Faculty and Staff STAR Award Honorees

We are pleased to recognize our Epidemiology faculty and staff who were honored in this year’s UTHealth Houston STAR Awards, celebrating meaningful milestones of service and dedication. The STAR Awards acknowledge employees and faculty who reached a service milestone of five or more years (in five‑year increments) during the 2025 calendar year. Their continued commitment strengthens our department and supports UTHealth Houston's mission.

20 Years of Service

Jan Bressler, PhD

Eric L. Brown, PhD

Claudette Huitt

15 Years of Service

Bing Yu, PhD

10 Years of Service

Elena V. Feofanova, PhD

Jemima John, PhD

5 Years of Service

Zeynep Coban Akdemir, PhD

Ryan Ramphul, PhD

Irene M. Tami‑Maury, DrPH

Qian Xiao, PhD

Trung Nguyen

Brandon Kelley

Adam Heath

Nannan Wang, PhD

EPIDEMIOLOGY FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

Welcome, New Assistant Professor, Mohammad Yaser Anwar, MD, PhD

The Department of Epidemiology is pleased to welcome Mohammad Yaser Anwar, MD, MPH, PhD, as a new Assistant Professor. Anwar earned his medical degree from Herat University in Afghanistan, followed by an MPH from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Louisville.

Anwar will join the Border Health Research Center and focus on the genetic and multi‑omic determinants of complex traits, including metabolic traits, obesity, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive disorders. While his early work focused on infectious disease epidemiology, his interests evolved toward genomic and multi‑omic research, which he looks forward to expanding at the School of Public Health.

Outside of academia, Anwar enjoys biking, hiking, watching soccer and Formula 1, and traveling across the United States.

Global Patterns of Environmental Hazards

Epidemiology Associate Professor Eric Jones, PhD, co-authored a new international study examining how societies worldwide experience and adapt to environmental hazards. Using ethnographic data from 132 societies, the research team created a comparative framework to measure five key dimensions of hazards: type, frequency, predictability, onset, and severity.

The study reveals that hazard exposure varies greatly across societies, but many communities face recurring types of events. Predictability also differs by hazard type—droughts are among the least predictable—and slow‑onset hazards such as droughts, pests, and disease are generally more severe, particularly in their impacts on food systems. In contrast, fast‑onset hazards occur more often and tend to damage infrastructure. The authors also find that more predictable hazards tend to be less severe, underscoring the value of anticipation and preparedness.

Read the full publication in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Metabolites Linked to Fibrinogen Levels

The study “Fibrinogen‑associated plasma metabolites and implications for coagulation, inflammation, and vascular diseases”, published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, examined how circulating metabolites relate to fibrinogen, a key coagulation factor linked to inflammation. Using nontargeted metabolomics data from 10,533 participants across six U.S. cohorts, researchers identified 270 metabolites significantly associated with fibrinogen levels. Many were lipid species reflecting inflammatory or hormonal influences, while others suggested lifestyle and microbiome effects. Researchers from the Human Genetics Center in the Department of Epidemiology at UTHealth Houston contributed to the publication, including Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, Dean of the School of Public Health; Professor Alanna Morrison, PhD, Co-Director of the Human Genetics Center and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology; Professor Bing Yu, PhD, Co-Chair of the Human Genetics Center; Associate Professor Paul de Vries, PhD, and Statistician Taryn Alkis, PhD.

TOPMed Annual Meeting - Feb 18-20 in Bethesda, MD

EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDENT NEWS

We are excited to welcome Vithória Oleiro, M.Ed., a visiting doctoral student from Brazil who will be working closely with Epidemiology Assistant Professor Andrea Ramirez Varela, MD, PhD.

Oleiro holds a master’s degree in Education and is currently completing her PhD in Health Sciences at the Federal University of Rio Grande in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

During her six‑month stay, she will contribute to Ramirez Varela’s project, Futbolito for All: Supporting Active Lifestyles for Latina Children in Galena Park, while also engaging in additional research collaborations to support and strengthen her doctoral thesis. This is her first time in the United States, and she is already enjoying exploring Houston from museums and parks to basketball games, city events, and is looking forward to the upcoming World Cup.

Now Open! Continuing Student Scholarship Applications

The 2026–2027 continuing student scholarship application is now open, with a deadline of April 1, 2026. Current School of Public Health students can apply through the Scholarship Manager portal at go.uth.edu/SPH-Continuing-Scholarship. To be considered, please complete all questions on the general scholarship application and, if required, your school-specific application.

R. Palmer Beasley, M.D. & Lu-Yu Hwang, M.D. Travel Award in International Research. 

Application Opens 2/3/26!

This travel award application is for continuing students working on important public health issues in a developing country of Asia, Africa, or Latin America. The awards will be for travel during the summer of 2026. Faculty can send recommendation letters by April 1 to melanie.e.house@uth.tmc.edu, or students can upload recommendation letters with their application. Students must adhere to the UTHealth Houston travel requirements for students traveling to international locations. See Student Travel and the Step-by-Step Guide for Students Traveling Internationally. For more information, see mySPH.

EPIDEMIOLOGY ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Publication Spotlight

A recent JAMA publication features several alumni from the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Sherene Sharath, PhD (2017), alumna of the Department of Epidemiology and currently serving as Director of Clinical Outcomes and Health Services Research as well as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, NY, is a co‑author on a randomized controlled trial evaluating restrictive versus liberal transfusion strategies following high‑risk surgery in patients with elevated cardiac risk. The study was conducted across 16 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions.

The article was led by Panos Kougias, MD, MS, Chair of the Department of Surgery at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, who previously earned his Master of Science in Clinical Research from the School of Public Health. Additional co‑authors with UTHealth Houston affiliations include Natasha Becker, MD, MPH, alumnus of the School; Neal R. Barshes, MD, MPH, alumnus of the Department of Epidemiology; and Nader Zamani, MD, MPH, also an alumnus of the Department of Epidemiology.

This publication reflects the ongoing contributions of our alumni to advancing research in cardiovascular and perioperative care.

A summary of the study findings is available here.

Epi Careers Event Wrap-Up

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the latest session of the Epidemiology Career Seminar Series, Epi in Action.

We were honored to host two outstanding guest speakers: Monica Sierra, MSPH, PhD, Epidemiology and Outcomes Research Consultant and former staff scientist at the National Cancer Institute, and Aleisha Elliott, MS, PhD, Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning at Living Water International.

Their insights and experiences provided our students with a valuable real‑world perspective. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

An Overview of Risk Factors, Outcomes, and Prevention Measures for Small and Large Diseases on Brain Health

Thursday, March 19

1:30 - 2:30 PM CST

The Stroke Institute Brain Health Research Group is an exciting new initiative dedicated to advancing brain health research.

This month's presentation, “An Overview of Risk Factors, Outcomes, and Prevention Measures for Small and Large Diseases on Brain Health,” is presented by Philip Gorelick, MD, Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Registration Information:

TEAMS Link

14th Annual Houston Global Health Collaborative Conference

Saturday, March 16

TAMU School of Engineering Medicine

1020 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030

The Houston Global Health Collaborative (HGHC) is excited to announce that registration is now open for our 14th Annual Global Health Conference. This year’s theme, “Changing Realities, Shared Responsibilities: Global Health in a Complex World,” invites students, trainees, researchers, and faculty to engage in a full day of interdisciplinary learning, collaboration, and networking focused on today’s evolving global and public health challenges.

More information available here.

The Cupboard Student Food Bank

10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

RAS Building, B-04

Wednesday, March 4

Thursday, March 5

Closed for Spring Break

Wednesday, March 18

Thursday, March 19

Wednesday, March 25

Thursday, March 26

The Cupboard is a no-cost food resource for students who may need assistance.



Location: SPH Building, Basement

Email: TheCupboard@uth.tmc.edu

James H. Steele, DVM

Annual Lecture

featuring William E. Secor, PhD

Thursday, April 9

Noon to 1:00 PM

RAS Building, 1st Floor Auditorium

and Virtually via TEAMS

The 34th Annual Steele Lecture with featured speaker William E. Secor, PhD, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The presentation will be "What's the Use Case? Defining and Developing Diagnostic Tests for Schistosomiasis."

This event is free and open to the public and will provide free lunch to the first 60 attendees. 

For more information and the TEAMS link, please visit go.uth.edu/Steele.

SUBMISSIONS AND NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

All campuses are encouraged to submit items for consideration for the monthly Epi newsletter. Please feel free to submit your items to sphepi@uth.tmc.edu.