional achievement and meritorious service and the continued progress of the profession of dentistry for the benefit of all humankind.

Bruce C. Kone, M.D., chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, MS and GSBS, was selected to serve as a member of the Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Kidney Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health (NIH), July 1, 2004-June 30, 2007. Kone also holds the James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair. Study section members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.

Margo Melchor-Rodriguez, clinical assistant professor in periodontics, DB, was elected trustee of the National Hispanic Dental Association. Melchor-Rodriguez is one of two registered dental hygienists on the board of officers and will serve in this capacity for three years.

Pedro Ruiz, M.D., professor and vice chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MS, has been named a member of the editorial board of the Egyptian Journal of Psychiatry.

Z. Hong Zhou, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, MS and GSBS, received the Microscopy Society of America Burton Medal Award. The Burton Medal honors outstanding contributions of young scientists in the field of microscopy and microanalysis.

Presentations

C. D. Johnson, D.D.S., associate professor of restorative dentistry and director of recruiting, DB, chaired a session July 30 at the National Dental Association’s Minority Faculty and Administrator’s Forum. Rena D’Souza, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor of orthodontics, DB and GSBS, was invited to speak at the session on “Creative Ways to Fund Dental Education.” D’Souza was invited by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to speak Sept. 16 on “Protein-Protein Interactions that Control the Patterning of Dentition.”

Nikhil Padhye, Ph.D., assistant professor, Center for Nursing Research, and M. Terese Verklan, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing systems, both School of Nursing (SON), presented podium and poster presentations at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering - Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society meeting Sept. 1-5 in San Francisco. The podium presentation, “Response of Fetal Heart Rate to Uterine Contractions,” reported results from a grant on which Verklan is principal investigator. The poster presentations, “Monitoring Fetal Development with Magnetocardiography” and “Evaluation of the Performance of a QRS Detector for Extracting the Heart Interbeat RR Time Series from Fetal Magnetocardiography Recordings,” reported pilot data for their current research. Collaborators included
Z. Duan, M.D., former graduate research assistant in the Center for Nursing Research and current Ph.D. student in biometry at the School of Public Health (SPH). The presentations were published in the conference proceedings.

James T.Willerson, M.D., president of the health science center, spoke on “Stem Cells for Failing Hearts” during a Sept. 23 symposium on “Fostering Multidisciplinary Education” as part of the opening and dedication of a new Baylor Sciences Building at Baylor University in Waco.

Publications

Lorraine Frazier, D.S.N., associate professor of nursing systems, SON, and project director, TexGen; Janet Meininger, Ph.D., the Lee and Joseph Jamail Distinguished Professor, SON; Eric Boerwinkle, Ph.D., professor and director of the Human Genetics Center, SPH, and the Center for Human Genetics at the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases; and another co author published “Genetic Discoveries and Nursing Implications for Complex Disease Prevention and Management” in the July/August issue of the Journal of Professional Nursing. Boerwinkle also is a GSBS faculty member.

A paper by James J. Knierim, Ph.D., and colleagues, titled “Comparison of Population Coherence of Place Cells in Hippocampal Subfields CA1 and CA3,” appeared in the July 22 issue of the weekly Nature. Knierim is assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy, MS and GSBS.

Nancy McNiel, Ph.D., now director of administration, MS; along with Gwen Sherwood, Ph.D., professor and executive associate dean, SON; and Thomas Mackey, Ph.D., professor of clinical nursing, Department of Target Populations, SON, collaborated to publish “Quality and Customer Service Aspects of Faculty Practice” in the July/August issue of Nursing Outlook.

Cynthia Phelps, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Research in Health Science Education and Technology Program, School of Health Information Sciences (SHIS), published the article “Snail Tales” in the April 2004 Science Teacher. The article, co-authored by SHIS research fellow Irmgard Willcockson, Ph.D., describes how a team of teachers, scientists and high school students investigate learning and memory by studying the common garden snail.

Agnes Schonbrunn, Ph.D., professor of integrative biology and pharmacology, MS and GSBS, received attention in the June 2004 Molecular Intervention for her work with several dozen colleagues to assemble an online database of cell types and their endogenous G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Stephen K. Tyring, M.D., Ph.D., professor of dermatology,MS, is one of the authors of “Trends in Enzyme Therapy for Phenylketonuria,” published in August in Molecular Therapy, and “Aspartoacylase Deficiency Does Not Affect N-acetylaspartylglutamate Level or Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II Activity in the Knockout Mouse Brain,” published in August in Brain Research. Tyring and Peter Rady, M.D., Ph.D., professor of dermatology,MS, are among authors of “Association of p53 Arginine Polymorphism with Skin Cancer,” published in July in the International Journal of Dermatology.

Steven W.Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual science, MS and GSBS, is an author of “Retinal Ganglion Cell Type, Size and Spacing Can Be Specified Independent of Homotypic Dendritic Contacts,” published in the August issue of Neuron, a leading journal in neuroscience.

Findings on the relative toxicity of four ophthalmic antibiotics tested in a tissue culture study led by Richard W. Yee, M.D., clinical professor of ophthalmology and visual science, MS, were the focus of an Aug. 1 article in the semi-monthly Ophthalmology Times. Yee is holder of the Joe M. Green Jr. Chair in Ophthalmology.