Faculty members elected to the Institute of Medicine include Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H.; Cynthia Mulrow, M.D., M.Sc.; Bettie Sue Siler Masters, Ph.D.; and President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
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Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579

SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 20, 2007) — Institute of Medicine (IOM) members from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, including 2007 honorees Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., and Cynthia Mulrow, M.D., M.Sc., were recognized on campus Dec. 19 for their leadership in an organization that unequivocally stands for excellence and that translates research discoveries into public policy for the nation.

Dr. Ramirez is a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a nationally recognized leader in research of cancer disparities affecting Hispanics and other populations. Dr. Mulrow, a clinical professor in the Department of Medicine, is a widely respected leader in evidence synthesis, systematic reviews and practice guidelines in medicine. The two professors join three more faculty who also are members of the Institute of Medicine:

• Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president and professor of pediatric and transplantation surgery, who was elected in 2006
  
• Bettie Sue Siler Masters, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), M.D. (Hon.), the Robert A. Welch Foundation Distinguished Chair in Chemistry and professor in the Department of Biochemistry, who was elected to the IOM in 1996
  
• Fernando A. Guerra, M.D., M.P.H., director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District and clinical faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics, who was elected in 2001

The Institute of Medicine is one of the National Academies, an organization of independent advisers to the nation on medical sciences, health care, public health and other subject areas.

Dr. Cigarroa presented medals to the faculty members except for Dr. Guerra, who will receive his medal at a later date. “One of the perks I have as president is that I have the opportunity to brag about our outstanding faculty and acknowledge them with the recognition that is so very well deserved,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “Membership in the Institute of Medicine is one of the highest honors these faculty members can achieve in their fields.”

Dr. Ramirez
Dr. Ramirez has directed numerous research programs focusing on human and organizational communication to reduce chronic disease and cancer health disparities affecting Hispanics and other populations, Dr. Cigarroa said. Her research record places her above the 95th percentile of the distribution of National Institutes of Health grants over the past 25 years. She recently received a $5.2 million grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to establish a national network to reverse obesity among Hispanic children.

Dr. Mulrow
Dr. Mulrow is deputy editor of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, and mentors junior faculty at medical schools throughout the country in her role as program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program, Dr. Cigarroa said. She is a graduated Senior Career Scientist in the Veterans Affairs Health Science Research and Development program. Themes of her academic work include clinical research methodology, information synthesis, systematic reviews, hypertension and hearing impairment.

Dr. Masters
Dr. Cigarroa said it was a particular pleasure to honor Dr. Masters, the Health Science Center’s first IOM inductee, who was his biochemistry teacher during his days as a medical student at the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Dr. Masters is an internationally respected expert on the structure and function of nitric oxide synthases.

Dr. Guerra
Dr. Guerra has led many community-based initiatives during his outstanding service as director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, Dr. Cigarroa said.

Medal to Dr. Cigarroa
William L. Henrich, M.D., M.A.C.P., dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs, honored Dr. Cigarroa and presented his medal. He reminded the audience of three firsts involving Dr. Cigarroa:

• In 1997, he was on the surgical team at University Hospital that split a donor liver for transplant into two recipients, the first operation of its type in Texas.
  
• In 2000, he headed the team that performed South Texas’ first successful pediatric small bowel transplant.
  
• In October 2000, by a vote of the UT System Board of Regents, he became the first Hispanic in the United States to lead a health science university.

“At the end of the day, this is all about making lives better,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “The Health Science Center, with its IOM members and all its excellent faculty, students and staff, is a wonderful platform for that.”