winter 2012 Donors help grow humanities and ethics education 6 Holly Auditorium 8 CTRC Foundation gives $10.2 million 12 Gift of life Community leaders unite to help and heal UT Medicine San Antonio Medical Arts & Research Center UTMED10192011247 UT Medicine San Antonio offers the power of academic medicine from our School of Medicine faculty and the convenience of a private practice setting at the Medical Arts & Research Center in San Antonio’s Medical Center. 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For an appointment, call (210) 450-9000. www.UTMedicine.org MissioN | winter 2012 | Vol. 37, no. 3 CtrC free public 6 information Series Cancer Treatment & Prevention Education Sponsored by H-E-B Want to know more about Insomnia, Fitness for Cancer Patients, Natural Prevention, Latest Discoveries 8 and More? PLEASE JOIN US 2nd Thursday of Each Month 6 - 7:30 p.m. Cancer Therapy & Research Center 10 7979 Wurzbach Road • 4th Floor Grossman Bldg Co-sponsored by the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science For more information, call (210) 450-1152 Cover Story or visit www.CTRC.net/series 10 Gift of life Community leaders unite to help and heal cover photo: Larysa Sholom was told she had only one year to live. But community leaders connected her to the UT Health Science Center where she said UT Medicine San Antonio physicians gave her hope for a brighter future. Photo by Lester Rosebrock Make a gift to the UT Health Science Center that costs you nothing. briefingS 5 News and Notes featureS How? 6 Donors plant seeds that grow humanities and ethics include the university in your will education, locally and abroad without altering your current savings or retirement needs. 8 $1 million gift pays tribute to outstanding alumnus Renovation under way on Dr. and Mrs. James L. Holly Auditorium Support: y world-class faculty 12 CTRC Foundation gives $10.2 million for cancer y Life-changing research research and care y education for the next generation of health care professionals For more information or a copy of preSident’S CounCil our sample bequest language, visit giftplanning.uthscsa.edu 14 Annual giving by the President’s Council or contact Kent Hamilton in our gift planning office at 210-567-5001 or at [email protected]. A Message from the President Why making lives better matters As we head into another new year at our UT Health groundbreaking studies will ultimately provide new Science Center, we are reminded of the accomplishments treatments for acute and chronic respiratory problems, for which we can all be proud. We also find ourselves including asthma and chronic bronchitis that affect millions. in a new era of some uncertainty, with many questions Because of a generous $10.2 million gift from the CTRC looming. The economy remains sluggish, political rhetoric (Cancer Therapy & Research Center) Foundation, we can is active and the way forward ardently debated. continue to recruit top-notch scientists such as our new What comes to mind is a story about CTRC deputy director Tim Hui-Ming Gertrude Stein, the great American Huang, Ph.D. Dr. Huang is focusing on writer. As she was on her death bed, developing new technologies toward friends and relatives heard her utter early detection of cancer and new what they thought were her last words, approaches to treat this deadly disease. “What is the answer?” she asked. These are just a few examples Heads nodded in approval for this fitting that answer the question “Why?” And profundity as a suitable benediction to for those who ask “How?” I must first a life so richly lived. But, as it turns out, emphasize that every gift, no matter the she was not quite finished. Moments amount, makes a difference. There are later, she uttered what were to be her so many ways to support the UT Health final words, “What is the question?” Science Center – by making an annual or The brilliance of this sequence is that it reminds planned gift, investing in a student scholarship, establishing us that from thoughtfully posed, precisely targeted an endowment, or by naming a laboratory or classroom. questions, follow answers which truly matter. I am always proud to answer the question This issue of Mission helps answer the question “Why support the UT Health Science Center?” “Why?” Why support the UT Health Science Center? I am never at a loss for reasons. Thank you for I am often asked this question by community sharing in our pledge to make lives better. leaders, legislators and people I meet every day. On the cover of our winter issue of Mission is 24-year- Sincerely, old Larysa Sholom. Her story is one of courage and inspiration and reminds us why our work is so important. Our missions of education, healing, discovery and community service are proliferated by one goal – to make lives better. We deeply appreciate the generosity and leadership William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP of our donors and friends, including Bill Greehey, Charles President Butt, Wayne Reaud, Charles E. Cheever Jr., the trustees of Professor of Medicine the Kleberg Foundation and Dr. and Mrs. James L. Holly. UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Their efforts support lifesaving translational research, such as the work of Joel B. Baseman, Ph.D. Dr. Baseman’s Chief of Staff and Chief CommuniCationS offiCer | Mary G. DeLay Senior exeCutive direCtor of CommuniCationS | Nancy Arispe Go online! editor/direCtor of publiCationS | Natalie Gutierrez Creative direCtor | Jennifer Bernu-Bittle read and e-subscribe to Mission online Contributing WriterS | Rosanne Fohn, Sheila Hotchkin, Amanda Lipsitt, M. David Meyer, www.uthscsa.edu/mission Will Sansom Web deSign | Rene Torres Get more news Photo and illustration contributions provided by Multimedia Services and printing by UT Print, www.uthscsa.edu/hSCnews UT Health Science Center San Antonio. Not printed at state expense. Schedule an appointment at our clinics Mission is published by the Office of External Affairs, The University of Texas Health Science www.uthscsa.edu/patient.shtml Center at San Antonio. Please send Letters to the Editor to the Office of External Affairs, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900; e-mail to [email protected] Support your university or send faxes to 210-567-6811. To be removed from our magazine mailing and contact lists, send makelivesbetter.uthscsa.edu your name and address to the Office of External Affairs with your request. Learn more about how we make lives better © The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2011. All rights reserved. www.uthscsa.edu newsandnotes Naked mole rat DNA sequenced Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of the naked mole rat, a pivotal step to understanding the animal’s extraordinarily long life and good health. A colony of more than 2,000 naked mole rats at the UT Health Science Center contributed to the findings, published Oct. 12 in the journal Nature. Arlan Richardson, Ph.D., director of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, said: “The data in this Nature paper are very important for aging research One of the largest and most energy-efficient research buildings ever erected in Texas, the three-story because they give us the first glimpse into how $150 million South Texas Research Facility is approximately the length of three football fields. the naked mole rat lives 10 times longer than its distant cousins, the mouse and rat.” Rochelle Buffenstein, Ph.D., professor of physiology at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, worked on the study with Thomas Park, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago; Vadim Gladyshev, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School; the Beijing Genomics Institute; and other collaborators. Vitamin E Dignitaries participating in the dedication ceremony are (left to right) UT System Regent Gene Powell; Brian supplements Herman, Ph.D., special assistant to the president and professor of cellular and structural biology; David Weiss, Ph.D., vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Francisco increase risk of González-Scarano, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs; Mike prostate cancer Black, M.B.A., senior executive vice president and COO; UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.; Sen. Leticia Van de Putte; Rep. Joe Straus, speaker of the House of Representatives; President William L. New results from a Henrich, M.D., MACP; Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., UT System executive vice chancellor for health affairs; and study of more than 35,000 Rep. José Menéndez. men reveal that taking vitamin E supplements New building for breakthrough discovery increases the risk of prostate cancer among healthy men Oct. 13 marked the dedication of the UT Health by 17 percent. Science Center’s South Texas Research Facility (STRF), a The results were $150 million center of discovery, scientific collaboration published online Oct. 11 and translational medicine. in the Journal of the American Medical “Today we open the doors to a future of discoveries in Association. Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., the neurosciences, cancer and healthy aging,” said William director of the Cancer Therapy & Research L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, president of the UT Health Center (CTRC) at the UT Health Science Science Center.