Topics at a glance: Mission for UT Dental Branch Task Forces: Dream big!    … UTDB RESEARCH PROFILE For immunologist John Klein, no question’s too small   … Socializing in the Texas Medical Center  … Scholarships available for kids of qualifying UTHSC employees  … THIRSTY WEDNESDAY: Ladies’ Arm Wrestling Contest planned  … UTDB professors published in Journal of Periodontology

Mission for UT Dental Branch Task Forces: Dream big!

This much has been decided: The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston is going to build a new, state-of-the art facility on the south campus of the Texas Medical Center. Other than that, it’s time to dream big about what should go into that new building, Dean Catherine Flaitz told members of the Oversight Task Force in their first meeting Feb. 12.

“We’re going to build a state-of-the-art dental school to last us for the next several decades. “That decision has been made,” she said. “But what we do inside that building is really up to us. It is important for everyone to be engaged for the best possible outcome.”

Last month, Flaitz announced the formation of six task forces at the Dental Branch, each charged with analyzing different aspects of the school’s needs for the future. Academics, Patient Care, Research, Technology and Pre-Clinical/Simulation Task Forces will meet regularly and send their ideas -- by way of representatives -- to the Oversight Task Force so that grassroots ideas will be an integral part of the final plan.

Flaitz stressed that it’s important to plan for a flexible and progressive curriculum that capitalizes on UTDB’s current strengths, especially the school’s strong clinical care component, while expanding clinical and translational research and evidence-based teaching and learning methodology.

Executive Associate Dean John Valenza, chair of the Oversight Task Force, said the Dental Branch Replacement Building will be under design “well into the summer or fall” but the architects need a general outline of functionality by mid-March to be able to make a presentation to the UT Board of Regents in May.

“We’re now in the design phase of this project, and it’s getting fun,” Valenza said.

As of Feb. 15, every task force had met at least once, and some more than that. The Oversight Task Force will meet weekly for now, Valenza said.

Flaitz encouraged the groups to be creative, innovative and bold in their ideas, but to use the educational literature for support. Although it will not be possible to incorporate every idea, “There is a need to listen and get these thoughts on the table for a healthy discussion,” she said.

“This dental school, and the people who comprise it, are a tremendous asset to the community and the Texas Medical Center,” she said. “So let’s think big and capitalize on another very valuable resource – the individuals who claim the Dental Branch as their professional home.”

Socializing in the Texas Medical Center
UT Dental Branch students participated recently in a social sponsored by the
Student Affairs Council, which brings students from the various TMC institutions
together to discuss TMC issues. Pictured from left are second-year dental students Nisa Dadjoo, Amber Garcia, Erika Johnson, Precious King and Layla Asgari.

Scholarships available for kids
of qualifying UTHSC employees

Are you a classified employee with a son or a daughter who is a senior in high school, entering college in the coming year? Have we got news for you! Applications are now being accepted for scholarships, sponsored by the University Classified Staff Council, awarded exclusively to children of classified employees. Classified employees are workers who are non-faculty and non-exempt. Completed applications must be received by the close of business, Friday, March 14. For more information about applying and to see last year’s recipients, visit the UCSC Scholarship Committee Web site. Contact: Cecilia.Lim@uth.tmc.edu, Scholarship Committee chair, 713-500-4959.

THIRSTY WEDNESDAY: Ladies’ Arm Wrestling Contest planned

The American Student Dental Association will sponsor a Ladies’ Arm Wrestling contest in connection with Thirsty Wednesday (yes, it’s really Wednesday, not the usual Thursday) at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27. Sign up at the event.

UTDB professors published in
Journal of Periodontology

Clinical Assistant Professor Lillian C. Lyons, D.D.S., of the Periodontics Department, is lead author of a study published in the January edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Periodontology, the journal of the American Academy of Periodontology. The title is “Regeneration of Degree II Furcation Defects with a 4% Doxyxycline Hyclate Bioabsorbable Barrier.” Co-authors were Clinical Associate Professor and Periodontics Program Director Robin L. Weltman, D.D.S. and Clinical Associate Professor Pedro M. Trejo, D.D.S., also of the Periodontology Department. Antonio J. Moretti, D.D.S., formerly of UTDB, was also cited as an author.

According to the article’s abstract, the study’s purpose “was to assess if the sustained release of doxycycline through a bioabsorbable barrier would enhance the regenerative outcomes of healing furcation sites.” To see the article, CLICK HERE.