Schiess, Thomas named to endowed professorships

Dr. Mya Schiess

Dr. Eric Thomas

Two new holders of endowed professorships have been named at the Medical School, effective Sept. 1. Dr. Mya Schiess is the Adriana Blood Chair in Neurology and Dr. Eric Thomas is the Griff T. Ross Professorship in Humanities and Technology in Health Care.

Nominated by interim Dean Jerry Wolinsky, these positions are a testament to Schiess’ and Thomas’ research and academic accomplishments, wrote Dr. James T. Willerson, president of the UT Health Science Center.

Thomas, a faculty member in the Department of Internal Medicine, is a national leader in patient safety and quality research and education. He recently received the 2007 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for Research.

“I’m thankful that the Ross family and the Health Science Center have provided this endowed fellowship,” Thomas said. “It will help support our research and educational activities to improve the quality and safety of health care.”

Schiess is the director of the neurology residency training program and the Movement Disorders and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Her clinical interests include Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, and her research involves the patho-etiology of Parkinson’s and developing diagnostic biological markers for this disease.

“I am deeply honored by my appointment to the Adriana Blood Chair in Neurology,” Schiess said. “This endowment will support my research into the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease, the identification and affirmation of early biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease and the mentoring and education of neurology residents, medical students, and fellows in the subspecialty of Movement Disorders.”

These professorships are not new – the Griff T. Ross Professorship was created in 1984 and was held by Dr. Stanley Reiser until his departure from the university. It was created by a combination of private donations and institutional funds and is named for Ross, who was an internationally recognized endocrinologist and educator who joined the Medical School in 1981 as associate dean of clinical affairs and professor of medicine following work at the National Institutes of Health. When he died July 1, 1985, he was professor and director of the Division of Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.

The Adriana Blood Chair in Neurology was created in 1992 with a gift from W. Joseph Blood, a former Development Board member, in honor of Adriana Blood, his first wife, who died in 1991. Dr. Ian Butler, professor of pediatric neurology, previously held the Blood Chair and now holds the Blood Professorship.

-D. Brown

For more Headlines, see Page 2 Stories

Two Medical School faculty graduate from Educational Scholars Fellowship Program

Dr. Eugene Toy

Dr. Eugene Toy, clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Dr. Rebecca Cox, instructor in microbiology and molecular genetics, are new graduates of the Educational Scholars Fellowship Program (ESFP), sponsored by the UT Dental Branch, Baylor College of Medicine, and the Medical School.

The two-year program, which includes educator development workshops and mini-fellowships, is designed to increase faculty members’ knowledge of key educational principles and theories, including leadership principles; lecturing, evaluation, and curriculum design; and self-reflection and feedback from peers.

As part of the program, participating faculty must write an abstract and present a poster highlighting the independent work done in the fellowship. Cox and Toy presented their posters at Baylor’s 2007 Showcase of Educational Scholarship, and Cox’s poster, “Development of Computer-Based Diagnostic Laboratory Exercises and Standardized Patients for Use in the Medical Microbiology Classroom,” was one of three to win an award.

Dr. Charles Kilpatrick, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Dr. John Halphen, assistant professor of internal medicine, will join the 2007-2009 group of ESFP fellows, which kicked off Sept. 28

Recruitment of the 2009-2011 group of fellows will start in the spring of 2009. The program is free to faculty. For more information on how to apply, see http://med.uth.tmc.edu/administration/edu_programs/ep/faculty_development/index.htm.

-D. Brown

For more Headlines, see Page 2 Stories

Two Emergency Medicine faculty win national accolades

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) bestowed significant honors upon two Medical School faculty members at its recent national council meeting this month.

Dr. Arlo Weltge, clinical associate professor of emergency medicine, was elected vice speaker of the ACEP Council – an influential position in the organization.

Dr. Diana Fite, staff physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine, received the ACEP Council Meritorious Award for her many years of service to ACEP and to the emergency medicine specialty.

“Arlo’s appointment to the position of vice-speaker of the ACEP council is generally the stepping stone to speaker of the council, which is one of the two or three most important positions in the organization. I am proud of Diana and Arlo for representing our medical school very well at the national level,” said Dr. Brent King, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Representing more than 25,000 emergency physicians, ACEP supports emergency medical care and promotes the interests of emergency physicians.

For more Headlines, see Page 2 Stories