Fourth-year TCOM students travel to Guatemala to deliver care

A group of fourth-year students from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, led by Richard Magie, DO, recently participated in a two-week clinical rotation in an underserved area in Guatemala. The Guatemala trip was conducted in partnership with DOCARE International and Thomas Shima, DO, from Charlton Methodist Hospital in Dallas. DOCARE International is a medical outreach…

Unlocking the secrets of autism

Wearing glasses with a camera embedded in the frames, a girl stands atop a platform as virtual balls roll toward her. How she dodges the balls will help UNT Health Science Center researchers better understand why people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have trouble responding to their environment. Surrounded by a 180-degree, wrap-around screen in…

TCOM students find satisfaction in clinic work

One of Gabbi Saks' favorite parts of her medical education occurs once a month in a clinic at Cornerstone Assistance Network. That's where Saks and other Texas College of Medicine students triage and help care for uninsured patients at the Fort Worth nonprofit's Saturday charitable clinic. "You spend a lot of time with each patient…

SPH educator honored by Texas Public Health Association

The Texas Public Health Association (TPHA) has presented this year's Outstanding Service Award to UNTHSC adjunct instructor Melissa Oden, DHEd, LMSW-IPR, MPH, CHES. Dr. Oden teaches Behavioral and Community Health courses for UNTHSC's School of Public Health, where she also serves as Public Health Student Practice Experience Liaison. In presenting the award, TPHA President James…

Barking up the right tree with a leading therapy-dog program

Michele Whitehead has gone to the dogs, and they've fetched her national honors. Two years ago, she started the highly successful therapy dogs program at UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth. This spring, Whitehead, who's the Lewis Library Clinical and Research Services Coordinator, and a colleague will tell a national audience how it's done.…

Visiting professor studies U.S. public health

Over the next year, a professor from South Korea will be immersing himself in Fort Worth culture and the way that public health is taught in the United States. As part of his sabbatical studies from Soonchunhyang University in Seoul, South Korea, Myung-Il Hahm, PhD, MPH, has joined the UNTHSC School of Public Health as…

Public Health student wins TPHA competition

Shlesma Chhetri, a doctoral student in UNT Health Science Center's School of Public Health, has been recognized by the Texas Public Health Association (TPHA) for a presentation on the sex trade and homeless women. Chhetri, who is working toward a PhD in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, won the Outstanding Student Oral Presentation…

Monitoring health from a patient’s home

For Yvette Clayborn, the past year was a blur of hospital rooms. Hypertension and other health issues forced the Fort Worth woman in and out of hospitals for most of 2014. She was always worried, unsure when headaches or fatigue signaled a dangerous spike in blood pressure. "It is exhausting," Clayborn, 51, said wearily. Today,…

With immunizations, UNTHSC removing barrier for high school students

UNT Health Science Center's Pediatric Mobile Clinic will provide free immunizations at Carter-Riverside High to graduating seniors needing a second dose of the meningitis vaccine, a requirement for college attendance or military service. Mobile clinic staff and UNTHSC pharmacy students will administer the vaccines. "Schools were telling us that vaccinations are becoming a big barrier…

Impact of air pollution on women’s health and birth outcomes

A new study suggests a possible link between air pollution and Type 2 diabetes that could result in potential adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women. The study - covering over 228,000 deliveries among more than 208,000 women - shows a link between exposure to EPA-regulated air pollutants by women just prior to conception or in…