Tag: UT Southwestern Medical Center

In Memoriam: Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D., renowned immunologist and longtime Chair of Microbiology

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DALLAS – Feb. 17, 2024 – Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, who discovered how antibodies are made and developed a technique that led to the early detection of cancer cells, died Feb. 15. He was 96.

A member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Uhr was recruited to UT Southwestern in 1972 by Donald Seldin, M.D., then Chairman of Internal Medicine, to be Chair and Professor of Microbiology, a department that Dr. Uhr built into one of the best in the world. He was a pioneer in the investigation of dormant cancer cells and circulating tumor cells and played a key role in the science behind the development of RhoGam, a medicine that prevents Rh incompatibility from developing during pregnancy.

“Under Dr. Uhr’s leadership, the Department of Microbiology gained an international reputation in immunology research, and he was instrumental in recruiting some of the finest scientists in the country to UT Southwestern,” said W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean, UT Southwestern Medical School and holder of the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science. “His legacy of discovery and commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers will live on in the halls and labs of our institution.”

Much of Dr. Uhr’s research focused on early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, a disease that took the lives of both of his parents. His efforts led to a commercialized test to detect circulating tumor cells in the human bloodstream that was routinely used in clinical laboratories. The Cleveland Clinic ranked the technology as the top medical innovation for 2009.

His later work involved combining that knowledge with advanced imaging to more precisely identify cancer cells.

“Jonathan Uhr was a force at UT Southwestern. He hired a number of outstanding microbiologists and immunologists and built a department from scratch,” said Lora Hooper, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Immunology, Professor of Microbiology and in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, and a Nancy Cain and Jeffrey A. Marcus Scholar in Medical Research, in Honor of Dr. Bill S. Vowell. “In his own research, he made far-reaching contributions to the understanding of immunity and cancer cells. I am honored to hold the Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Immunology and hope to honor Jon’s legacy by continuing to grow and enhance the immunology research community here at UT Southwestern.”

Dr. Uhr served as President of the American Association of Immunologists from 1983-1984. He also was a member of the Scientific Review Board for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1980-1989; a member of the U.S.-Japan Panel of the Cooperative Program in Immunology from 1981-1986; a member of the Scripps Clinic Scientific Review board from 1983-1987; and a member of the Howard Hughes Medical Advisory Board from 1993-1997.

In 1997, he stepped down as Chair of Microbiology to become Professor at UTSW’s Cancer Immunobiology Center, where his research continued. He was named Professor Emeritus in October 2010.

“Dr. Uhr’s legacy and history of impactful science, service, and leadership will live on, particularly in the Department of Microbiology at UT Southwestern,” said Julie Pfeiffer, Ph.D., Interim Chair and Professor of Microbiology.

He was honored with the Abbott-American Society for Microbiology Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

Born in New York, Dr. Uhr grew up in New Jersey. He said he was inspired to pursue a career in medicine and research by his father, who was a pediatrician. At age 17, he began a 16-month stint in the U.S. Navy before heading to college. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 1948 and his medical degree in 1952 from New York University (NYU) School of Medicine. He completed residencies in immunology and internal medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and fellowships in immunology at the Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and NYU School of Medicine.

Before joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Uhr was Director of the Irvington House Institute for Rheumatic Fever and Allied Diseases and Professor of Internal Medicine at NYU Medical School.

During his career, Dr. Uhr mentored countless researchers and looked for ways to encourage younger generations to take an interest in science. He was an avid tennis player. He also loved traveling and was a fan of country and classical music as well as the Dallas Cowboys. After retiring, he signed up for tap dancing lessons.

In a 2013 oral history project for The American Association of Immunologists, Dr. Uhr told the interviewer that he was proud of all he had accomplished but that he made sure to keep his life in balance. “I’ve always had a lot of fun,” he said. “You can work hard and still have fun if you’re adventuresome, and I’ve always been adventuresome.”

He is survived by his wife, Ginger Uhr, formerly Ginger Lanclos of Port Arthur, Texas; two daughters, Sarita Uhr and Jacqueline Guise; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, Feb. 18, in Birmingham, Michigan. The service will be streamed live by The Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Those who wish to further honor Dr. Uhr may make a contribution to UT Southwestern Medical Center – Texas, Office of Development & Alumni Relations, and request funds be dedicated in memory of the Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Immunology.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,100 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year.

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February 17, 2024
Clues to early onset colorectal cancer found in microbiome of Hispanic patients

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Nina Sanford, M.D., Chief of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology Service, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Most people have a screening colonoscropy around age 50, however recent research has uncovered a rise in early onset colorectal cancer in patients younger than 50.

What can be causing this increase?

Dr. Sanford and colleagues at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a clue in the microbiome of colorectal patients of Hispanic ethnicity, recently published in the Journal of Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology.

“The increasing incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer, defined as a diagnosis of CRC in patients aged less than 50 years, has become a growing concern over the last four decades.This trend is particularly associated with rectal tumors, with notable racial and ethnic disparities in presentation and outcome.For instance, Black individuals have the highest EOCRC incidence and mortality rates, whereas Hispanic patients, despite overall lower overall incidence, tend to be diagnosed at younger ages compared to non-Hispanic White individuals.”

For a copy of the full paper and interviews, please contact Lori Soderbergh.

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February 14, 2024
HIV patients can safely undergo hip replacement, study finds

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Newswise — DALLAS – July 26, 2023 – Hip replacement surgery is safe for patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a common procedure performed primarily on older patients suffering from osteoarthritis or osteonecrosis, painful conditions that severely limit mobility and lifestyle choices. But some surgeons have been hesitant to perform THAs on patients with HIV or AIDS due to concerns about complications, including higher risk of infection, need for revision surgery, and increased length of hospital stay.

“Patients living with HIV are at a higher risk for orthopedic-related diseases such as osteoarthritis or osteonecrosis of the hip due to changes in their bone metabolism and effects from their medication regimen,” said Senthil Sambandam, M.D., Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, who led the study. “With improvements in HIV treatment leading to increased life expectancies, we are seeing a rise in the need for THA procedures in this patient population. Our study demonstrates that HIV-positive patients can safely undergo THA without concern for increased risk of complications and adds to the growing amount of literature that encourages surgeons to deliver appropriate medical care to a marginalized patient population.”

Using data from the National Inpatient Sample covering 2016-2019, UTSW researchers identified 504 HIV-positive patients who underwent THAs and compared their postoperative complications to a cohort of 493 HIV-negative patients. Their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma, showed that postoperative complications such as pneumonia, periprosthetic infection, wound dehiscence (reopening), and superficial and deep surgical site infection were not significantly different between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups. Blood transfusion rates also were lower among the HIV-positive patients.

The study was part of a larger effort by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to analyze arthroplasty complications in various subpopulations in support of UTSW’s commitment to the care of marginalized patient populations and equal treatment for every patient.

“These are important findings because they can help alleviate worries among the medical community about treating a group of patients who are often overlooked,” Dr. Sambandam said. “It’s an important quality-of-life issue for many HIV-positive patients.”

Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study are Varatharaj Mounasamy, M.D., Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery; Ashish R. Chowdary, B.S., medical student; and Jack Beale, M.D., and Jack Martinez, M.D., residents in Orthopaedic Surgery.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 19 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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July 26, 2023
Use of racially concordant educational video did not affect acceptance of heart implant devices among Black patients

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Newswise — DALLAS – April 03, 2023 – Multiple studies have demonstrated that Black patients are significantly less likely than white patients to undergo invasive cardiovascular procedures. Prior research also has demonstrated substantial racial disparities in the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) that can be lifesaving for those at high risk for sudden cardiac death.

Agreeing to have an ICD, though, relies on patients having a clear understanding of the potential benefits of the procedure as well as trust in their care team. Cardiologists at Duke University, including Eric Peterson, M.D., M.P.H., who served at Duke before joining UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2020, investigated whether an educational video that used both white and Black physicians and patients might increase patients’ willingness to consider an ICD.

“Racial health disparities are often complex and multifactorial. Yet empowering patients to better understand their disease and potential treatment options is one way to help overcome this,” said Dr. Peterson, Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at UTSW and the study’s lead author.

The findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, examined two separate facets. First, it looked to see whether the video would affect patients’ decision-making process. The study found that rates of ICD implantation were not different among those randomized to the video versus not, about 60% in each. However, the researchers did find that patients seeing the video felt they understood their options better and had to spend less time with their physicians to reach a decision.

Second, the researchers examined whether the video’s impact was altered by whether the race of the characters in the video matched that of the patient. Interestingly, racial concordance or discordance had no impact on the video’s effectiveness.

The researchers concluded that better educational tools could engage more patients and give them confidence in their treatment decisions. However, education alone will not fully rectify complex differences in procedural use by race. Since a high percentage of Black patients in both arms were willing to undergo the procedure, Dr. Peterson concluded that the major underlying causes for ICD disparities may lie more with who is offered the costly device rather than on who agrees to the procedure.

Dr. Peterson holds the Adelyn and Edmund M. Hoffman Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

The study was supported by a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Program Award (AD-1503-29746).

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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April 3, 2023
Consider risks and alternatives before deciding on LASIK surgery, UT Southwestern ophthalmologists say

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Newswise — DALLAS – Jan. 13, 2023 – Patients considering LASIK vision correction surgery should weigh the risks as well as benefits and see a doctor who can assess whether they are a good candidate for the procedure, according to an ophthalmologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

“At UT Southwestern, we use a patient-specific approach to LASIK with technology that calculates the precise pattern of a patient’s eye, like a fingerprint, and adapts the treatment to those measurements. This level of customization is one of the keys to reducing the potential for side effects,” said William Waldrop, M.D., Assistant Professor in UT Southwestern’s Department of Ophthalmology.

New guidelines proposed by the Food and Drug Administration would require physicians to provide better communication about the risks associated with LASIK, which can include dry eyes; visual phenomena such as glare or halos; decreased vision in low-light settings; eye pain; and temporary distortions in vision. Many of these side effects dissipate after three to six months.

Each year, an estimated 700,000 patients in the U.S. undergo LASIK to reduce their dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The procedure, which has been available in the U.S. since 1998, is fast, painless, and in most cases, provides improved vision for 10 years or longer.

“From the beginning, LASIK outcomes have been outstanding, and we’ve continually improved the procedure to allow for a higher likelihood of better vision and higher quality vision,” Dr. Waldrop said. “Ultimately, though, the answer may be ‘no’ to LASIK, and sometimes that is the safest choice. LASIK isn’t always the best or only option for vision correction.”

Dr. Waldrop said patients considering LASIK should focus first on choosing the right surgeon. UTSW ophthalmologists are skilled in a variety of vision correction surgeries, including advanced surface ablation and refractive lens exchange.

“You want a surgeon who will take the time to do a thorough examination and pre-surgical workup to determine if it’s appropriate for your unique characteristics,” he said. “Has wearing contacts changed the surface of your eye? How thick is your cornea? What is the likelihood of your cornea taking on an irregular shape after surgery? Those are all factors that can impact the success of your surgery.

“If you aren’t a suitable candidate for LASIK, you want your surgeon to be upfront with you and offer an alternative,” Dr. Waldrop said.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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January 13, 2023
Researchers discover rare form of premature-aging syndrome

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Newswise — DALLAS – Dec. 8, 2022 – UT Southwestern researchers have discovered a new form of progeria, a rare premature-aging syndrome, in a man from Malaysia and traced its cause to a novel gene mutation. The finding, reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to new therapies for more common conditions that share features with this ultra-rare disorder.

“We realized that this is not like the progeroid syndromes we have seen in the past. It is a completely new subtype,” said study leader Abhimanyu Garg, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine at UTSW, Section Chief of Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases in the Division of Endocrinology, and Director of Metabolic Diseases in the Center for Human Nutrition. “We wanted to see whether we could find the gene behind it.”

Dr. Garg explained that colleagues in Malaysia had encountered a patient of Chinese descent with a highly unusual combination of physical characteristics. The 21-year-old male was 3.8 feet tall, weighed 46 pounds, and had a head circumference of 21 inches, all below the lowest 3% of the general population. He also had a unique set of facial features, with a pointed nose, thin lips, a small lower jaw, and severe dental crowding, as well as very low body fat – a condition known as lipodystrophy – and extremely poor vision.

Because Dr. Garg’s lab focuses on lipodystrophy research and had previously discovered the genetic mutations behind a condition called mandibuloacral dysplasia (MAD), which the Malaysian researchers believed this patient had, they sent Dr. Garg the patient’s blood samples to confirm their tentative diagnosis. However, when Dr. Garg and his colleagues performed genetic testing, they found the patient lacked mutations in either of the two genes linked to MAD.

Suspecting the patient might have an undiscovered condition, Dr. Garg and his collaborators scanned the entire genomes of the patient and his immediate family members for any unusual gene variants. They quickly narrowed their search to a single gene known as TOMM7.

From animal studies, this gene was known to produce a protein that comes together in a complex with related proteins to form a pore in the outer membrane of mitochondria, the power-generating organelles of cells.

To better understand its function in humans, the researchers grew skin cells from a sample derived from the patient and compared them to skin cells from healthy volunteers. Tests showed that the patient’s cells consumed far more oxygen than the healthy cells and produced greater amounts of proteins related to oxygen metabolism. They also produced fewer proteins related to phospholipid metabolism, a process involved in the formation of body fat.

Further experiments showed that the mutant TOMM7 protein from the patient didn’t interact well with other proteins that form the mitochondrial pore complex. This functional defect, Dr. Garg said, could limit the transportation of proteins through the pore, pointing to a mechanism for the patient’s symptoms.

Dr. Garg said that more common variants in this gene could help explain population-wide differences in characteristics exaggerated in this patient, such as height, jaw size, body fat, and vision. In addition, because the patient had an older sister who appeared to have the same genetic syndrome and died at age 10, further research on this gene variant could clarify genetic factors that affect aging – and may also eventually lead to a cure for this individual, who may be in danger, Dr. Garg said.

“We don’t know what his life span may be, but based on what we know about his sister, he may be at risk of premature death,” he said. “I hope other scientists will take it to the next level and figure out a specific treatment that could save this patient from that fate.”

Dr. Garg holds the Distinguished Chair in Human Nutrition Research.

Other researchers who contributed to this study include Adwait Amod Sathe, Chao Xing, Anil K. Agarwal, and Prashant Mishra of UTSW; Yanqiu Shao of UTSW and Southern Methodist University; Wee-Teik Keng of Kuala Lumpur Hospital in Malaysia; Zhenkang Chen, Nicholas P. Lesner, and Claire B. Llamas of Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern; and Pavithira Devi Kailasam of Hospital Pakar Sultanah Fatimah in Malaysia.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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December 8, 2022
UT Southwestern honored for health care leadership development
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Newswise — DALLAS – Dec. 02, 2022 – UT Southwestern Medical Center is one of seven health systems in the nation being recognized for its leadership development initiatives, the latest in a series of national and regional employer honors.

The National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) honors a select number of health care systems nationwide for evidence-based leadership practices that drive quality care and improved outcomes with its Best Organizations for Leadership Development (BOLD) Award. The award recognizes strength in leadership development programming, diversity and inclusion, performance management, coaching programs, program monitoring, and recruitment.

“This national recognition further demonstrates UT Southwestern’s commitment to developing the next generation of health care leaders, along with top scientists, physicians, and other providers in the health care field,” said Holly G. Crawford, Executive Vice President for Business Affairs at UT Southwestern. “As we do with our scientific, medical, and training missions, we apply data-driven strategies to nurture leaders who contribute to our institution’s culture of integrity, inclusiveness, and collaboration, and extend those qualities throughout the organization.”

UT Southwestern, with an operating budget of over $4 billion and a workforce of nearly 23,000, earlier this year was named one of the 10 best large employers in the United States and among the top five health care employers in America’s Best Employers 2022 list compiled by Forbes and Statista. UTSW ranked No. 3 in the nation on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers for New Graduates, placing it in the top 1%, and highest among academic medical centers. UT Southwestern also ranked as the top health care employer for diversity in the U.S. and among the top 20 across all industries; and was the only health care institution listed among the top 20 employers nationally. UT Southwestern is among the top 40 institutions honored by Forbes as Best Employers for Women 2021 as well.

UT Southwestern has developed a broad spectrum of programming that helps develop employees for future management and leadership roles, including technical skills to master new software and technologies, and successfully navigate stress and finances.

Among its offerings are:
- Leadership programs for new and recently promoted leaders
- Core leadership training for all people-managers, as well as targeted programs for nurse leaders, administrators, and aspiring leaders
- An M.B.A. program in collaboration with UT Dallas specifically targeted to the health care industry
- Interactive programs to hone scientific leadership and management skills for junior faculty
- A departmental diversity leaders group that shares ideas, expertise, and promotion of best practices to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Implicit bias training
- Executive leadership training for senior women faculty members
- Programs to develop success in obtaining research and community grants
Staff training includes aspiring and emerging leaders programs, new leader onboarding, a Master of Science in Management program, online and app-based learning and leadership opportunities, and a multitude of business resource groups that foster inclusiveness and a sense of belonging at UT Southwestern.

“As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, UT Southwestern has many top minds in a broad range of fields that help forge a pipeline of exceptionally trained, diverse talent who are prepared to create and initiate innovative solutions for the many challenges facing health care today,” said Jeremy Falke, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at UT Southwestern.

UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital is the No. 1 ranked hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth – the nation’s fourth-largest metropolitan area – by U.S. News & World Report and is ranked among the top hospitals nationally in nine specialties. UTSW has been recognized among Hospital Careers’ Top 100 Best Hospitals to Work for, Best Places to Work for Postdocs by The Scientist, and holds Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

UT Southwestern is further recognized as a Top Veteran-Friendly Company by U.S. Veterans Magazine; as a top Mother-Friendly Worksite by the Texas Department of State Health Services; a Top Health Care Company in Best of the Best Awards for Hispanic Network Magazine and Black EOE Journal; and received the Lex Frieden Employment Award from the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity, and the Corporate Citizen Award from LaunchAbility.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.
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December 2, 2022
Flu shots are recommended for those 65 and older as cases rise

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Newswise — DALLAS – Nov. 30, 2022 – With flu cases on the rise, geriatric specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center say vaccinations are particularly important this year for people 65 and older who are more at risk from complications than other age groups.

As we age, our immune system changes, making us more susceptible to infections like influenza. Older adults make up 70%-85% of seasonal flu-related deaths in the United States and account for 50%-70% of hospitalizations from influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even older adults who spend most of their time at home have family members or home health aides visit, providing opportunities for the influenza virus to spread. The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported a higher number of influenza-like illnesses statewide so far this season compared with recent years.

“It is important to take action now to prevent the possibility of severe infections, especially for populations at higher risk for complications, which includes older adults,” said geriatrician Deborah Freeland, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern. “Because the influenza virus changes over time, we need annual vaccinations to help protect against infection and reduce the severity of infection.”

Dr. Freeland recommends that those age 65 and older get a high-dose influenza vaccine. Research shows that high-dose vaccines reduced the risk of infection by 24% in older adults compared with the standard dose. In addition, the influenza vaccination is shown to lower the risk of heart attacks and death. It can take up to two weeks for the vaccine to become effective, and flu season is already in full swing, so Dr. Freeland advises people to obtain the vaccine as soon as possible.

Wearing masks in crowded places and washing hands regularly are additional steps people can take to stay healthy. It’s also important for those living with older adults to get the flu vaccine to help decrease the spread of infection to groups at greater risk.

While some older adults refrain from getting the flu vaccine for fear of catching the flu, Dr. Freeland said vaccines cannot cause influenza infections. However, there can be side effects, including soreness at the injection site, headache, fever, nausea, and muscle aches, which typically resolve within 24-48 hours. UT Southwestern offers flu shots to patients at several locations; they are also available at local pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and other locations.

“There is robust data behind the benefits of influenza vaccination,” Dr. Freeland said. “Get your flu vaccination today to protect yourself and those around you.”

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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December 1, 2022
$50M Perot Family Gift Expands UT Southwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program

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Newswise — DALLAS – Nov. 04, 2022 – The Perot family, The Perot Foundation, and The Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr. Foundation have provided a transformative $50 million endowment for UT Southwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), among the nation’s elite programs that provide graduates a dual M.D./Ph.D. degree to strengthen the advancement of laboratory discoveries into the clinical arena.

Funding will provide a permanent endowment for the Perot Family Scholars Medical Scientist Training Program – one of just 54 M.D./Ph.D. training programs in the country supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program is celebrating its 40th anniversary of graduating top-level physician-scientists from UT Southwestern Medical School and UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, both among the top-ranked schools nationally.

“This extraordinary gift provides a permanent foundation at UT Southwestern for this distinctive dual-degree program that will not only benefit top UT Southwestern students, but also help address a disturbing national trend in the diminishing number of fully trained physician-scientists,” said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern Medical Center. “The Perot family’s beneficent support further cements their historical commitment to the continuous advancement of academic medicine and its benefits.”

UT Southwestern’s faculty includes a number of distinguished physician-scientists with the dual degree, including the late Nobel Laureate Alfred G. Gilman, M.D., Ph.D., former Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School; three of UT Southwestern’s 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine; and two of UT Southwestern’s 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigators.

“Ross was an enthusiastic supporter of the Medical Scientist Training Program because he considered it to be one of our best investments in people and intellect,” Margot Perot said. “Our family is delighted to sustain our support and association with the MSTP program. We know that it will yield enormous rewards in the years to come. We are certain our funds will go far to train young scientists destined to make significant medical breakthroughs in the future.”

The Perot Family Scholars program builds on a legacy that Ross and Margot Perot invested in for the past four decades, starting in 1987 with a $20 million gift supporting Nobel Laureates Michael Brown, M.D., and Joseph Goldstein, M.D., and the Medical Scientist Training Program, followed by more than $23 million in additional support in 1996 for training and biomedical research. In addition, the Perot family has generously supported the Perot Foundation Neuroscience Translational Research Center, mental health programs, and veterans research, including groundbreaking research by Robert Haley, M.D., on Gulf War Syndrome.

“I think the Perot family’s contribution is, as it was back in the 1980s, enormously forward-looking,” Dr. Brown said. “This latest gift will make it possible for us to produce a whole new generation of physician-scientists who will then go on to develop new cures and ultimately the means to prevent many diseases.”

Since its launch in 1978, UT Southwestern’s M.D./Ph.D. program has graduated nearly 300 physician-scientists with approximately 75% going on to faculty positions at academic medical centers, including many prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Stanford, in addition to UT Southwestern. Twenty-four of the graduates serve on the faculty at UT Southwestern, where they train the next generation of physician-scientists. UT Southwestern Medical School is ranked among the top 25 in the U.S. for research and in the top 20 for primary care nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Only six institutions in the country rated above UTSW in both categories, and UTSW has nationally rated programs in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, including ranking 25th nationally in Biology.

The Perot family’s support will expand the number of students admitted to the dual-degree program as well as research disciplines in which they study, to include biomedical engineering, computational biology, bioinformatics, and data science. The investment also will enhance the curriculum and experiences of MSTP students and increase efforts to recruit students from elite U.S. colleges, including top international students who wish to stay in the U.S. for their careers.

MSTP Research Success

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) bridges the gap between basic science and clinical research by providing both graduate training in the biomedical sciences and clinical training offered through medical schools. A 2014 report by the NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce (PSW) Working Group, which included Helen H. Hobbs, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine at UTSW and an HHMI Investigator, identified a need to strengthen the biomedical workforce. In the past three decades, the proportion of physicians engaged in research has declined to approximately 1.5% of the overall physician workforce, according to the Physician-Scientist Support Foundation.

Studies from the NIGMS show that NIH MSTP graduates are more likely to have performed both research and clinical postdoctoral training, to hold academic appointments, to publish more, and to receive research support. Three-quarters of MSTP graduates who applied were successful in obtaining NIH support, for example.

UT Southwestern is ranked No. 1 among global health care institutions in the 2022 Nature Index for its published research and among the top 20 for global academic life sciences institutions. UTSW faculty includes four active Nobel Laureates, 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 HHMI Investigators.

Dr. Brown holds The W. A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine. Dr. Goldstein holds the Julie and Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine. Dr. Haley holds the U.S. Armed Forces Veterans Distinguished Chair for Medical Research, Honoring Robert Haley, M.D., and America’s Gulf War Veterans. Dr. Hobbs holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair for the Study of Human Growth and Development, the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Chair in Developmental Biology, and the 1995 Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Cardiology Research. Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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November 4, 2022
Defect in Gene Caused Massive Obesity in Mice Despite Normal Food Intake

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Newswise — DALLAS – Oct. 28, 2022 – A faulty gene, rather than a faulty diet, may explain why some people gain excessive weight even when they don’t eat more than others, UT Southwestern researchers at the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense have discovered.

The findings, published in Cell Metabolism, describe how a defect in a gene called Ovol2 caused mice with normal activity levels and food intake to become obese as they reached adulthood due to problems generating body heat. If the same holds true in humans, who share a nearly identical gene and its protein product, the findings could eventually help identify potential treatments for obesity.

“Most cases of obesity are caused by overeating or by lack of physical activity, but our research has shown that a mutation of a little-studied gene called Ovol2 causes massive obesity – due solely to a defect in thermogenesis, or heat production,” said study leader Zhao Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine who co-led this study with Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler, M.D., Professor of Immunology and Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense.

About 42% of people in the U.S. are obese, a condition that drives up the risk of many other health problems including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Although researchers agree obesity appears to stem from an interplay between a person’s genes and his or her environment, the genes that play important roles in the most common forms of obesity aren’t well understood, and the most famous obesity mutations in mice and humans cause a voracious appetite.

To learn more about basic mechanisms of obesity, Drs. Zhang and Beutler and their colleagues used a chemical to generate random mutations in the DNA of mice. In a particular family of mice, obesity began at about 10 weeks of age – young adulthood for the rodents – and continued until the animals were massively overweight. The researchers identified the responsible mutation in a gene called Ovol2.

“No one had associated this gene with obesity before,” Dr. Beutler said, “because it’s essential for life. The mutation we created was mild enough to allow survival but damaging enough to reveal a striking metabolic defect.”

The obese mice experienced a 556% increase in fat weight, accompanied by a 20% reduction in lean weight, compared to littermates who had not undergone mutagenesis. Experiments showed the obese animals weren’t able to maintain their core body temperature when exposed to cold, which appeared to result from an inability to effectively use a type of tissue called brown fat, the primary function of which is to generate heat. Further tests suggested that the healthy Ovol2 gene suppressed development of white fat, the main tissue responsible for energy storage.

When the researchers overexpressed the normal Ovol2 protein, they found that animals gained far less weight than wild-type controls in mice fed a high-fat diet. The authors said these findings suggest Ovol2 is a key player in energy metabolism – which probably holds true for humans since the human Ovol2 protein is very similar to the mouse version. Eventually, said Dr. Zhang, doctors may be able to treat obesity by giving patients drugs that drive up Ovol2 function.

Drs. Beutler and Zhang are inventors on a patent related to these findings.

UT Southwestern is a Nutrition Obesity Research Center, one of 12 in the nation funded by the National Institutes of Health and the only one in Texas. The Center supports work by more than 150 UT Southwestern scientists to investigate the causes, prevention, and treatment options for obesity.

Dr. Beutler is a Regental Professor who holds the Raymond and Ellen Willie Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research, in Honor of Laverne and Raymond Willie, Sr. He received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of how the innate immune system is activated.

Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study include Yiao Jiang, Lijing Su, Sara Ludwig, Xuechun Zhang, Miao Tang, Xiaohong Li, Priscilla Anderton, Xiaoming Zhan, Mihwa Choi, Jamie Russell, Chun-Hui Bu, Stephen Lyon, Darui Xu, Sara Hildebrand, Lindsay Scott, Jiexia Quan, Rochelle Simpson, Qihua Sun, Baifang Qin, Tiffany Collie, Meron Tadesse, and Eva Marie Y. Moresco.

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (K99 DK115766, R00 DK115766, R01 AI125581, and U19 AI100627) and the Lyda Hill Foundation.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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October 28, 2022