2025 OCT. EDITION
The Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine was able to announce exciting news this month with the signing of an affiliation agreement with Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance (DHR) in the Rio Grande Valley. This established joint governance over undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, research and other issues. For about a year we have had students doing some away rotations there for their advanced clerkships, and the experience has been fantastic. We will now be able to do core clerkships there as well and will start ramping up our presence on that campus. The residency and fellowships programs are now also joint – graduating residents will be University of Houston alumni. As a part of the agreement, UH and DHR will build a new Medical Education and Research building adjacent to the hospital, which will house our education staff and programs and provide new laboratories for research. It will also house a suite for a future regional dean, as we hope to build this into a regional campus over several years. With this advance, the Fertitta College of Medicine is expanding its footprint across the state and building a pipeline for future doctors who want to practice in the Valley.
- Jon McCullers
The UH Centennial Innovation Awards recognize and support the creativity and dedication of UH staff who are driving meaningful change. Whether you’ve successfully implemented an innovative idea or have a bold new concept that could transform UH, we have two exciting opportunities for you:
Mark your calendars! UH Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine will host its annual holiday appreciation luncheon on Tuesday, December 2. RSVP today.
The Class of 2029 has concluded their elections and the full results can be viewed here.
The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter at the college hosted the second annual MedED Ignite: Pre-Health Summit, bringing together more than 100 pre-health students for a full day of mentorship, networking and hands-on clinical learning. Charla Burns, M.D. delivered an engaging keynote address that encouraged students to stay persistent and purpose-driven throughout their journey in medicine. Attendees connected with our faculty and medical students during interactive panels that offered honest insight into medical school life and the admissions process. Students participated in a variety of skills-based workshops, including suturing, mock interviews, personal statement writing, heart sound mastery, imaging interpretation, MCAT preparation, and anatomy. The summit also featured breakfast and lunch, free professional headshots, and raffle prizes.
Brendan Rosamond, MS4, and Jacqueline Garcia, MS2, attended the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress in Chicago, and serve as student representatives on the ACS medical student task force. Rosamond represented the committee on medical student education at the conference and spoke to future surgeons from all around the world. Others in attendance were Scott Zimmerle MS4, Maria Claudia Vilchez Vega, MS2, and Alfonzo Munoz, MS2; all College of Medicine students in attendance are board members of the college's suture surgical collaborative. They all attended the medical student program where they had the opportunity to network with other future surgeons and residency program directors.
Following the impact of Hurricane Beryl, our KIDSAFE team launched Kids Initiatives for Disaster Safety and Action for Future Events (KIDSAFE) to help children and families better prepare for future emergencies. This September, they presented their project at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition with the Council on Children and Disasters. The three-day program, held at Blackshear Elementary in Houston’s Historic Third Ward, reached 112 students who learned about disaster preparedness, tested their knowledge through an interactive hurricane-themed escape room, and built their own disaster kits to take home. The initiative was proudly funded by the Texas Pediatric Society Foundation (TPSF) and received enthusiastic recognition from national pediatric leaders, who expressed interest in using KIDSAFE as a model for similar programs across the country.
Mariana Garcia, MS1, received a scholarship from the Latin American Medical Association of Houston's. Our Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) members also attended and helped celebrate her amazing achievement.
MS3 Kierra Jackson presented her research on blood transfusion requirements in patients on serotonin reuptake inhibitors at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Anesthesiology Annual Meeting.
MS3 Isabella Marra (image-left), this year’s Fertitta College of Medicine’s Albert Schweitzer Fellow, recently attended the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Celebration of Service Luncheon. Marra was able to network with other fellows and UH faculty at this exciting event.
Chris Rogel, MS2, completed his rotation at Harrison Dermatology where he shadowed both Dr. Harrison Nguyen and physician assistant Trishann Nguyen.
Edgard Castillo, MS3, was involved in research through the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) summer research program. The 10-week CVI summer research program is designed to provide meaningful research experiences to undergraduate and medical students in the field of cardiovascular science. The primary goal of the program is to advance cardiovascular research and medicine by supporting students from various backgrounds and skillsets.
Reflection on IMU Intervarsity CBL Challenge 2025
Eight pre-clerkship students—Vivian Nguyen, Saher Khan, Hannah Rios, Giovanna Calderon, Alfonzo Munoz, Nithila Ganesh, Shannon Christian, and Hannah Sansone—proudly represented the college at the Intervarsity Case-Based Learning Challenge 2025, jointly organized by International Medical University and the Malaysian Anatomical Association. Competing against teams from several countries, our students advanced to the final round and earned 3rd place.
The competition offered a valuable forum for global academic exchange and strengthened participants’ confidence in applying foundational and clinical knowledge to real-world cases. The teams were actively guided and the event coordinated by Sadacharan Marx Chakravarty, Ph.D., PT, M.Sc. and Niazur Rahman, M.D., Ph.D., MSc, with invaluable support from the department of biomedical sciences, the office of student affairs, and the IT support team.
This achievement reflects our students’ growing competency in clinical reasoning and the college’s ongoing commitment to innovative, experiential learning.
Jamie Everett, M.D., FASCP, was featured in the American Society for Clinical Pathology Critical Values article titled “3 Questions with Jamie Everett, MD, FASCP”.
Pooja Patel, M.D., M.P.H., M.M.S., FACOG and Claudine D. Johnson, M.D., have been selected to be representatives of the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine on the Academic Physicians Subcommittee of the Texas Medical Association.
Niazur Rahman, M.D., Ph.D., MSc, was selected as an abstract reviewer for the International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM 2026); an initiative of the Association of Faculties of Medicine (AFMC), Canada.
We continue to grow our dynamic team of consummate professionals. Let us welcome the newest members to join our college:
Areli Mbaye, executive director, office of the dean, presented at the Society for College and University Planning Southern Regional Conference. The title of her presentation was Making Flagship Decisions to Foster Future Success. Mbaye presented alongside members from SLAM, the design firm and Page, now Stantec, the architect firm.
The UH Health Family Center and the Humana Institute received the Community Impact Awards from the American Heart Association for their work on maternal health. UH Health Family Care Center is one of the sites for the Maternal Health Program, MomRx, while the Humana Institute leads the evaluation of the program across all Houston Texas sites. Pictured with our representatives are other organizational winners, as well as Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Chief Medical Officer for the Office of Prevention, American Heart Association.
David Buck, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Dean for Community Health, helped lead the College of Medicine group at the 2025 Houston Houston Heart Walk. The team showed up in force despite the inclement weather and participated in the rainy 5K with friends and family of the college. Their energy and spirit lit up the Houston Heart Walk and proved that a little weather cannot stop a community on a mission.
The Office of Community Health has just launched the Community Engagement Calendar on the College of Medicine website. The calendar is a central place to post community service opportunities for students, faculty and staff.
The Healthy Connections program, in partnership with The Common Market Farm-Fresh Box Program, provided fresh fruits and vegetables, twice a month, to program participants, UH Health Family Care Center patients, and College of Medicine staff and students. From February 2025-October 2025, 1,020 boxes, estimated at $20,400, were distributed to improve food security. Participants shared that the food box has helped them access food while also providing opportunities to include more fruits and vegetables in their diet to support their health goals.
The Healthy Connections program received a donation of $10,000 from H-E-B’s Community Investment Program. Community Health Workers will distribute gift cards to program participants with food challenges to complement referrals to food access resources and provide families the flexibility to purchase items for specific dietary needs. Additionally, the donation will help provide nutritious meals for health education workshops and community events.
As the new school year approached, the UH Health Family Care Center, partnering with Boynton Chapel Methodist Church, opened its doors and heart to the community with its Back-to-School Block Party. The event offered families more than just school supplies; it provided a day of fun, connection, and vital health resources in one of Houston’s... READ MORE.
Congratulations to Sara Elkins, Ph.D., for receiving the FCC RISE award for this past quarter! This award honors team members who embody our core values: Respect, Integrity, Servant Leadership, and Equity.
An excerpt- “Dr. Elkins consistently starts her mornings with a joyful, positive attitude and a warm smile. She is truly a joy to work with and is always willing to assist whenever she can, making her a valuable and uplifting presence on the team.” Her hard work and dedication make a meaningful impact on both our patients and the clinic. We’re truly fortunate to have her on our team!
Every year, the UH Health Family Care Center hosts a holiday effort for our patients, many of whom may struggle to provide gifts or holiday meals for their families. This year, we are hosting a donation drive called "Giving Season," where you will have the opportunity to create care package gift bags for the patients we see in December.
Gift bags can be picked up and dropped off at the Family Care Center or the College of Medicine (Dean’s office) starting tomorrow morning. Each gift bag has a list of six items attached; we ask that you purchase 4 of the 6 items and check off what has been purchased before returning to the drop-box.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Rebecca Negri.
Do you have something you’d like to share college wide? Email uhcomcom@central.uh.edu with details for consideration in next month’s edition of The Pulse.
