12 minute read
Class Notes
from Pulse Summer 2021
by ⌘ ⇧ ⌥
Casey Mraz, MD
PHYSICIAN Loop 250 Family Medicine, Midland, Texas Medicine Graduate: 2016
LIVING AND WORKING THE DREAM
Casey C. Mraz, MD, admits she has one job at work and one at home, where she’s a mom of three. But in all aspects of her life, there’s a level of continuity — it’s about family.
Mraz’s pediatrician became more than a physician once Mraz discovered a passion for health care. Ultimately, their bond paved Mraz’s way into family medicine helping her narrow down her specialty.
“I saw her from the time I was born until I was 18,” Mraz added. “She took me under her wing and let me work in her clinic.” Mraz ruled out surgery and considered pediatrics, like her mentor, and obstetrics. However, after starting a family with her husband, Mraz realized she didn’t want to sacrifi ce her own family’s activities and milestones for her career.
Today, Mraz focuses on her patients’ overall wellness and loves making a diff erence in the ir lives , giving them more quality time with their families. And, at the end of the day, she gets to go home to her own. — Glenys Young
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
Matthew Grisham, PhD, (’82) was listed by Google Scholars as an H-Index 100, meaning that 100 of his publications have been cited at least 100 times.
Monish Makena, PhD, (’11) has been awarded the 2020 AACRAstraZeneca Breast Cancer Research Fellowship.
Sasanka Ramanadham, PhD, (’85) was named a Featured Discovery recipient by the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Victoria C. Young, PhD student in the molecular biophysics concentration, won a Student Research Achievement Award from the Biophysical Society.
SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Jackie Clark, DPT, (’17) joined the Fremont Therapy Group in Green River, Wyoming.
Brant J. Danley, MPAS, PA-C, (’08) joined U.S. Dermatology Partners in College Station, Texas.
The legend, Michael Owen, is offi cially retired. Cheers to the memories, the dedication to your practice and your patients, and the legacy you have left behind. Cheers to you, Dad!”
JENNIFER OWEN, MD, (MEDICINE ’01)
OWEN HEALTH GROUP
Dr. Anna Karamyan left an extra special mark. She walked into class on the fi rst day of our fi rst year in pharmacy school and already knew our names. It meant a lot to us that she wanted to know us before she even met us.
TTUHSC SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
CLASS OF 2021
Kelsi Mangrem, AuD, (’10) received the 2021 Small Business Young Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Sharmila Dissanaike, MD, (Resident ’06) chair of the Department of Surgery , was appointed to the Texas Medical Board District Three Review Committee. Chris Gallagher, MD, (’05) was elected to the Healthcare Industry Leaders board of directors.
Nagendra Gupta, MD, FACP, (Resident ’13) received the 2020 Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital Dale Rank Physician Leadership Award.
Bernard Harris, MD, (’82) was elected to Raytheon Technologies board of directors.
Kayla Money, PharmD, BCPS
CLINICAL PHARMACIST BSA Health System, Amarillo, Texas Pharmacy Resident and Graduate: 2018, 2017
NO GUTS, STILL PLENTY OF GLORY
Kayla Money, PharmD, BCPS, realized early on that some aspects of health care might not be for her — after all, she fainted getting her ears pierced. Pharmacy , however, has been a great fi t. She gets to save lives on a daily basis , without any gore by verifying prescription orders. “I have a great opportunity to catch a lot of potential medication errors, dosing errors and drug to drug interactions,” Money said. “The doctors rely on us to make sure the doses are right, timing is correct , and there’s no negative interaction with the patients’ allergies.”
After her residency, Money joined a community pharmacy and partnered with local physicians to launch outpatient clinics off ering wellness visits for people over the age of 65. During COVID-19, she worked hand in hand with doctors, nurses, dietitians and respiratory therapists to give patients the best chance of recovery. “I’m not so good with blood and guts,” she admits, “but I’m enthusiastic about leading others to be healthier, happier and more productive.” — Glenys Young
Jacqueline Ward, DNP, RN
CHIEF NURSING OFFICER Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas Nursing Graduate: 2005 ALL IN THE FAMILY
Jacqueline Ward, DNP, RN, grew up listening to her mother, Marilyn Lacey, tell stories of her workday at Texas Children’s Hospital. Lacey was a unit secretary and exposed Ward to health care by helping her obtain summer internship programs there as a student. “I grew up at this hospital,” Ward remarked. “It does not surprise me that I’ve worked here for 27 years. It’s in my blood.”
Ward is now the chief nursing offi cer of the hospital whose halls she used to walk through as a child. She works for the same chief executive offi cer as her mom did for 36 years and appreciates the family atmosphere. Her responsibilities are extensive, especially when you’re in charge of 30% of the workforce.
Ward is the fi rst African American hired as chief nursing offi cer for Texas Children’s and is eager to see the impact her distinction will have on future generations. “There are little girls, whether they’re white, Black, Hispanic or Asian, watching a woman occupying this seat. It sends a message that they, too, can do this.” — Kara Bishop Sameer Islam, MD, (’08) was appointed as the chief of gastroenterology and director of the new Gastroenterology Fellowship Program at TTUHSC.
Richard Jordan, MD, TTUHSC regional dean in Amarillo, received a 2021 Better Business Bureau Excellence in Community Service Award.
Scott Milton, MD, (’84, ’85) associate professor, received a 2021 Better Business Bureau Excellence in Community Service Award.
Michael Owen, MD, (’77) retired after 40 years of service to the Lubbock area in obstetrics and gynecology.
Bob Salem, MD, (’50) received the 2021 Texas Tech University College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni award.
Ariel Santos, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Surgery, received the Presidential Citation from the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Amanda Stuelpnagle, MD, (Resident ’20) joined CHI Health Clinic Women’s Health in Grand Island, Nebraska. Ashley Sturgeon, MD, (’14, ’10) received the 2021 C. Frank Webber, MD, Award for her commitment to mentoring medical students.
Lauren Swartz, MD, (Medicine ’15, Biomedical Sciences ’10) joined Covenant Health Plainview, Texas.
Amy Thompson, MD, (Resident ’07, ’04) was elected to the Lubbock Area United Way board of directors.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Barbara Cherry, DNSc, RN, (’97) professor, associate dean for strategic partnerships and chair of the Department of Leadership Studies, will retire from her full-time faculty position Aug. 31, 2021.
Brandon “Kit” Bredimus, DNP (’15) was named to the “20 for 2020 Nurse Awards” by the Texas Nurses Association and Texas Nurses Foundation.
Morgan Gamble, BSN, RN, (’17) was named 2021 Nurse of the Year by UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas.
Amanda Griswold,
(’20, ’17) was named chief nursing offi cer at Bridgemoor Transitional Care in San Antonio, Texas.
Valerie Kiper, DNP, RN, (’13) associate professor in the TTUHSC nontraditional nursing program, was awarded the 2020 Excellence in Leadership Award by the Texas Organization for Nursing Leadership board of directors.
Jeanette Vaughan, MSN, RN, (’92) joined Louisiana State University Health Science Center as an instructor of nursing.
Amelia Yambrick Robles, BSN, RN, (’16) was named 2021 Trauma/Surgical ICU Unit Nurse of the Year by UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas.
SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
Luke Barnett, PharmD, (’08) joined BD(Pyxis) as a HealthSight clinical consultant.
Alicia Chavez and Alex Correa, fourth-year and third-year pharmacy students got engaged May 14, 2021.
Anna Kochanowska Karamyan, PhD, associate professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences , received the 2021 Harrold Miller Most Infl uential Professor of the Year Award.
Sumeen Mirza, PharmD, (’21) joined the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, as a resident.
Jincy Varughese, PharmD, MBA, (’21) joined The University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas, as a resident.
FRIENDS WE’LL MISS
Welda LaJean Chaffi n, PhD, professor-emeritus in the School of Medicine, died April 20, 2021.
T.H. Holmes Jr., MD, professor in the TTUHSC School of Medicine, died March 18, 2021.
William “Ed” Richards, MD, (’92) died Feb. 6, 2021. He was the medical director of the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion and endowed chair of robotic surgery at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital in Savannah, Georgia.
Philip Domenico, PhD
DIRECTOR The Science of Nutrition Blog, Rome, New York Biomedical Sciences Graduate: 1983
THE ART OF MICROBIOLOGY
As the son of a painter and the brother of a poet, a penchant for scientifi c discovery was not exactly coded into the Domenico family DNA. Yet that didn’t stop Phillip Domenico, PhD, from spending 30 years focusing his artistic energy on petri dishes of slime in laboratories across the country.
Bacterial slime — a layer of extracellular material that surrounds bacteria cells to protect them from environmental dangers like antibiotics — is involved in over 80% of infections and can be found in any ecosystem.
Domenico focused his research on combating slime, creating antimicrobial compounds that could help treat secondary bacterial infections common in congenital conditions such as cystic fi brosis, diabetic wounds and in secondary infections emerging from viruses such as COVID-19.
In retirement, Domenico observes his anti-biofi lm compound’s progress while metamorphing his scientifi c career back to its artistic beginnings — sculpting, cartooning and gardening with his wife , Gloria , as they volunteer for several Berkshire gardens and the Central Park Conservancy. — Kate Gollahan
A Jewel of a Gift
FIRST ENDOWED NURSING SCHOLARSHIP STILL IMPACTFUL
Scot Brown kneels on the melting asphalt of New Mexico State Highway 60. The summer temperature was so intense you could see the heat waves rising from the blacktop. He works quickly to intubate the teenage motorcyclist who had been hit by a car.
There’s got to be a way to save lives in a more controlled environment, Brown thought, as he prepared his patient for the fl ight to an Albuquerque, New Mexico, trauma center.
Returning to the Rio Grande Valley as a health care provider was his plan since leaving for college. Brown, CRNA, (Nursing ’03) is now the fi rst nurse anesthetist at Socorro General Hospital to live in the community for more than 40 years. His journey began at TTUHSC, fueled by the generous support of a family who chose to honor their beloved mother by establishing the Jewel
Benton Endowed Scholarship in
Nursing, the fi rst of its kind in the School of Nursing.
As ‘airway guy,’ Brown said he’s always relied on the critical thinking skills he learned as an undergraduate nurse. “Her (Benton) scholarship not only played a role in my being here but also in the quality of care I can give to those in this remote part of the state – whether they live here or they’re just passing through.” — Danette Baker
YOU GET THE LAST WORD!
Complete this sentence: Looking back, my favorite study spot was________. Here’s why. Share your memories with Pulse and you may see them published in a future issue. PULSE@TTUHSC.EDU Last issue, we asked which professor taught you the most. Elizabeth Ogbonna, BSN, RN, (Nursing ‘17) submitted Deborah Casida, EdD, MSN, ENPC, assistant professor in the School of Nursing in Amarillo.
3601 FOURTH STREET | MS 6242 | LUBBOCK, TEXAS 79430
NEW JOB? NEW BABY? NEW AWARD? If you have an entry you would like to see printed in our update listings, email : pulse@ttuhsc.edu
WE GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS.
For 35 years, Sherry Sancibrian (Health Professions ’78, ’77), distinguished educator and clinician, has seen fi rsthand lives changed through the diagnostic and treatment services provided at the TTUHSC Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic. In any given month,10 to 20 families make sacrifi ces in other areas of their budgets to pay for their children’s appointments. She and her husband, Sandy, chose to make a Gift of Impact through their estate to help ensure that cost never interferes with a child’s opportunity to receive services through the clinic.
Contact Nathan Rice at giftplanning@ttu.edu or 806.742.1781 to discuss your area of impact and how to make a gift.
