Major Announcements
and Updates from
the School of Medicine

by William L. Henrich, MD, MACP

The School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) has had a very exciting month! We have been notified of two major accomplishments achieved by our Faculty.

The first is the announcement by The National Academies, independent advisers to the nation on science, engineering and medicine, of the election of Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., and Cynthia D. Mulrow, M.D., M.Sc., to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies.

Dr. Ramirez, a nationally recognized leader in research of cancer disparities affecting Hispanics and other populations, and Dr. Mulrow, a widely respected leader in evidence synthesis, systematic reviews and practice guidelines in medicine, join Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president of the Health Science Center and professor of pediatric and transplantation surgery, and Bettie Sue Siler Masters, Ph.D., the Robert A. Welch Foundation Distinguished Professor in Chemistry, as the four Institute of Medicine members from the UTHSCSA. Fernando A. Guerra, M.D., M.P.H., director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is the fifth IOM member from San Antonio.

The second major accomplishment is a notification from the National Institute of Health that the Health Science Center has been selected to receive $33 million to serve as a center for the National Children’s Study, the largest analysis of child and human health ever conducted in the United States. Daniel E. Hale, MD, Professor of Pediatrics is the Principal Investigator for UTHSCSA and the Donald J. Dudley, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology is the Co-Principal Investigator.

The National Children’s Study will assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors on children’s health. The Health Science Center will manage participant recruitment and data collection at sites in Bexar, Hidalgo and Travis counties. The study eventually will follow a representative sample of 100,000 children from before birth to age 21, seeking information to prevent and treat some of the nation’s most pressing health problems, including autism, birth defects, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It is expected to help children across the U.S. and shape child health guidance, interventions and policy for generations to come.

This is the fourth major national NIH-sponsored pediatric study that has come to UTHSCSA in the past four years. The others are TODAY, HEALTHY and TrialNet. The TODAY study is a project to identify the effective
treatments for type 2 diabetes in children. UTHSCSA is one of 14 centers in the US and 1 of only 2 chosen in Texas. Dr. Hale is the Principal Investigator for UTHSCSA. HEALTHY is a primary diabetes prevention program working with the San Antonio Independent School District and the Social and Health Research Center (SHRC). Roberto Trevino, MD, from the SHRC is the Principal Investigator. UTHSCSA is 1 of 7 centers in the US and 1 of only 2 in Texas chosen for this project. TrialNet is a type 1 diabetes natural history and prevention project. UTHSCA is the only major ancillary site in Texas. The Texas TrialNet Center is at UT Southwestern in Dallas. Dr. Hale is also the Principal Investigator for TrialNet at UTHSCSA.

We were chosen to be a Center for the National Children’s Study (the only Center chosen in Texas) because of our demonstrable success in: a) building partnerships in the community, b) recruiting children and families for longterm longitudinal studies and c) working with other institutions locally, regionally and nationally on multisite and multicenter projects.

Many individuals and organizations were instrumental in bringing the National Children’s Study to south Texas and UTHSCSA. Key individuals who deserve recognition include Drs. Daniel Hale, Donald Dudley, Amelie Ramirez and Peter Nathanielsz, all at UTHSCSA, and Drs. Fernando Guerra and Bryan Alsip of the Metropolitan Health District. I would also like to recognize the exceptional support we received from institutional partners and key community leaders in Bexar, Hidalgo and Travis counties as well as our faculty and staff at our regional campuses in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

When fully operational, the annual costs/expenditures will be $5-9 million per year, and there will be about 20 employees at each of the 3 sites (Bexar, Hidalgo and Travis counties).

These accomplishments reflect positively on our outstanding faculty and demonstrate the effectiveness of our continuing regional cooperation and collaboration.

Additionally, a team from the Health Science Center and the President of the BCMS, Dr. Delbert Chumley, traveled together to Mexico City to visit the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). The Health Science Center signed an agreement with UNAM last year which includes student exchanges, continuing medical education opportunities and joint research ventures. Our visit included briefings with the leadership of UNAM’s Medical School, tours of academic and clinical facilities, exchanges with professors and students as well as meeting to determine additional opportunities for exchange. We all came away very impressed with UNAM’s programs, its students and its faculty, and look forward to a joint effort to help develop San Antonio as a destination of choice for health education and care.

These accomplishments of our faculty and our school are paramount to our growth as a “Medical Destination” in the United States. Our Health Science Center is privileged to bring such positive notoriety to San Antonio in this regard.

Warm Regards,
William L. Henrich, M.D., M.A.C.P.
Dean, School of Medicine
Vice President for Medical Affairs
John P. Howe, III, M.D. Distinguished
Chair in Health Policy