Dean Hocker presented at the Quarterly Business Luncheon hosted by Atlas, Hall & Rodriguez in McAllen, where he shared the latest updates from the School of Medicine with local business community.

UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center on track for 2025 launch

Construction on the $145 million UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center is on track for completion in the last quarter of 2024, with patient access starting in February 2025. 

The project, which is funded primarily by the University of Texas System, will provide expanded offerings in cancer care.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is obtaining consulting services from MD Anderson Cancer Center, a world-renowned leader in cancer care, research, education and prevention.

Read more here.

Mom, MD

Motherhood and Medicine: How a UTRGV medical student maintains both roles

For Natasha N. Quailes, a second-year medical student at the UTRGV School of Medicine, motherhood and medicine share many similarities, but they both require one significant trait: resilience.

This Mother's Day, Quailes, of San Juan, reflects on her dual role as a mother in medicine and ponders thriving in both.

Read more here.

Jeevan Divakaran, MD, is an associate professor of Medical Education specializing in Pathology. He completed his residency in 2000 at PGIMS, Rohtak, India, and worked as faculty at medical universities in India, including PSGIMSR (Coimbatore), MGIMS (Pondicherry), and Amrita IMSR (Kochi).

He headed the Department of Pathology at RPGMC, Tanda, and later at Azeezia IMSR, Kollam, where he was also the vice dean. 

Dr. Divakaran has contributed to several research publications, and his primary areas of interest are dermatopathology and gastrointestinal pathology. He is a member of the IAMSE and a reviewer for the Medical Science Monitor, the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics, and the American Journal of Case Reports. 

Welcome, Dr. Divakaran!

Congratulations to Dr. Fatimah Bello, assistant professor and program director of the UTRGV-Knapp Medical Center (KMC) Internal Medicine program, who received a certificate from Weslaco's Mayor Adrian Gonzalez, officially proclaiming May as Mental Health Awareness Month.

Dr. Shreel Patel, chief resident at the KMC residency program, and Ms. Kathleen Avila, representing KMC, were also in attendance.

Together, we're committed to raising awareness and supporting our community -- Congratulations!

In this inaugural issue, UTRGV showcases major contributions from faculty that have significantly impacted institutional research and scholarly performance. Furthermore, there are highlights of achievements such as breaking internal records in increasing research expenditures, demonstrating UTRGV's remarkable progress toward becoming a distinguished research institution.

Explore the report, share it with your colleagues and network, and take pride in the transformative impact UTRGV (and the School of Medicine) is creating as a university.

Your ongoing support and collaboration are integral to our success.

View the research contributions of some (fantastic) UTRGV School of Medicine researchers here.

Dr. Murali Yallapu, faculty of the UTRGV School of Medicine South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, has recently achieved a remarkable milestone in nanomedicine.

His lab's groundbreaking research on "Tabletized Nanomedicine" has been published in the prestigious ACS Nano Journal -- reflecting the innovative strides made by the UTRGV School of Medicine's research community.

Dr. Yallapu's team and work have been recognized with the honor of being featured on the journal's cover for this publication. Other contributors to this article include Dr. Rahul Tiwari, Ms. Meghana Kolli, and Mr. Sumeet Chauhan.

This achievement underscores the School of Medicine's commitment to advancing cutting-edge research that addresses critical healthcare challenges.

The publication in ACS Nano Journal highlights Dr. Yallapu's research contributions to developing tabletized nanomedicine formulations, which hold the the potential to revolutionize drug delivery systems. Enhancing drug targeting, bioavailability, and patient compliance allows for improved therapeutic outcomes and patient care.

Congratulations, Dr. Yallapu!

The UTRGV School of Medicine's and UT Health RGV's Sports Medicine department teamed up with PSJA ISD for a sports physicals event at PSJA Collegiate High School.

Over four days, students from 14 PSJA schools received their physicals, which helped them prepare for the sports season.

Thank you to Dr. Evan Perez, Dr. Jimmy Gonzalez, Dr. Michael Eisen, and our dedicated clinical staff for making this event a success. Your commitment to our community's young athletes is invaluable!

Dr. Khalid Benamar received $500,000 from the Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative (TRC4), a University of Texas System (UT System) initiative. The total amount, $18,037,863, was distributed among UT System participants.

These grants will fund groundbreaking trauma research, product development, and preventative measures across UT institutions.

Chronic pain is challenging to manage, and there is a lack of adequate and safe therapy. This condition is particularly prevalent among the military population because they are at particular risk for combat trauma.

Chronic pain also poses additional challenges, is often comorbid with depression, and has negative impacts on patients with both depression and pain outcomes.

Dr. Benamar's research mainly deals with chronic pain. This area of research is unrepresented at UTRGV even though it affects millions of people and is a significant health condition in the Rio Grande Valley. He and his team will test the efficacy and safety of novel pharmacological combination strategies for chronic neuropathic pain and depression comorbidity, focusing on non-opioid therapy. 

Congratulations, Dr. Benamar!

Read more on Dr. Benamar's research and awards efforts here.