TAMEST Member News Roundup – December 2024
TAMEST loves to share the accolades of our membership. If you have been nominated for an award, been interviewed by the media or otherwise have a reason to celebrate, please share your news with TAMEST.
TAMEST In The News
Dallas Innovates: TAMEST Recognizes Lyda Hill and Lyda Hill Philanthropies with Kay Bailey Hutchison Distinguished Service Award, 2025 Kay Bailey Hutchison Distinguished Service Award Recipients Lyda Hill and Lyda Hill Philanthropies
The Dallas Morning News (Subscription Required): How a Houston Doctor has Tapped into Engineering to Improve Medicine, TAMEST Board Member Roderic I. Pettigrew, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM, NAE), Texas A&M University, Houston Methodist
STAT News: Oral Cancer Shows the Deep Connections Between Chronic and Infectious Disease, President and CEO of Texas Biomedical Research Institute Larry S. Schlesinger, M.D.
Innovation Map: Rice University Leader Balances Tradition with Innovation to Drive Growth, Global Impact, TAMEST Member Reginald DesRoches, Ph.D. (NAE), Rice University
Mirage News: BCM Secures $3.5M for Newborn Telehealth Genetics Study, TAMEST Board President Brendan Lee, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine
Tech Central: How Lisa Su Built AMD into a Chip Powerhouse, TAMEST Member Lisa Su, Ph.D. (NAE), AMD
Houston Public Media: Texas A&M’s New Houston Space Institute to Pave Way for Future Moon, Mars Exploration, Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Chairman Bill Mahomes, J.D.
Texas Tribune: Could Texas do for Alzheimer’s Research What it Did for Cancer?, The University of Texas System Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs John Zerwas, M.D.
FOX 44 News: X-Bow Systems and Texas State University Announce Cooperative Research Agreement for Solid Rocket Motor Advancement, Texas State University
Texas Tribune: Texas Names New Higher Education Chief, The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
KBTX: Nuclear Reactor Project at RELLIS Campus Continues Moving Forward, Texas A&M University Associate Vice Chancellor for Research David Staack, Ph.D.
Member Briefs
NAI Announces 2024 Class of Fellows
The National Academy of Inventors announced the election of 170 exceptional inventors into the 2024 Class of Fellows including TAMEST Member Malcolm K. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine, TAMEST 2024 Hill Prize Recipient in Engineering Maria A. Croyle, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, TAMEST 2012 O’Donnell Award in Technology Innovation Recipient Theodore Moise, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Dallas, TAMEST 2023 Annual Conference Speaker Daniel J. Siegwart, Ph.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center and TAMEST 2020 Protégé Omid Veiseh, Ph.D., Rice University. NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. Read More
Osteoarthritis Gene Therapy Developed in the Lab at Baylor College of Medicine is in Clinical Trials Nationwide
Developing novel therapies for disease is a slow process that can take decades of trial and error in the lab before the therapy can be evaluated for safety and efficacy in human patients. The lab of TAMEST Board President Brendan Lee, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine, has worked for years on development of an adenovirus gene therapy for osteoarthritis. Today, that therapy is showing promising results in Phase 1 clinical trials. Read More
Social Determinants of Health Screening in Healthcare Settings
TAMEST Member Amelie Ramirez, Dr.P.H. (NAM), UT Health San Antonio, has created The Salud America! Action Pack, “How to Advocate for SDoH Screening in Healthcare.” The aim is to show how social determinants of health (SDoH) like income, housing and food can influence health for better or worse. SDoH screenings are a questionnaire given to patients in a healthcare setting to help providers identify social needs. Dr. Ramirez hopes the action pack will help encourage more SDoH screening programs at local clinics, hospitals and healthcare systems. Read More
UH Physics Professor Among First-Ever Big 12 Conference Faculty of the Year Award Winners
The Big 12 Conference named University of Houston physics professor and world-renowned researcher TAMEST 2014 O’Donnell Award in Physical Sciences Recipient Zhifeng Ren, Ph.D., as one of its first-ever Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award winners. He was recognized along with outstanding faculty from the other Big 12 member institutions who have excelled in areas of innovation and research. Read More
UT Energy Expertise to Guide New Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, Bolster U.S. Energy Supply
The University of Texas at Austin will partner with industry and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to build and expand a hub for hydrogen energy production along the Texas Gulf Coast that will help increase and diversify the nation’s energy supply. “UT Austin’s role in the HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub will be vital to both providing the research and expertise needed to accelerate the global market for hydrogen, and to developing the workforce needed to support the industry’s advancement over the long term in Texas and the Gulf Coast,” said TAMEST Member Brian A. Korgel, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin. Read More
Transfer RNA Regulates Messenger RNA Degradation
Transfer RNA (tRNA), a genetic molecule well known for its contribution to reading the instructions for building proteins, also plays a key role in regulating how long those instructions persist in cells, a new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, including TAMEST 2016 O’Donnell Award in Medicine Recipient and TAMEST 2023 Annual Conference Co-Chair Joshua T. Mendell, M.D., Ph.D., shows. The findings, published in Science, expand the understanding of the timing involved in the degradation of messenger RNA (mRNA), a vital mechanism for controlling gene activity, and could eventually have the potential to lead to new treatments for obesity, cancer and other health conditions. Read More
One Year In, TMC’s Helix Park Proves to be a Powerful Innovation Hub
Nearly one year since launching its first phase, the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park is already proving to be a powerful catalyst for innovation, attracting a range of life sciences companies and bolstering collaboration between industry and academia. The 37-acre campus opened with the TMC3 Collaborative Building and Dynamic One Building, now home to prestigious institutions like Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Methodist, Texas A&M University and UTHealth Houston. Read More
Texas Heart Institute and Baylor College of Medicine Announce Strategic Integration to Establish a Cardiovascular Center
Baylor College of Medicine and The Texas Heart Institute have signed an agreement to form a premier cardiovascular health and research center, uniting two of the nation’s most distinguished programs in cardiovascular medicine. This strategic integration will elevate patient care, accelerate medical research and bolster education efforts, positioning the organization as an international leader in cardiovascular innovation and clinical care. Read More
CPRIT Leaders Tour Cancer Research Initiatives and Capabilities at Rice University
Senior officials from TAMEST 2024 Kay Bailey Hutchison Distinguished Service Award Recipient Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) visited Rice University for a firsthand, comprehensive look at the university’s cancer-focused collaborative research initiatives and innovation-driven facilities and labs. Read More
