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President’s Scholars Thank Others for Support
Honors Convocation commends faculty for achievements in research, education and service
The holder of the longest continuously funded research grant at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and a master clinical teacher received the highest faculty awards of the UT Health Science Center at Houston during the Nov. 1 Faculty Honors Convocation.
William Dowhan, Ph.D., left, and Frank Arnett, M.D., admire the
President’s Scholar Award certificates they received at the UT
Health Science Center at Houston’s Faculty Honors Convocation.
Photo by John Everett
Health Science Center President James T. Willerson, M.D., presented the President’s Scholar Award for Excellence in Research to William Dowhan, Ph.D., holder of the John S. Dunn Sr. Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the President’s Scholar Award for Excellence in Teaching to Frank C. Arnett Jr., M.D., holder of the Elizabeth Bidgood Chair in Rheumatology.
“Two very impressive individuals were selected from a pool of nominations submitted by faculty and students throughout our campus,” Willerson said. “Each President’s Scholar receives a $5,000 cash prize – but more importantly, they receive the admiration and recognition of their peers.”
In addition, more than 100 faculty members were recognized for excellence in research, education and service. “We are truly grateful for the work that all of our faculty do on behalf of the UT Health Science Center at Houston, and we are delighted to commend you for all your achievements,” Willerson said.
Excellence in Research
One of the founding members of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Medical School, Dowhan is a professor in that department and in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. As a faculty member in the UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, he has been heavily involved in research training for students and postdoctoral fellows.
“I am often asked,” he said, “‘How did you manage to keep the same National Institutes of Health research grant running for 32 years?’ Well, first choose a broad title in an obscure, emerging area, where the possibilities for discovering novel and interesting new biology are greatest.
“My laboratory combined emerging molecular genetic and cloning techniques to investigate and characterize the many roles that membrane lipids play in cell function,” he said. The studies have led to possible new insights into such diseases as cystic fibrosis, dementia and mad cow disease.
In spite of his continuing grant support, Dowhan emphasized the importance of flexible non-targeted research funds provided by organizations and individuals. “Research requires continuous financial support, yet ideas that justify such support come in spurts and stops,” he said. “Support to pursue untested ideas and new avenues of research into unknown territory is very limited. Endowment funds provide important resources to maintain a steady availability of funds and the opportunity to explore new ideas.”
Excellence in Teaching
Arnett has received 22 teaching awards during his 21-year tenure at the Medical School. He is professor of internal medicine and of pathology and laboratory medicine, and he holds a faculty position in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He has been at the forefront of research into the basic mechanisms of autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma and lupus. Arnett’s remarks highlighted the success – and the importance – of teaching. “Over the last 20 years,” he said, “our school and its faculty have earned a reputation for teaching and training outstanding physicians and physician-scientists. Our students compete successfully for residencies and fellowships at the most prestigious schools and hospitals in the country.”
He attributed some of that success to the fact that “our faculty take teaching seriously.” Unlike faculty members at some other universities, the faculty at the UT Medical School mentor and nurture trainees. As a resident told Arnett recently, “Here at UT-Houston, I know that a lot of people care about me.”
Arnett thanked faculty colleagues, staff members and the university’s leaders, “who keep teaching at the forefront of our activities.” He said, “I hope you are as proud of our school and its trainees as I.”
By Ina Fried, Public Affairs