UTMB Newsroom

GALVESTON, Texas - In a survey of Texas medical professionals, 13 doctors from the University of Texas Medical Branch have been named Texas Super Doctors. (more…)

Individuals wanting to participate in research studies can connect with researchers nationwide.

GALVESTON, Texas - People within the Houston-Galveston community who want to participate in research studies now can connect online with researchers nationwide through the first disease-neutral (healthy or unhealthy) volunteer recruitment registry.

ResearchMatch.org is a not-for-profit secure Web site designed to provide people who are interested in participating in research the opportunity to be matched with studies that may be the right fit for them. The Institute for Translational Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is one of the 52 institutions participating in this volunteer recruitment registry.

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Study: One ounce per meal is muscle synthesis improvement ‘ceiling’

GALVESTON, Texas - For thousands of years, people have believed that eating large amounts of protein made it easier to build bigger, stronger muscles. Take Milo of Croton, the winner of five consecutive Olympic wrestling championships in the sixth century BC: If ancient writers are to be believed, he built his crushing strength in part by consuming 20 pounds of meat every day.

No modern athlete would go to such extremes, but Milo’s legacy survives in the high-protein diets of bodybuilders and the meat-heavy training tables of today’s college football teams. A recent study by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston metabolism researchers, however, provides evidence that strongly contradicts this ancient tradition. It also suggests practical ways to both improve normal American eating patterns and reduce muscle loss in the elderly. (more…)

GALVESTON, Texas - This year’s Halloween carnival for children at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in the Moody Medical Library plaza.

Sponsored by the UTMB Osler Society and Student Government Association, the Halloween carnival was created last year to provide a safe place for children to trick or treat and play games. The carnival is free and open to all children.
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GALVESTON, Texas - The final session of “Unnatural Causes” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Nessler Center, 2010 Fifth Ave. N., in Texas City. The award-winning series of seven documentaries explores how social conditions affect health. The series is free and open to the public. (more…)

GALVESTON, Texas — Dr. Bernard F. Godley, chairman of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, has been selected to serve a four-year term on the National Advisory Eye Council.

Godley is one of only 12 individuals appointed by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to serve on the council.
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GALVESTON, Texas — The public is invited to a presentation by Dr. Steven Pratt, the physician who launched the “superfoods” movement, at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The free presentation will be in the Levin Hall North auditorium, Market and 10th streets, from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20.
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GALVESTON, Texas - When William Jones Gonzalez entered the world 15 years ago on July 15, 1994, he was in a hurry - in fact, his parents, Denise and Tino Gonzalez, were not expecting him for another two months.

Weighing in at just four pounds, William was among the tiniest of newborns at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. However, according to dad Tino, the level of care William received was “tremendous,” and there was no doubt in his mind that William would thrive.

“What sticks out in my mind most about William during his long hospital stay was his smile,” said Tino. “He had IVs and needles all over his little body and these metallic glasses protecting his eyes, but he was still smiling.”

The preemie party will be held Saturday, Oct. 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.

“We are anxious to see how the little ones have grown,” said Dr. Sunil Jain, assistant professor of neonatology. “And, oh, how William has grown!” He may have had a rough start, but William is almost six feet tall.

Infants receiving care in the ISCU are very small, often weighing only a few pounds. They need special nurturing to help them develop before they are able to go home.

Jain says this special event is close to his heart. “When the babies are in the ISCU, all of the families and staff get so close,” he said. “It will be nice to visit with all of them again and see how the children are thriving.”

To ease the often overwhelming experience of parents with infants in the ISCU, UTMB created the ISCU “Memory Lane” scrapbook project, which offers therapeutic journaling, photography and memento preservation as a way of documenting significant events and milestones in a premature baby’s development, such as the first feeding by mouth, the first bath or removal of breathing tubes.

The ISCU staff routinely takes photos of the infants for their parents’ scrapbooks and provides imprints of tiny hands and feet. Locks of hair are saved, as well as the first pacifier.

Jain hopes the families will bring their treasured scrapbooks to share with others.

Party guests from the university include Dr. Garland D. Anderson, executive vice president and provost; Dr. Joan Richardson, chairwoman of the department of pediatrics and director of the division of neonatology and the ISCU; Dr. Gary Hankins, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology; and Dr. George Saade, director of the division of maternal-fetal medicine.

“Our tiniest patients are our greatest miracles,” says Richardson. “It’s hard to express the joy we feel when a parent sends us a graduation announcement, or a former patient sends us a photo of their new healthy baby.”

William is one their many success stories. He is on his high school’s varsity tennis team in Galveston, captain of the band’s drum line and a straight-A student. “He knew he had a lot to do in his lifetime, so he got a head start,” joked Tino.

UTMB has delivered over 6,000 babies since reopening after Hurricane Ike. Annually, about 600 babies are ill or premature at birth and require the most comprehensive infant intensive care available.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Public Affairs Office
301 University Boulevard, Suite 3.102
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
http://www.utmb.edu/

Rep. Craig Eiland to speak

GALVESTON, Texas — It was one year ago on Tuesday, Oct. 13, that a team of dedicated health care professionals came together amidst the aftermath of a hurricane with a single purpose: To provide the best care, despite the worst circumstances, for expectant mothers and their newborns. This marked the first clinical activity in the hospital following Hurricane Ike.

At a special reception from 2 to 5 p.m., in Children’s Hospital at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, state Rep. Craig Eiland, Dr. Joan Richardson, chairwoman of the department of pediatrics, and Dr. Gary Hankins, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, will honor those who came together to provide unparalleled patient care.

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GALVESTON, Texas - A Houston charitable organization contributed $50,000 to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to help restart the university’s mobile mammography program after it was shut down following Hurricane Ike. Pink Ribbons Project helped UTMB to restaff the mammography van, which visits medically underserved areas of Southeast Texas to provide breast cancer screenings and arrange follow-up clinical appointments.

The organization recently contributed another $50,000 to continue the services of the mobile mammography unit.

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