School of Health Professionsshp.utmb.edu

Dr. Giacino named 2017 Robert L. Moody Prize recipient

Joseph Giacino, PhD was named the 2017 recipient of the Robert L. Moody Prize for Distinguished Initiatives in Brain Injury Research and Rehabilitation. Dr. Giacino was presented with the $10,000 prize and Tiffany pyramid at the Galveston Brain Injury Conference on May 4th. Dr. Giacino is the Director of Rehabilitation Neuropsychology and Research Associate in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. He is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Pictured above is Dr. Giancino with the dean. The second photo is all of the Moody Prize recipients who were present at the conference with the dean (far right) and Jim Lovelace, President and CEO of the Transitional Learning Center (far left).

Dr. Monique Pappadis selected to participate in NIA Scholars Program

Congratulations to Rehabilitation Sciences' Monique Pappadis, PhD, who was recently selected to participate in the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Butler-Williams Scholars Program.

This is an intensive 5 day program geared towards emerging aging researchers and those with limited involvement in research on aging to learn more about research on aging and to further develop their interested in this challenging and important area.

SHP Kudos & Acknowledgments

Congratulations to Marci Contreras (Physician Assistant Studies) and Dr. Janet Enderle (Clinical Laboratory Sciences), who completed the Scholars in Education Program, a 20-month long faculty development project on April 11, 2017. Contreras focused on "Recognizing victims of human trafficking and education for physician assistants". Dr. Enderle's project was the "Implementation of reflective writing in a Clinical Laboratory Science course."

Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Galloway, Associate Professor in Physical Therapy, who was inducted into the Academy of Master Clinicians (AMC).

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Furtado, Associate Professor in Physical Therapy on his selection by the Academy of Master Teachers (AMT) as Educator of the Month for March 2017.

Training for the Future

School of Health Professions Introduces Two New Doctoral Programs

UTMB's School of Health Professions is looking to the future of patient care with two new programs: a Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (DCLS) and a Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD). In July 2016, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved both unique programs, which are aimed at improving patient care and providing health care professionals with innovative options to advance their career.

Read More: Training for the Future

Dr. Rasmussen Awarded $6.67 million for NIH Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium

Dr. Blake Rasmussen, professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Metabolism, has been awarded a 6-year $6.67 million NIH grant to participate in the $170 million Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC). UTMB will be working with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio (Dr. Nicolas Musi - Site Principal Investigator) on this large project. Other UTMB faculty involved with the project include Dr. Doug Paddon-Jones, Dr. Elena Volpi, Dr. Melinda Moore, and Dr. Heidi Spratt.

The MoTrPAC Consortium, funded by the NIH Common Fund, will consist of 7 clinical centers from around the country including UTMB/UTHSCSA, University of Alabama Birmingham, Duke University, University of Pittsburgh, and UC Urvine.

The goal of the clinical centers is to recruit approximately 2700 healthy participants into exercise training clinical trials to determine how different types of physical activity alter the human body at the molecular level.

The consortium will also consist of three animal centers (Harvard, University of Florida, and UC Davis), a coordinating center (University of Florida), a bioinformatics center (Stanford University), and several chemical analyses sites.

Consortium researchers will develop a comprehensive map of the molecular changes after they collect and study samples from people of different races, ethnic groups, sex, ages and fitness levels.

"There is the potential for major discoveries and significant breakthroughs to be identified from the work of the consortium," says Rasmussen. "We strongly believe that a molecular map to help us understand how physical activity contributes to better health will be of great benefit."

• Read More: NIH awards aim to understand molecular changes during physical activity
• Read More: Working Out Molecules