Five outstanding Health Science Center early-career clinical investigators were selected to join the South Texas Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development (MCRCD) Program. The unique program aims to expand the Health Science Center’s capacity to provide career development training to clinical and translational investigators.
The Clinical Research (CR) Scholars are Silvana Papagerakis, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of dental diagnostic science; J. Dipen Parekh, M.D., assistant professor of urology; Chandana Tripathy, M.D., assistant professor in the division of diabetes; Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., R.N., instructor of family nursing; and John Zeber, Ph.D., who is completing a postdoctoral fellowship with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System’s Research and Development Service.
“This program is part of a national movement to further research to improve human health,” said Pedro Delgado, M.D., chair of the MCRCD Planning Group.
The MCRCD is designed to increase the translation of basic science discoveries into clinical practice, and from best practices into the community. Because clinical research requires the ability to understand complex problems and issues that cross disciplinary lines, the program emphasizes team-based, multi- and inter-disciplinary, clinical research training.
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| Several faculty members are dedicated to mentoring the scholars. | |
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Dr. Delgado and Michael Lichtenstein, M.D., professor of medicine, played leadership roles in the recruitment of the CR Scholars and know the importance of the MCRCD Program.
“This is a unique career development program that aligns the Health Science Center with the National Institutes of Health’s initiative to create centers and institutes across the nation that promote clinical and translational science,” Dr. Lichtenstein said.
The five CR Scholars will work in groups to allow input from various health care fields. Each scholar has a mentoring team that will help manage, develop and encourage their multi- and inter-disciplinary efforts.
Brian Herman, Ph.D., vice president for research, committed $400,000 to initiate this program, Dr. Delgado said.
“Dr. William Henrich and the School of Medicine also invested funds to support clinical research scholars,” Dr. Delgado said. “Leveraging these funds allowed the selection committee to expand the number of scholars from two to five.”
“The Health Science Center is showing a strong expression of institutional support by investing in these individuals who are early in their careers,” Dr. Lichtenstein said. “We’re serious about training them and transforming our research enterprise.”
About the CR Scholars:Silvana Papagerakis, M.D., Ph.D., is currently conducting translational and clinical research, and evaluating novel diagnostic and prognostic markers for patients with oral, head and neck cancers. Her work has received several recognitions, including the 2002 IADR/Colgate Research in Prevention Award, the 2004 IADR/Unilever Hatton Award, the 2004 New Investigator Research Award of the Health Science Center’s Executive Research Committee and the 2006 IADR/John Clarkson Fellowship in Oral Health Research.
J. Dipen Parekh, M.D., has research interests involving clinical trials in kidney and prostate cancer, image-guided surgery, and establishing novel protocols in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney and prostate cancer. He has several publications in national and international journals and, among many honors, is the recipient of the Rotary Ambassadorial International Scholarship.
Chandana Tripathy, M.D., is involved in studies that examine the effects of lipotoxicity and glucotoxicity on insulin signaling, mitochondrial function and activation of inflammatory pathways in muscle. He has performed research in the field of insulin resistance since 1995, and his work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals.
Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., R.N., is interested in behavior change relative to the initiation and maintenance of physical activity. Her dissertation work focused on examining the sociocultural context of physical activity in Mexican-American women, aiming to discern the context in which the group makes decisions about participation in physical activity. Examining how the environmental context affects decisions about the initiation and maintenance of physical activity will continue to be the focus of Dr. Cantu’s work.
John Zeber, Ph.D., has research interests that include serious mental illnesses, substance abuse, medication adherence, cost-effectiveness, health beliefs and care-seeking behavior, program evaluation, quality of life, and ethnic disparities in psychiatric diagnosis or treatment. Dr. Zeber has 15 published or in-press articles and numerous presentations at national conferences, including an invitation to speak at the 2005 Congressional Black Caucus meeting.
