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Luncheon Honors Young Investigators
for ‘First-Rate Discovery’
At The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, we must have “front-line, first-rate discovery,” Health Science Center President James T. Willerson, M.D., told honorees Sept. 7 at the second annual Outstanding Young Investigators luncheon.
“It’s my hope as a physician that your discovery is directed to things that will make a real difference in people’s lives,” he said. Speaking in the Beth Robertson Auditorium of the new Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building, Willerson outlined accomplishments of the last five years and plans for the future in recruitment and retention of world-class scientists and providing world-class physical facilities.
“Are we committed to research?” he asked. “We very definitely are, and research of the highest quality that is directed at improving the lives of human beings.
Peter J. A. Davies, M.D., Ph.D.
“If I were a young person coming to our health science center, I would be very enthusiastic,” Willerson said. “You’re in as good a spot as anyone could possibly be in the world for biomedical science. Here in the world’s largest medical center, potential research collaborators and opportunities for discovery are everywhere.”
Providing an opportunity for young investigators to get to know one another and find new opportunities for collaboration was one of the purposes of the luncheon.
“It is a great opportunity to bring scientists together to exchange ideas and develop new partnerships,” explained Peter J. A. Davies, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for research.
Patricia L. Starck,
D.S.N.
Congratulations and pride in the honorees’ accomplishments were frequent themes as the deans presented the honorees from their schools and gave a brief description of their activities.
School of Nursing
It’s not easy to be an excellent teacher, researcher and practitioner, but “this is how I would describe Dr. Calvin,” said Patricia L. Starck, D.S.N., dean of the UT School of Nursing at Houston. The first nurse researcher in the center for palliative care at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Amy O. Calvin, Ph.D., has dedicated herself to end-of-life research. “I think that you can realize that this important area of study is one that will benefit patients and families and will have an impact on all clinicians,” Starck said.
Sudarat Kiat-amnuay, D.D.S., and Catherine M.
Flaitz, D.D.S.
Dental Branch
Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S, dean of the UT Dental Branch at Houston, described Sudarat Kiat-amnuay, D.D.S., as an artist, as well as a clinician scientist. Her research is part of a multi-center clinical trial looking at a very inexpensive type of plastic to restore the face and jaw of individuals who have undergone very serious trauma, cancer treatment or birth defects.
“You can just imagine,” Flaitz said, “if this material is a successful alternative, how that would positively impact access to care to the underserved population in the US, and also help developing nations restore the dignity and face of affected individuals in an affordable way.”
School of Public Health
Guy S. Parcel, Ph.D., dean of the UT School of Public Health, introduced three honorees from regional campuses of the school.
Sherry Lipsky, Ph.D., “makes an important contribution to the research program at our Dallas campus,” he said. She is investigating the epidemiology of intimate partner violence and its relationship to alcohol consumption.
Sherry Lipsky, Ph.D.; Guy S. Parcel, Ph.D.; Scott Walters, Ph.D.;
and
Blanca Restrepo, Ph.D.
Blanco Restrepo, Ph.D., a microbiologist, is studying tuberculosis in the Texas-Mexico border region to better understand drug resistant strains and interactions of TB with other diseases, including diabetes, Parcel said.
The work of clinical psychologist Scott Walters, Ph.D., “is focusing on a very important problem,” Parcel said, the prevention of alcohol use and abuse in college students and adolescents.
Medical School
Jerry S. Wolinsky, M.D., interim dean of the UT Medical School at Houston, described three honorees from the Medical School as “highly successful” with publications in high-impact professional journals.
The selection committee was impressed by the fact that Ambro van Hoof, Ph.D., has won the “very prestigious” Pew Scholar Award and has research funding through 2010, Wolinsky said. A paper that van Hoof published in 2002 already has been cited nearly 100 times.
Jerry S. Wolinsky, M.D.
Kevin A. Morano, Ph.D., is an American Cancer Society awardee and has a National Institutes of Health grant through 2011. “He’s been particularly interested in cells that have major implications for diseases which may be related to misfolding of proteins,” such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.
“We’re looking forward to increasingly wonderful things” from Wenzheng Zhang, Ph.D., Wolinsky said. His research funding will run through 2008. “Recently he’s cloned a new mouse histone-modifying enzyme that appears to be widely distributed throughout the phylogenetic kingdom and undoubtedly is an important molecule to study.”
Institute of Molecular Medicine
Davies said that Peter P. Ruvolo, Ph.D., “has been one of the leaders in the recognition of lipid signaling molecules as mediators in various signal pathways, particularly those involved in cell death.” This year he was invited to present his work at an international symposium in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Young Investigators Program
The Outstanding Young Investigators program “was developed primarily by the Research Council with the idea of recognizing the achievements of young investigators as they promote the diverse research programs of our institution,” Davies said.
The Research Council brings together both the leaders and many participants from the research community on a regular basis to explore ways to promote, foster and support research activities within the health science center.
The Outstanding Young Investigators luncheon was hosted by the offices of the President, Research and Institutional Advancement.