News for BCM Faculty, Sept. 22, 2022
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College News

Caption: Dr. Kenneth Mattox, distinguished service professor in the division of cardiothoracic surgery and former longtime chief of staff at Ben Taub Hospital, was honored Sept. 20 by the State of Texas for the one-year designation anniversary of the Dr. Kenneth Mattox Trauma Unit at DHR Health's Level 1 Trauma Center in Edinburg. Through the unit, DHR Health will improve access to critical, comprehensive trauma care for Texans in the Rio Grande Valley. It is the first Level 1 Trauma Center in the region.

Faculty Kudos

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas awarded Baylor $4,249,996 for cancer research. Dr. Michael Lewis, professor at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, received a Core Facility Support Award for $3,999,996 to fund the patient-derived xenograft and advanced in vivo models (PDX-AIM) core facility of Texas. Dr. Katie McKenna, in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, received a High Impact High Risk Award for $250,000 to fund her research project "Targeting Tumors and the Tumor Microenvironment with Banana Lectin Expressing T cells."

Dr. George Rodney, associate professor of molecular physiology, received a grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association for his project, "Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy." MDA awarded 70 new grants totaling more than $17 million toward neuromuscular research. The association will also fund several alternative therapeutic strategies to treat DMD, including cannabidiol, mirabegron and CSF1R inhibitors.

Coming Up

Long-Read Sequencing Seminar: The Human Genome Sequencing Center will have its sixth long-read sequencing seminar at 10 a.m. Sept. 23. The virtual seminar will showcase applications of long-read sequencing technologies in diverse research areas. This seminar will be focused on Pacific Biosciences. Speakers will include Drs. Harsha Doddapaneni, Justin Zook, Tychele Turner, Christopher M. Grochowski, Michael Eberle and Jonas Korlach. Register for the free seminar.

McNair Symposium: The 10th annual McNair Symposium will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 in Room N315 in the Alkek Building. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Michelle Monje, professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford Medicine. Monje, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, will present "Synaptic Integration of Brain Cancer into Neural Circuits: New Frontiers for Neuromodulation." The poster session for McNair Scholar labs and McNair M.D./Ph.D. Scholars will be at 9 a.m. in Alkek Lobby. Register here.

Book reading: Author, poet and activist Javier Zamora will read from his acclaimed new memoir "Solito," which chronicles his solo migration journey as a child from El Salvador to the U.S., from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 3 in room M112 at main Baylor and by Zoom. The reading will be followed by a discussion about the health of undocumented people with Dr. Ricardo Nuila, associate professor at Baylor who leads the Humanities Expression and Arts Lab (H.E.A.L.), a new program in the School of Medicine that is presenting the event. The first 12 attendees will receive a free signed copy of "Solito." RSVP to attend in person or by Zoom.

The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics will host the first Fernbach Lecture Series for Humanism in Genetics at noon Oct. 7 in Cullen Auditorium. The series is named in honor of Susan Fernbach, the former director of outreach and engagement in the department, who retired in June 2022. The inaugural speaker is Taylor Harris, author of "This Boy We Made," which chronicles her experience trying to find a genetic diagnosis for her son with developmental differences and other medical problems. The event also will be streamed on Zoom: https://bit.ly/3LidB26. Use passcode 000577.

Faculty Opportunities

Patient Care Awards Workshop: On Sept. 29, learn tips and strategies for preparing a clinical portfolio as an introduction to the Patient Care Clinical Awards. Two virtual sessions are available from noon to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. To register, email Debbie Fernandez at faced@bcm.edu.

Norton Rose Fulbright Portfolio Workshop: On Sept. 29, learn tips and strategies for preparing an education portfolio as an introduction to the Norton Rose Fulbright Awards. The virtual workshop will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. To register, email Debbie Fernandez at faced@bcm.edu.

Baylor Clinician Resources: Baylor is excited to announce the launch of Baylor Clinician Resources, a new website with an array of features to support clinician education and development, including a learning library with tools for navigating educational opportunities, guidance for developing accredited courses and resources to support professional growth, drive practice transformation and improve patient care. Visit Baylor Clinician Resources.

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