LINC Office

Joseph A. Zorek, PharmD, BCGP, FNAP, is Executive Director of UT Health San Antonio’s Quality Enhancement Plan—Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC)—which was nationally recognized in 2022 with the Award for Institutional Excellence and Innovation in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Health Care by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions. Joe is also a tenured Professor in the UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing, where he teaches advanced pharmacotherapeutics to graduate students and strives to elevate health professions education through creative and impactful scholarship. Joe co-authored the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative national consensus guidance on developing quality interprofessional education (IPE) and is currently representing the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy on the national workgroup assembled to update the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice. In partnership with IPEC and with support from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, Joe also co-led development and validation of the IPEC Institutional Assessment Instrument, a tool designed to measure institutional characteristics associated with high-quality programmatic IPE. Joe was inducted into the National Academies of Practice as a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow in 2021, the same year he published “Interprofessional Practice in Pharmacy: Featuring Illustrated Case Studies” with McGraw-Hill Education, a textbook intended to highlight—for high school and undergraduate students considering careers in healthcare, early learners in pharmacy, and educators and students throughout the health professions—the myriad ways pharmacists leverage their expertise to advance the safe and effective use of medications as contributing members of interprofessional teams. ×

Sadie Trammell Velásquez, M.D., FACP received her medical degree from the University of Texas Health San Antonio (UTHSA) and subsequently completed residency training in internal medicine and was selected as chief resident. After her training, she joined the faculty in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, in 2012 and is currently an associate professor. Engaged in undergraduate medical and graduate medical education since joining faculty at UTHSA, she has held multiple teaching and leadership roles in UME and is currently the Assistant Dean for Preclinical Curriculum. With support of Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC) Seed Grants, her collaborations with the School of Nursing and the School of Dentistry have successfully resulted in implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) into the LSOM and SOD curriculum. She is actively involved with LINC in increasing didactic IPE across the university and disseminating the work done, which includes three publications and over 10 posters/oral presentations from the local to international level. In 2021, she completed the Harvard Macy Program for Educators.

Dr. Velásquez is board-certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine. After working in hospital medicine for 10 years, she developed and opened a new collaborative weight management clinic in the South TX Veterans Healthcare System in 2021, where she currently practices clinically. ×

Rebecca Moote, PharmD, MSc, BCPS, serves as the Scholarship Dissemination Coordinator for Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC), at UT Health San Antonio. Dr. Moote is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Texas College of Pharmacy and has an adjunct appointment with the Department of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. She also serves as the Assistant Division Head of the Pharmacotherapy Division for the UT College of Pharmacy. Dr. Moote received her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2007 from The University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Science in Pharmacy and Advanced Practice Pharmacotherapy Specialty Residency at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas in 2009. She started her academic career at Regis University in Denver Colorado where she was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Moote maintains an active practice as a clinical internal medicine pharmacist at University Hospital.

Dr. Moote has been involved in interprofessional education as part of her teaching, service, and research since 2009. She has created IPE teaching materials and curricula for orientation events, palliative care and medical surgical simulations, and co-curricular experiences. She has received grant funding for interprofessional projects and was awarded a LINC Seed Grant in 2020 for clinical interprofessional education for dental and pharmacy students to optimize pain management prescribing in a dental surgical setting. She currently serves on the LINC Faculty Council’s Clinical IPE workgroup and has provided faculty development training with this group for the last two years. She has multiple publications in interprofessional education as well as two book chapters and has presented her work on interprofessional education at a national level. She also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice. ×

Dr. Mitchell is a mathematician and epidemiological modeling expert with a focus on infectious disease dynamics. His interdisciplinary research includes vector-borne diseases, healthcare-associated infections, and Bayesian methods for parameter estimation in epidemic models. He earned his PhD in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Arlington in 2016, and completed postdoctoral training in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah, where he conducted research on interpreting relative risk of Clostridioides difficile infection among antibiotic-exposed patients. Dr. Mitchell continued his research while serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Tarleton State University.

His research portfolio includes innovative mathematical approaches to modeling infections such as Chagas disease, Zika, and Onchocerciasis. He is currently working on two research projects investigating the dynamics of Eastern Equine Encephalitis on avian species and developing Bayesian techniques for parameter inference in epidemic systems. Dr. Mitchell has secured multiple research grants and published in respected journals including the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, Infectious Disease Modeling, and PLOS One.

Dr. Mitchell is an active member of several professional organizations that enhance his contributions to the field of mathematical epidemiology. As a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), he regularly participates in the SIAM Life Sciences Annual Meeting, presenting his latest research on modeling infectious diseases. His membership in the Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB) connects him with an international community of researchers applying mathematical approaches to biological systems. Additionally, Dr. Mitchell is a member of the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) Network, collaborating with other modelers to develop computational and statistical approaches for improving the nation’s ability to prepare for, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

Dr. Mitchell brings substantial experience mentoring undergraduate and graduate researchers, having supervised numerous award-winning student projects at scientific conferences nationwide. He is dedicated to training the next generation of quantitative public health scientists and teaches courses in mathematical modeling, dynamical systems, and statistical methods. ×

Jackie Belizaire is an accomplished professional with a strong background in program management, case management, and education. With a passion for education and service, Jackie has dedicated her career to helping individuals navigate and thrive within educational environments.

Jackie earned her Master’s degree in Education from Old Dominion University, which laid a strong foundation for her work in educational leadership and program development. Further enhancing her expertise, she obtained a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of West Florida, where she deepened her knowledge of instructional strategies and curriculum design. Her educational journey also includes a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Law from Saint Leo University, which equipped her with a strong understanding of legal and ethical frameworks, a skill she utilizes in various aspects of her professional work. ×

Samantha Paguia brings over four years of experience in project management to her role as a LINC Project Coordinator. Before joining UT Health San Antonio, she was an events coordinator for Georgetown University where she helped plan and execute a variety of distinguished large-scale events for alumni, donors, faculty, and students. She also brings academic research and legal expertise from her previous roles as a research assistant and a legal assistant. Ms. Paguia graduated from the University of New Haven with a bachelor’s degree in forensic psychology and double minors in business management and criminal justice. ×

Karina Escobar debuts in her first official role as a research coordinator. She holds a Master of Public Health from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a Bachelor of Public Health with a minor in Biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Karina possesses essential research coordination skills, including data management, regulatory compliance, and research design. She excels in individual tasks such as protocol writing and literature review, while also thriving in team environments by coordinating stakeholder meetings, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration, and ensuring project milestones are met efficiently. Karina is a dedicated public health professional who is committed to advancing the overall quality of life through evidence-based research and program development. ×

Jeff Lacy, M.L.I.S., M.A., is a librarian at UT Health San Antonio where he liaises with the School of Dentistry, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and LINC. He provides expertise in library research and resources, information literacy, and principles of evidence-based practice. Jeff also contributes to LINC’s Co-curricular IPE Initiative. ×