Distributed via email to all Medical School employees, students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows, UT2Me is Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo's update of news and items of interest. He also welcomes feedback via email or comments.

Hello,
As the academic year draws to a close and we prepare for our commencement ceremony this afternoon, it is an opportunity for reflection on recent challenges, achievements, and lessons. Another such opportunity was last week’s Annual Faculty Meeting, during which all administrative offices reported on their accomplishments from the past year and their forward-looking goals and strategies. This has traditionally been a reporting meeting, but we changed the format this year and gave students, faculty members, and a few special guests the opportunity to share how they have been impacted by our school. It was a very powerful meeting, and I believe the stories and content will resonate with every member of our Medical School community.  I encourage you to watch the presentation here, where you can also download the Annual Faculty Meeting Handout and see the PowerPoint presentations.

Representing the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs, Dr. LaTanya Love shared the achievements of our school’s outstanding student body and promising news for our incoming class. Our current students are scoring “off the charts” and continuing to best their peers on the national USMLE Step 1 exam. Our incoming class is shaping up to be exceptional, with 240 impressive new students selected from more than 4,000 applicants. Dr. Love also was joined by fourth-year students Jessica Morse, who is heading back to her hometown of Dallas to join the UT Southwestern program for pediatrics, and Gavin Wagenheim, who will stay here to pursue urology. Jessica and Gavin both discussed what an education at UT has meant to them and expressed their appreciation to the faculty and staff for support throughout their four years of medical school.

Dr. John Hancock gave a comprehensive update on our basic science research programs — reporting that our research awards have grown to $200 million this year and providing specific highlights from each department. He was joined by Dr. Mikhail Kolonin from The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM), which has recently been integrated with the Medical School and is a thriving and productive component of our research enterprise. Dr. Kolonin offered tremendous insight as a successful and passionate young investigator who has benefitted from the unconditional trust and support of his faculty mentors.

Our clinical research enterprise was covered by Dr. Jon Tyson, who discussed our investigators’ focus on improving clinical outcomes and included an overview of our innovative faculty mentorship program. There are many challenges to address in the delivery of care, including patient safety and health care quality, and our faculty members are nationally recognized leaders in this effort. Dr. Tyson also introduced Dr. Andrew Barreto who shared his innovative research in the area of stroke treatment and talked about how the mentorship program had helped further his pursuit of evidence-based medicine.

Craig Cordola, Dr. Steve Brown, and Dr. Jair Soares provided an update on the accomplishments and major innovations of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, the Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and the UT Harris County Psychiatric Center, respectively. Craig’s presentation included an overview of how UT and Memorial Hermann are successfully developing and implementing new protocols for health care quality — demonstrating how working in collaboration on a shared goal can significantly improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Diane Bick gave an update on last year’s Faculty Senate’s discussions and debates — illustrating the value of honest communication and transparency between the faculty and administration.

Kevin Dillon provided an overview of our financial picture and an update on the legislative session currently under way in Austin. As you have heard many times before, state funding for our Medical School continues to shrink. At one time we received 70 percent of our annual budget from state funds. This year, our medical school will receive approximately 8 percent of our funding from the state. Over the past 10 years, formula funding—which is allocated to all higher education institutions on a per student basis and is our largest source of state funds — has been cut nearly 50 percent when adjusted for inflation. I have received many comments about this portion of the presentation, and appreciate everyone’s understanding of what this shift in our finances means in terms of productivity and efficiency.

I gave an overview of our school’s three mission areas — education, research, and clinical care — and was joined by two special guests. 

Dr. Farzaneh Banki discussed how she and her team have built the very successful Esophageal Disease Center at Memorial Hermann Southeast. Dr. Banki is a dedicated leader and inspiring role model – she has built a tremendously successful practice in a very short amount of time and is truly committed to this school. Her vision, drive, passion, and work ethic are more than admirable, they are contagious.

Dr. Frank Arnett, who provided tremendous leadership for our Division of Rheumatology for so many years, also joined us to share his historical perspective of the Medical School — from joining the faculty in 1984 when others tried to dissuade him, to building the division from the ground up, to seeing his program flourish and attract top faculty and students from around the world.

Our final special guest was a surprise for Dr. Arnett — Mrs. Linda Finger, one of his many grateful patients and a longtime and avid supporter of his program and our school. It was a truly special moment to see Dr. Arnett and Mrs. Finger together, celebrating his many years of service to his patients and their many years of friendship. We are very grateful to Mrs. Finger and all of our supporters in the community — their generosity and advocacy becomes increasingly more important as we compete for limited funding from state and philanthropic sources.

This truly was a special meeting — and clearly a wonderful year for our Medical School — and I would like to thank all the participants and attendees. I hope you all will join me at our commencement this afternoon at the George R. Brown Convention Center as this year’s outstanding graduates enter the world of medicine.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend,

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