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Four UTHealth Houston faculty have been recognized by The University of Texas System for their teaching excellence and commitment to the enhancement of health science education.
Four faculty, representing three UTHealth Houston schools, are among the inductees into the 2023 class of The University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education.
Honorees include Harold A. Henson, RDH, Med, PhD, with UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, Vineeth John, MD, MBA, with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Joseph McCormick, MD, MPH, and Shreela Sharma, PhD, both with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.
McCormick is professor and James H. Steele, DVM, Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. McCormick began building the Brownsville campus in 2000. He tailored and designed educational programs to meet the growing interest in public health, and later in bioinformatics, in a way that attracted students while they were in their undergraduate educational experiences, to better meet the needs of the underserved community. McCormick became the founding campus dean of the School of Public Health in Brownsville in 2001 as part of the Regional Academic Health Center of the Rio Grande Valley, and held that responsibility for 18 years.
"I am extremely gratified by the selection to the Shine Academy," McCormick said. "I worked with Dr. Shine many years ago as a Chancellor's Fellow in public health. During that time, I also began new programs that provide opportunities for medical students to obtain a Master of Public Health in addition to their MD degree over the four years of medical school. That dual MD/MPH program, begun in collaboration with what is now the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, is now in eight different medical schools across Texas and beyond. The selection to the Shine Academy recognizes some of these accomplishments and for that, I am honored to be a member of the academy."
Shreela Sharma, PhD, currently serves as professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at the School of Public Health and is a lead instructor for the Epidemiology I course, one of the largest courses at the school.
Sharma has educated beyond the classrooms at UTHealth Houston. She led the development of CATCH Early Childhood, an innovative preschool program proven to improve dietary behaviors and reduce obesity among children. She is also the co-founder of Brighter Bites, a program that increases access to fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education for low-income children and their families. In addition, Sharma serves as co-lead of the Health Equity Collective, a systems coalition focused on care coordination between health care and social services, and is the founding director of the Center for Health Equity, a new research center in EHGES at the School of Public Health.
"I am grateful for this honor," Sharma said. “One of my reasons for coming into academia was my passion for teaching and mentoring. I would not be here without some incredible teachers and mentors who taught me everything I know and supported me along the way. I am thankful for the opportunity to pay it forward."
The Shine Academy fosters excellence in education in the health sciences by recognition of outstanding educators and advancement of knowledge and innovation in the field of education. The honor is bestowed annually to outstanding faculty from across UT System's academic health institutions.
Read more about the honorees here.
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