TAMEST Member News Roundup – November 2025
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
Innovation Map: Texas Voters OK $3 Billion for New Dementia Research Institute, Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT)
TIME: Are Robot Pants the Future Spacesuit?, TAMEST Member Kate Rubins, Ph.D. (NAM), 75th US Army Reserve Innovation Command
News Medical: Fruit Flies Illuminate the Role of Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Genes, TAMEST Member Hugo J. Bellen, D.V.M., Ph.D. (NAS), Baylor College of Medicine
Smithsonian Magazine: How Far American Women Astronauts Have Soared Since Sally Ride Took Her Historic Spaceflight, TAMEST Member Mae C. Jemison, M.D. (NAM), The Jemison Group
ISSUES: Still Unprepared for the Next Pandemic, TAMEST Member and 2025 Hill Prize in Public Health Recipient Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine
TPR: Texas Cyber Command Launches at UT San Antonio, President of The University of Texas at San Antonio Taylor Eighmy, Ph.D.
Texas Monthly: Ending the Annual Flu Vaccine: Texas Biomed’s Breakthrough Research Toward Universal Immunity, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Member Briefs
TAMEST mourns the loss of beloved TAMEST Member Bert W. O’Malley, M.D. (NAM, NAS), Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. O’Malley was a visionary scientist, esteemed member of TAMEST, and an influential force in advancing Texas research. He was considered the founding father of molecular endocrinology, a visionary whose work profoundly transformed the field and changed its understanding in a fundamental way. His pioneering discoveries revealed that intracellular hormones and cofactors regulate gene activity, driving protein production and influencing how cells work. Dr. O’Malley’s contributions to the scientific community will continue to impact the lives of many for generations to come. Read More
Pedro J.J. Alvarez Honored with Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering
TAMEST Member Pedro J. J. Alvarez, Ph.D. (NAE), Rice University, a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and water sustainability, has been awarded the 2026 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and engineering honors in the United States. Read More
Metabolic Hormone Found to Boost Resilience Against Flu Symptoms
A hormone known for regulating energy balance also helps the body cope with influenza by triggering protective responses in the brain, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers including TAMEST Member and 2025 Hill Prize in Biological Sciences Co-PI Steven A. Kliewer, Ph.D. (NAS), shows. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggest that targeting this pathway could offer a new pharmacological approach for treating the flu. Read More
Innovation to Impact: Rebecca Richards-Kortum Previews Rice360’s Innovation for Healthcare Access Conference
TAMEST Member Rebecca R. Richards-Kortum, Ph.D. (NAM, NAE, NAS), co-director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies at Rice University, has spent her career breaking barriers between innovation and impact. A trailblazer in global health engineering, she leads with a whole-systems approach, developing not only groundbreaking medical technologies but also the sustainable networks that ensure those tools save lives in real-world settings. Read More
Words of Wisdom to Postdocs from UTSW Trailblazers
Four distinguished UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists who are members of the National Academies inspired postdoctoral researchers by sharing their own experiences as postdocs, offering words of encouragement for working through challenging times and providing insight for paths toward breakthrough discoveries. The panel discussion included TAMEST Members Sean J. Morrison, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Lora Hooper, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), and TAMEST Board Member Kim Orth, Ph.D. (NAS). Read More
School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio Awarded $6 Million Total to Study Treatment, Pain Management for Oral Cancer
Researchers at the School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio including TAMEST 2025 Hill Prize in Medicine Recipient Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., have been awarded three multi-year grants totaling $6 million from the National Institutes of Health to address treatment and pain management for oral cancer. The grants propose new targets to stem deadly oral squamous cell carcinoma and novel approaches to treat oral mucositis, massive inflammation and ulcers in the oral cavity that can result from radiotherapy treatment. Read More
Rice Launches Brain Institute to Accelerate Discoveries in Brain Science and Health
Rice University has announced the creation of the Rice Brain Institute (RBI), an ambitious, interdisciplinary hub that unites faculty members across campus, including engineering, natural sciences and social sciences, to tackle one of humanity’s most complex and promising frontiers: the brain. “Few areas of research have as direct and profound an impact on human well-being as brain health,” Rice University President and TAMEST Member Reginald DesRoches, Ph.D. (NAE), said. Read More
Opening Doors to Smarter Devices and Safer Drugs, UH Crystals Expert Controls Crystal Formation
From creating flexible gadgets to better medicines, the art of bending crystals is reshaping technology and health, and at the University of Houston a crystals expert makes it look almost like a magic trick. 2020 O’Donnell Award in Engineering Recipient Jeffrey Rimer, Ph.D., University of Houston, has shown how to bend and twist crystals without physical force — no touching, poking or prodding and no heat or radiation, conditions typically required to achieve reshaping. Read More
Texas A&M Earns Renewal of NSA Cybersecurity Designation
Texas A&M University is helping shape the future of cybersecurity, once again earning renewal of its National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) designation from the National Security Agency (NSA). The rare distinction from the National Security Agency marks Texas A&M University as one of only 10 academic institutions designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in cybersecurity education, research and operations. Read More
San Antonio Conference Showcases Innovation in Vaccine Development
Vaccine researchers from across San Antonio and Texas will gather to exchange their latest findings at the annual Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio (VDCoSA) Conference. Since 2012, the center has been bringing scientists together to encourage collaboration in vaccine research and to host an annual symposium on immunology, infectious diseases and vaccines. VDCoSA is a collaboration between four of San Antonio’s leading research organizations: UT San Antonio, UT Health San Antonio, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed). Read More
The Magazine of Texas Biomed
Since 2000, Texas Biomedical Research Institute has been at the forefront of studying deadly pathogens and testing vaccines and treatments against them, including anthrax and Ebola virus. Today, the Institute is an internationally recognized partner in defending the nation and world from potential biological threats. Read More
