Media Spotlight

The following is a sample of recent media placements about The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. For more information or assistance with media relations, call Meredith Raine, 713-500-3050.

KHOU-TV sports reporter Matt Musil tells the story of a Booker T. Washington football player who, thanks to neurologist Dr. Ian Butler, now is back on the field after fighting off a rare life-threatening form of encephalitis; aired on “11 News At Six,” 9/10.

Dr. Ronald J. Peters tells KHOU-TV reporter Leigh Frillici how some drug-abusing teens are getting hold of Viagra and how parents should prevent kids from “getting it from their home.” Aired on “11 News At 5 PM” (9/14) and “11 News Saturday Morning,” 9/15.

Dr. Margaret McNeese and medical student Diana Mercado explain why UT Medical School is ranked by Hispanic Business magazine among the Top 10 schools for Hispanics; aired locally on the Univision network’s KXLN-TV, “Noticias 45 At 5 PM” and “Noticias 45 At 10:30 PM,” 9/16.

Traveling to Mexico with Dr. Herbert Dupont and UT Houston students, Christi Myers airs a four-part KTRK-TV series about: a new vaccine patch for traveler’s diarrhea; how DNA can predict your susceptibility to gastrointestinal disruptions; why desserts actually can be safer choice for travelers; and, why food contamination from Mexico can become a U.S. health problem, 9/18, 23 and 30.

Drs. James C. Grotta & Diane Fite discuss the advantages of more aggressive in-route treatment and how stocking TPA in multiple citywide stroke centers can vastly improve stroke recovery; reported by Janice Williamson on KHOU-TV, 9/21.

In a report by Janet Shamlian broadcast nationwide on the NBC Nightly News program, UT Houston surgeon Dr. Emily Robinson talks about using an iPod to relax in surgery and to play movies demonstrating surgical techniques, 9/22).

For reporter Alexis Grant’s Front-Page story in the Sept. 23 Houston Chronicle, Drs. Giuseppe Colasurdo and Michael Gambello explain how the growth of pediatric specialists is not keeping up with a desperate demand and that the shortage is probably due to “money, money, money.”

Dr. Teodoro Castillo, a UT Houston expert in spinal cord injury at Memorial Hermann/TIRR, discusses the possibilities for Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett’s eventual recovery; aired on KTRK-TV’s “Eyewitness News At Four” and “Eyewitness News At Six,” 9/24.

Dr. James T. Willerson announces that he will be stepping down as UT Houston’s president to head the Texas Heart Institute, but he will remain in his current role until his successor is found and in place. Reported by KTRK-TV, KPRC-TV and KUHF-FM, Sept. 26 – as well as in a Sept. 27 Houston Chronicle story by Todd Ackerman and in Houston Business Journal’s 09/28-10/04 issue.

In a Front-Page Houston Chronicle story by Todd Ackerman, UT Houston’s Dr. Mildred Ramirez describes how pregnant cancer patient Linda Sanchez benefits from a collaborative program with UT M.D. Anderson that protects her baby during treatment,9/28.

In the Oct. 2007 issue of SHAPE Magazine, Dr. Lois M. Ramondetta shares her best advice on reducing the danger of breast cancer: regular self-exams.

The Media Relations team reported 196 total media placements in September 2007 (an increase of 69 percent over Sept. 2006).