March 08, 2017
Hello,
Another busy couple of weeks to comment on. With Match Day around the corner, the excitement is palpable.
I met with one of our first-year students yesterday. She started the conversation by saying she loved medical school, “Our faculty are great – really invested in making us succeed.” Special thank you to our MS1 teachers.
Last week, I had the delicious pleasure of attending the 5th annual Children’s Learning Institute (CLI) Tasting Dinner at The Dunlavy, benefitting CLI’s 13 programs, three clinics, and over 26 research projects. Hosted by longtime supporters Jennifer and Neil Wizel, the evening started with remarks from director and founder Dr. Susan Landry, the Albert and Margaret Alkek Distinguished Chair in Early Childhood and the Michael Matthew Knight Memorial Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Andres Alcantar, chairman and commissioner of the Public Texas Workforce Commission, gave a thought-provoking keynote address that underscored his respect for, and collaboration with, Dr. Landry and the CLI. Chef Brandi Key orchestrated an incredible dinner – one of my best meals in Houston, a foodie city.
Dr. Lennart Mucke, was this year’s Cheves Smythe Distinguished Lecturer. The director and senior investigator of the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Mucke talked about, “Developing better treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease: The long and short of it.” A fascinating lecture with broad appeal, I encourage you to view the recording.
Dr. Benjamin Chu, president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, was the featured speaker at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center quarterly medical staff meeting last week, where he presented his vision and strategy, “One Memorial Hermann: Connecting the Dots,” followed by a dialogue with our clinical leadership. Many of you work hard every day to fortify our strong collaboration with Memorial Hermann, which benefits both of our institutions and our community. Thank you. I was delighted to attend the Memorial Hermann Foundation Board meeting this week where the UTHealth-Memorial Hermann partnership was highlighted and Susie Distefano, CEO of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, presented “The Greatness Project” for maternal and child health.
Our employee STARs are being celebrated at two events this week – one for those with 5, 10, and 15 years of service and a luncheon for those with 20 or more years of service. A special thank-you to our 40-year STAR recipients from the medical school: Dr. Ian Butler, Dr. Lenard Lichtenberger, Dr. Patti Jayne Ross, and Dr. Bill Weems. Congratulations to all. Long-time faculty and staff are the backbone of our school.
The 6th International Health Humanities Conference kicks off today and is being hosted by Dr. Tom Cole, director of our McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, and Dr. Nathan Carlin. The theme of the three-day conference is “Diversity, Cultures, and Health Humanities.” I’m looking forward to welcoming the attendees this evening and screening the film “Scenes of Disclosure,” which highlights our standardized patient program.
A search is currently being conducted for the associate dean for Harris County Programs and chief of staff at LBJ Hospital. The position has been posted and is open to all McGovern Medical School faculty.
Tomorrow I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves as UTHealth and Memorial Hermann review our short- and long-term goals as part of a daylong strategic planning retreat.
Warm regards,
Barbara
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