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School of Health Professions alumna Jennifer Sanchez, OTR, OTD, is a member of the University of Texas System Chancellor’s Centurions, a group of early- and mid-career alumni from all UT System institutions who promote higher education and health care in Texas. She began her term in fall 2024. Sanchez graduated from the school’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy program in 2022. Read about her…
A grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board will fund student success initiatives targeting economically disadvantaged bachelor’s students in the School of Health Professions. The $215,000 Student Success Acceleration Program award supports the Pre-Health Scholars Success Initiative (PSSI), a project of the School of Health Professions. “We are trying to create initiatives to…
Professor's commentary on naloxone and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest published in JAMA Network Open
Naloxone, a medicine used to reverse opioid overdose, may be a beneficial prehospital treatment for the general population of patients experiencing cardiac arrest, according to a recent invited commentary published in JAMA Network Open by Department of Emergency Health Sciences Professor David Wampler, PhD, LP, FAEMS. Wampler believes that naloxone, often referred to as Narcan, could help…
A current student and a recent graduate of the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program presented at the 101st annual conference of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, held in Dallas Oct. 31–Nov. 3. Second-year master’s student Monserrath Diaz presented her research that demonstrated that self-identified bilingual pediatric patients who have sustained a mild…
, Associate Professor Ana Allegretti, PhD, OTR, ATP,, , continues to be active in her role as chair of the Special Group Interests (SIGs) for the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). She is an associate, , editor for the Assistive Technology Journal and is proud to announce that the impact factor of the journal is now 2.5. She presented at the European Seating Symposium in Dublin with Scott Burns, an occupational therapist from Dublin, Ireland, the results of their clinical implementation program for on-time mobility. Dr. Allegretti mentored three groups of students that presented at the Texas…, Assistant Professor Angela Benfield, PhD, OTR, ,, co-authored three chapters on professional reasoning (Chapter 25: Professional Reasoning in Practice in Willard & Spackman’s “Occupational Therapy,” 14th edition, and two chapters in “Schell and Schell, Professional Reasoning in Occupational Therapy” (Chapter 7: Scientific Reasoning and Evidence in Practice and Chapter 24: Development of Professional Reasoning). She presented eight sessions…, Assistant Professor Michael Bermudez, EdD, OTR, ,, is developing a research agenda related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in occupational therapy research and education. He presented “Creation of Adaptive Technology for People with Disabilities with the Use of Circuit Boards and Coding” at the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) INSPIRE 2024 Annual Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida, in March 2024. In October 2024…, Associate Professor/Clinical Autumn Clegg, EdD, OTR, co-authored a published article, “Sexual intimacy in persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their partners: A pilot study” (Ramirez et al., 2024). She continues to focus on IPE collaboration and has been part of collaborative grant submissions for community fall prevention initiatives. Dr. Clegg is also part of an externally funded IPE project that is focused on facilitating…, Assistant Professor Mei-Ling Lin, PhD, OTR,, achieved significant academic milestones this year, including three first- or senior-author peer-reviewed journal articles, one book chapter and eight conference presentations. She serves as a co-investigator for the federally funded grant titled “Project ASPIRE: Advancing Successful Preparation of Interprofessional Related Services in Education Settings” from the Office of Special Education…, Professor and Department Chair Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, PhD, OTR, FAOTA,, is project director for a $1.2 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs grant. The grant will support the development and implementation of Project ASPIRE to enhance the preparation of occupational therapy and speech-language pathology students who are committed to working with school age children. Dr. Piernik-Yoder continues in her three…, Associate Professor Chinyu Wu, PhD, OTR, completed two photovoice studies last year and both were presented at the 2024 American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference, titled “Assessing Employment Needs of People with Mental Illness: A Photovoice Study" and "Managing Type 2 Diabetes through the Lens of People with Serious Mental Illness: A Photovoice Study.” The former was co-presented with community partners from Prosumers…
Stephen Harper, MD , deputy medical director of the San Antonio Fire Department and medical director of several emergency response departments in the area , has been named Texas EMS Leader of the Year. Harper received the award from the Texas Department of State Health Services at the annual Texas EMS Conference held in November in Fort Worth. Harper serves as deputy medical director for the…
When she thinks back on the four weeks she spent in San Antonio in the fall of 2024, Chloe Brincoveanu will likely remember much more than the Alamo. Brincoveanu, a student of the physician associate program at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, recently spent a month in a clinical rotation experience hosted by the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. Her visit was made possible…
A team of respiratory care students took third place in the Sputum Bowl — a national quiz-style competition — at the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress 2024. The bowl challenged teams to test their knowledge on lung function, treatment methods and best practices. Two teams of students from the Department of Respiratory Care competed in the Sputum Bowl, said Justin Garcia, vice…, NBRC Leadership Award and House of Delegates , Second-year master’s student Raquel Gutierrez received the $2,000 2024 National Board for Respiratory Care Leadership Award from the Lambda Beta Society during the AARC congress, given to a student who demonstrates exemplary leadership in their educational career and in community service. “Receiving a national award was a great honor and a validation of all the hard work I have put in the last…
Helping people communicate is a calling for second-year Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology student Devin Lukachik. A nationally certified health care interpreter, Lukachik discovered speech-language pathology while studying Spanish and linguistics as an undergraduate student. “I think most people don’t realize just what a huge range of things SLPs can do,” he said. Lukachik…
Respiratory Care master’s student Brianna Guerin has been awarded the Southern Association of Health Professions Deans 2024 Student Leadership Award. Receiving the prestigious award is gratifying because it validates the effort she has put into the program and preparing for her career, Guerin said. “When I first learned about respiratory care, I was amazed at how they are there from the…