Seeing, Believing, Healing 8 New Dean Welcomed 14 Victory for a Virus 20 Enamel-eating Syndrome 23
Superheroes
Joe R. and Teresa
Lozano Long
fulfill dreams and
empower
generations ut medicine san antonio
Ut Health Science Center
we make lives better
tm
We are the physicians of the UT Health Science Center School of Medicine. We offer our clinical
expertise as the largest multidisciplinary practice in Central and South Texas. We offer our personal
commitment to every patient we see and every student we teach. And every day, we work toward one
simple, yet powerful, goal making lives better.
For an appointment or to refer a patient, call (210) 257-1880.
www.UTmedicineSA.com
We discover. We treat. We care.
Summer 2008 Vol. 34, No. 1
MiSSioN

Features
8
Seeing, Believing, Healing
Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics
fulfills mission through service
12
Contagious Smiles
Dental and dental hygiene students
spread proper oral health care
to neediest communities
14
Dean Breslin finds the right fit
School of Nursing welcomes new dean
20
Victory for a Virus
Researchers prove living virus slows tumor
growth without harming normal cells
23
Dental Destruction
Teeth prove to be susceptible
to silent enamel-eating syndrome
Departments
5

University in Motion
6

News and Notes
24
Appointments and Awards
25
Philanthropy News
26
Presidents Council
30
Alumni News
Join us as we celebrate the
40th anniversary of our School of Medicine
and honor Governor Dolph Briscoe
at the
Annual Gala

of the
UT H
ealTH
S
cience
c
enTer

aT
S
an
a
nTonio
September 20, 2008
Grand Hyatt San Antonio, 600 E. Market
For information, call (210) 567-2056.
Proceeds will benefit womens health initiatives at the Health Science Center.
16
Superheroes
Joel Torres journey to medical school is an inspiring story
of talent and perseverance. This year he embarks on his
pediatrics rotation thanks in part to the generosity of
Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long. He sees them as heroes.
Sometimes I feel that saying thank you isnt enough to
show appreciation to people as generous as the Longs.
They have given me a wonderful gift, not only financially,
but also the gift of their trust that one day I will honor
by becoming the best physician that I can be.
Joel Torres, third-year medical student
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Summer 2008 MiSSioN | 5
Chief Communications Officer
mary etlinger DeLay
Executive Director for Communications
Nancy Arispe
Editor/Director of Publications
Natalie Gutierrez
Creative Director
Jennifer Bernu-Bittle
Contributing Writers
Jill Byrd, rosanne Fohn, Tina Luther,
Will Sansom
Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
President
Professor, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery
The university of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Heroes in our midst
I am proud to present your latest issue of the Mission magazine in its new,
branded format. Last year, the Health Science Center launched its first-ever
branding campaign. As a result we have a new logo and a new look that helps
convey who we are, what we do and how, every day, we make lives better.

This issue of Mission tells some of the stories of our students, faculty, community partners and donors.
Their heroic efforts are serving the needs of the citizens of Texas, the nation and the world through programs
that advance education, research and clinical care. They are truly helping make lives better.
Third-year medical student Joel Torres, featured on the cover, is just one example. His talent,
perseverance and dedication are characteristics of all of our students. With assistance from the Joe r.
and Teresa Lozano Long Presidential Scholarship, Joel is on his way to becoming an outstanding and
compassionate physician who will meet the needs of patients in the South Texas Valley, where there is a
shortage of health care professionals.
Not only have philanthropists Joe r. and Teresa Lozano Long provided nearly $950,000 in full
scholarships to Health Science Center medical students like Joel, they have given an additional
$25 million for education, research and faculty programs at this institution. They are heroes to all of us
because of their vision and commitment to transforming lives. I was proud to lead the recent
celebration that officially named our central campus in their honor.
In the following pages youll read many more of our stories of success and
celebration from the historic joining of San Antonios Cancer Therapy & research
Center (CTrC) with the Health Science Center, to the awarding by the National
Institutes of Health of the Clinical and Translational Science Award designation.
This award is viewed as one of the most significant federal selections in the history
of the Health Science Center and San Antonios biosciences community.
I am privileged to lead this Health Science Center that is among the finest
academic health science centers in the nation. Ours is a story of excellence and
achievement. Thank you for helping us write the next chapter.
university
in
motion
HSC lands coveted NiH translational research award
The Health Science Center has received a $26 million Clinical and Translational
Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for
research resources, making it one of only three recipients in Texas. The award
establishes the Health Science Centers Institute for Integration of medicine and
Science, the entity responsible for realizing the vision that optimal research will
improve health. The award is viewed as one of the most significant federal selections
in the history of the Health Science Center and San Antonios biosciences community.
Only 60 institutions ultimately will be granted Clinical and Translational Science
Award status among 125 academic health science centers nationwide.
CTRC celebration
More than 200 volunteers, community leaders and physicians on May 20
celebrated the joining of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center and the UT Health
Science Center. Pictured at the ceremony are (L-R) John Korbell, former chair of
the CTRC Board of Governors, and his wife, Bonnie, as well as Graciela Cigarroa,
President Cigarroa, Louise Beldon, chair of the CTRC Board of Governors, and
Mark Watson Jr., chair of the CTRC Board of Directors. President Cigarroa said the
CTRC gift is the largest in the Health Science Centers history.
A Message from the President
Trauma research
receives $11.3 million
boost from U.S. Army
The Health Science Center has
landed a five-year, $11.3 million
contract from the u.S. Army to
support trauma research. The
contract will support studies of
resuscitation, monitoring and
metabolic control of injured
soldiers and civilians. The u.S.
Army medical research and
materiel Command at Fort
Detrick, md., is the sponsor.
Economic Development Agency
awards $1 million for MARC
The Economic Development Administration (EDA)
of the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded
$1 million to support construction of a state-of-
the-art ambulatory surgery center at the Medical
Arts and Research Center (MARC). The Health
Science Center has done remarkable work and is
among the EDAs most valued partners in
the Southwestern
Region, said
Pedro Garza,
regional
director of the
EDAs Austin
regional office.
Nursing graduates,
funding increase
Increasing the number of nursing
graduates by 88 in 2007 has
resulted in the awarding of
more than $686,500 in
additional state funding for
the School of Nursing.
The funding the second-
highest awarded among
public and private nursing
schools in the state will
be used to add eight new
nursing faculty members
and 80 additional
nursing students.
NiA awards $1.5 million to expand
Werners syndrome studies
Researchers will expand studies of a protein
mutated in the rapid-aging disorder Werners
syndrome, thanks to $1.5 million from
the National Institute on Aging. Led by
Robert Marciniak, M.D., Ph.D., assistant
professor of medicine and a faculty
member of the Barshop Institute
for Longevity and Aging Studies,
scientists will seek to determine
whether the protein fails to protect
the ends of chromosomes, also
called telomeres, which help
maintain genetic stability.
You have the right to request that we not send you
any future Mission magazines, and we will use our
best efforts to honor such requests. If you so desire,
send your name and address to the Office of external
Affairs at The university of Texas Health Science
Center at San Antonio with your request to be removed
from our magazine mailing and contact lists.
To e-subscribe, visit our Web site at
www.uthscsa.edu/mission.
Mission is published by The university of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonios Office of external Affairs.
Please send Letters to the editor to the Office of
external Affairs, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX
78229-3900; e-mail to mission@uthscsa.edu or send
faxes to 210-567-6811.
All rights reserved. � The university of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio, 2008. Not printed
at state expense.
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Summer 2008 MiSSioN | 7
6 | MiSSioN Summer 2008
news
and
notes
Employees honored at Presidential Awards
Faculty and staff members who exemplify exceptional leadership
in their field