Anil D. Kulkarni, PhD professor of surgery, Medical School
	UT and TU Exchange Program: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Tokushima University, Japan
For the past thirty years, Dr. Anil D. Kulkarni has developed many relationships within Japan. In particular, his relationship with the University of Tokushima’s Professor Shigeru Yamamoto culminated in the establishment of an Agreement of Cooperation with UTHSC-H. His interest in student exchange between what he dubbed as ‘UT and TU’ is currently to work towards establishing a thorough exchange of students in both directions. It is because of this desire that Kulkarni was awarded by the International Programs Award committee. Over the past several years, Kulkarni has worked with international exchange students brought to him by Yamamoto. Among those students are Keiko Yamauchi and Mari Koliso, both of which currently work with Kulkarni. As an extension of the exchange generated by the University of Tokushima, Kulkarni would like to use the award to partially cover the expenses of at least one student to study at Tokushima. Kulkarni believes that the benefits to students who participate in the exchange between UTHSC-H and TU are twofold: gaining a perspective of the practice of medicine in another advanced country and understanding the differences in doctor-patient relationships. Also, Kulkarni believes that the Japan experience will give students the opportunity to study special topics, such as alternative medicine. Ultimately, he would like to expand the program to include faculty exchanges. “It would be good for our students and faculty to visit Japanese universities like TU to learn how they take care of their patients and how they educate their students in health science center studies.” Kulkarni plans to use the award to cover travel expenses to Japan to build on his Japanese contacts to create an ongoing program between not only UT and TU, but between UT and other Japanese institutions. He sees the project as a good way to continue the international opportunities for UTHSC-H students through established collaborations backed by monetary support. When notified that he was a recipient of the International Programs Award, Kulkarni said, “I was excited because, in my opinion, it was the recognition by our health science center of the contributions that I have made to this institution, to this school, and the health science center.”
(left to right) Mari Koliso, Dr. KeikoYamaguchi, and Dr. Anil D. Kulkarni