Global Health in the Community Panel Discussion

School of Dentistry: Dr. Loomer, BSc, DDS, PhD, MRCD(C), FACD will present on the School of Dentistry’s community initiatives for improving oral health in our San Antonio, South Texas and RGV communities. This includes the Refugee Clinic, Street Dentistry program, public school dental screenings, “Sealant Days”, the Wesley Nurse program and South Texas Student rotations.

Bio: Dr. Loomer joined UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry as Dean on February 1, 2019. He previously served as chair of the Ashman Department of Periodontology & Implant Dentistry and Director of the Center for Global Oral Health Sciences at New York University College of Dentistry. Dr. Loomer was also affiliated faculty in the New York University Global Institute of Public Health.

Dr. Loomer is a graduate of the University of Toronto where he obtained his BSc, DDS, PhD (Biochemistry) and specialty training. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Over the past 25 years, he has studied the microbiome of periodontal diseases.

Dr. Loomer is an expert in health professions curriculum, which has been a major focus of his international research program. His work in global oral health is focused on interprofessional education, student international education and global research experience, faculty development and curriculum reform in developing nations with an emphasis on East Africa and the Middle East. He also has several projects in Africa and Brazil focused on improving oral health in children of poverty.

School of Health Professions: Dr. Bland, D.H.Sc., MPAS, PA-C will present on the many service-learning opportunities students at the School of Health Professions are provided. These collaborative efforts involve community partners and other health professionals. Through these efforts’ students can apply the knowledge and skills they learned in the classroom to hands-on, meaningful experiences in a real-world setting. Student’s experiences help strengthen our communities and are a great way for our students to learn about the many ways they can work together to offer solutions that bring about change, allow them to gain a greater sense of social responsibility and citizenship while also helping to make this a better world for all of us.

Bio: Leticia Bland, D.H.Sc., MPAS, PA-C joined UT Health San Antonio, Department of Physician Assistant Studies as an Assistant Professor / Clinical in 2016.  She received her Bachelor of Physician Assistant Studies in 2002 from the Interservice Physician Assistant Program, and Masters of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska in 2004.  She completed and was awarded her Doctorate in Health Science from Nova Southeastern University in 2018.  Dr. Leticia Bland is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) since 2002 and currently licensed by the Texas Medical Board.  She is an active member of the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) and the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA).

School of Medicine: Dr Assanasen, M.D., M.B.A. will discuss the School of Medicine/Mays Cancer Center work developing  self-sustaining collaborative pediatric oncology programs and networks within Vietnam. Lessons learned in this process may be applicable to other LMIC settings for pediatric oncology as well as other collaborative healthcare endeavors.

Bio: As a Professor of Pediatrics in the UT Health San Antonio Division of Hematology/Oncology, Responsible Investigator for our COG site, recent co-investigator for our Minority Based CCOP (MB-CCOP) in south Texas, and holder of the Children’s Cancer Research Institute Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Oncology I continue to have great interest in cancer control concepts improving outcomes and reducing the burden of childhood and AYA cancers. Before joining UT Health San Antonio, I was faculty and COG PI of Nemours Children’s Clinic in Pensacola, Florida and significantly involved in the Florida pediatric-based CCOP. I also founded and continue to lead our NCI designated cancer center’s global outreach program in education and research in southeast Asia, collaborating with pediatric oncology centers in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as well as academic institutions in Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore. The goals of this program, while on a different continent, are similar in nature to those of our MB-NCORP. Ongoing projects include: 1) development of a regional multi-site leukemia treatment protocol; 2) tumor and DNA banking from pediatric cancer patients; 3) establishment of a clinical research office; and 4) assessment and comparison of tumor biology and outcomes between Vietnam and the United States. Our current project has successfully developed an in-country subspecialty training program in Pediatric Hematology & Oncology. I continue to work closely with my colleagues in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) investigating attitudes toward fertility treatment related complications such as premature menopause. Ongoing collaborations with basic and translational colleagues in the Departments of Biology and Physiology at UTSA broaden our group’s field of investigation. Our current consortium-based cancer control study looking at fertility preservation in female patients undergoing anticancer treatment hopes to provide appropriate and affordable options for children undergoing treatment. As the former Medical Director for the South Texas Pediatric Blood and Cancer Center, I have overseen the transition and expansion of our division’s programs with our new partners at University Health Systems, a public hospital environment encompassing a nationally recognized teaching hospital and network of outpatient healthcare centers. Locally, I have also been involved in projects looking at: 1) identifying factors impacting on the outcome of patients, in particular ALL patients on active treatment; 2) pharmacogenomics modifiers of cancer therapy; and 3) developing a pediatric Phase I core group as well as a survivorship center in association with the MD Anderson/Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. In 2018, I transitioned from this position to directing the UT Health Physicians Practice activities for the Department of Pediatrics working to expand the clinical footprint of our pediatric programs within south Texas.

School of Nursing: Dr. Bluhm, PhD, RN, MSCI, FAAN will share global and “global but local” initiatives in the School of Nursing. The School of Nursing hold true to its mission of developing diverse nurse leaders to improve health and health care, through education, research, practice, and community engagement.

Bio: I am a registered nurse of Asia-Pacific heritage with graduate degrees in neuroscience and clinical investigation. Having been raised in the Philippines and educated in different parts of the world, I have observed how stress and trauma transcend social boundaries and affect health. This experience has influenced my program of science, which focuses on the health of vulnerable populations, especially related to stress. I have had a track record research on preclinical models for neuropsychiatric disorders, investigating the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms associated with the effects of stress. At the School of Nursing, I have engaged in translational clinical research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as education-based and community service-based diversity research to improve patient-centered outcomes. Funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) provided opportunities to build capacity and engage Veterans and Filipino-Americans on PCOR, advocacy, and as full partners of research. My main goal is to improve patient outcomes, especially among vulnerable populations.

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences: José E. Cavazos, M.D., Ph.D.

Bio: Dr. José Cavazos's lab studies activity-dependent plasticity in the hippocampal formation in the developing, adult, and aged brain using a variety of experimental models of epilepsy, seizures, epileptogenesis, Alzheimer's disease and hippocampal sclerosis. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that repeated seizures induce progressive neuronal death and axon sprouting that permanently alter the hippocampal circuitry lending it more susceptible to additional seizures and memory and cognitive dysfunction. In aged models, some hippocampal neurons appeared more vulnerable to disease leading to similar cognitive dysfunction.

We currently are investigating the molecular mechanisms that link the synchronous neuronal hyperexcitability with these morphological events. We investigate the features of this form of neural plasticity in other limbic circuitries using anatomical tracing techniques, and their electrophysiological consequences in the neuronal excitability of the abnormally connected circuitry using brain slices and in-vivo using electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques. We also have several ongoing clinical projects about people with epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease who develop this form of neural plasticity.