UTHealth Employees & Students:  Watch the video on UTHealth Intranet

A town hall meeting Friday for employees and students of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) showcased UT System Regents’ choice of Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, MD, as the new president of the university. He has been serving as president ad interim since the 2011 resignation of Larry R. Kaiser, MD.

UT System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Kenneth Shine, MD, said Colasurdo was chosen after an international search that led to 40 nominations, eight interviews, three finalists and, finally, Colasurdo as the Regents’ choice. By state law, 21 days must elapse between the announcement of a sole finalist and that choice becoming final.  Read more

The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Houston/Galveston, Inc. (RMHC) have joined forces to bring mobile pediatric dental care to the Houston area. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, in partnership with the School of Dentistry, will provide dental preventive care and treatment to children and teens in the Houston-Galveston area.

The Care Mobile was dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 5 at the school.

“We’re thrilled with this new partnership, as it is a perfect match with our commitment to children’s oral health and expansion of our community outreach efforts,” said John Valenza, DDS, dean of the School of Dentistry. “The new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile will also provide a unique learning opportunity for our students.”

As part of its clinical/educational community outreach services, the School of Dentistry will provide supplies and personnel for the program. The dental school is part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Read more

Eleven University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston students volunteered to spend part of Saturday, Sept. 29 hosting 40 medical students from Mexico as they visited the Texas Medical Center, including the UTSD campus. The tour was arranged by University Links of Monterrey, Mexico.

The UT student volunteers were all members of the Hispanic Student Dental Association (HSDA) and included dental students Lourdes Tavarez, Diana Reyes, Erika Mendez, Paola Salazar, Zelina Moncivais, Faryn Vela, Martha Orozco and Sean LaRue, plus dental hygiene students Janie Pineda, Esmeralda Diaz and Jeanette Salazar.

Philip Pierpont, DDS, associate dean for student and alumni affairs, was present to answer questions.

The morning began with a presentation by third-year dental student Martha Orozco on the old Dental Branch Building, followed by a tour of the new school. The visiting students were divided into groups of 10, with two HSDA volunteers serving as tour guides for each group. All of the students understood English, but the tours were given in Spanish for better communication. Read more

Dental and dental hygiene students at The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston participated in St. Martin’s Episcopal Church’s ninth annual Health Fair at Marian Park Community Center in southwest Houston. The students performed oral screenings and provided oral hygiene instructions to more than 100 children. In addition, their parents were given dental resource materials.

The UTSD students were under the direction of Professor Nadarajah Vigneswaran, BDS, DMD, and Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Community Outreach Margo Melchor, RDH, MEd. In attendance were dental students Khushbu Patel, Hieu Troung, Candice Hodges, Alexandra Shepherd, Jeema Dad, Jessica Wu, Lulu Fang and Totazi Lopez, along with dental hygiene students Minh Ngo, Fouzia Mohammad, Monica Sanchez, Andrea Mohs, Nadia Garza, Elizabeth Alvarado, Ashley Clement and Ashley Hilgers.  Read more