Findings
Houston, Texas
Volume 5, Issue 9
October 2007

Briefs

Grant to support education of future neuroscientists

A new federal grant will allow Baylor College of Medicine and other institutions in Houston to support the education of future researchers who can apply the tools of mathematics, physics and engineering to the problems of brain research.

The five-year, $727,000 Training in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience grant is funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. It provides four predoctoral fellowships for graduate students with previous training in mathematics, physics and engineering seeking doctoral degrees. The students will work with mentors who are experts in both theoretical and experimental neuroscience.

The interdisciplinary, multi-institutional grant is awarded under the auspices of the Gulf Coast Consortia's educational arm, the Keck Center for Interdisciplinary Bioscience Training.

James Lomax honored for professionalism

James Lomax, M.D., professor and vice chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is the 2007 recipient of the Ben and Margaret Love Foundation Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism. The award recognizes a Baylor College of Medicine physician with the highest level of professionalism in patient care, clinical research and/or education with humanism and characteristics that include altruism, caring, compassion, empathy, cultural sensitivity and respect for the individual.

Dr. Lomax, who also serves as director of Educational Programs for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is a 1971 graduate of BCM and joined the faculty in 1989.

MS in child psychology will be offered

The Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees approved the Master of Science in Child Psychology degree program in the School of Allied Health Sciences in collaboration with the Department of Pediatrics and in affiliation with the Texas Children's Hospital Learning Support Center.

This program is dedicated to training psychologists in clinical service and research methodology to support the psychological and neuropsychological health and well-being of children locally, nationally and internationally. Graduates of this program will help address the increased need for behavioral health services for children. Judith Z. Feigin, Ed.D., executive director and associate professor of Allied Health Sciences, will serve as the interim director of the program.

Aagaard selected for NIH New Innovator Award

Kjersti Aagaard, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is one of 29 scientists nationwide to receive the 2007 National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Awards, a new program to encourage young scientists early in their careers.

The grant will allow Aagaard, an expert in maternal-fetal medicine, to continue her studies of how obesity in pregnant mammals affects the health of their fetuses and the likelihood that they will develop obesity and related diseases as they mature.