Researcher Michael S. Brown, M.D., won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for key findings about mechanisms that regulate cholesterol.
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Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579

SAN ANTONIO (April 21, 2009) — Michael S. Brown, M.D., a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas teacher and researcher who won a Nobel Prize for landmark findings about cholesterol, will play a leading role in two major events at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio on Tuesday, May 5. The community is invited to both events, which celebrate “Groundbreaking Discovery.”

Nobel Laureate to discuss 'Controlling Cholesterol'
At noon that day, Dr. Brown will deliver the School of Medicine’s 40th anniversary lecture on the subject of “Controlling Cholesterol.” “Dr. Brown’s presentation will offer interesting insights into the regulation of high-density and low-density lipoprotein, known to patients as HDL and LDL,” said Glenn A. Halff, M.D., acting dean of the School of Medicine. “This is a good opportunity for the public to learn more about this important topic and celebrate the School’s 40 years of educating and training physicians in South Texas.” The free lecture will take place in the auditorium on the Health Science Center’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Campus.

Cornerstone unveiling to celebrate future groundbreaking research
The second event, at 2:30 p.m., is a cornerstone unveiling for the 200,000-square-foot, $150 million South Texas Research Facility. Ground has been broken for this major new research complex, which will be located on Floyd Curl Drive between the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute and the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at the UT Health Science Center.

“The South Texas Research Facility literally will change the landscape of the South Texas Medical Center and will serve as the nucleus for bench-to-bedside research at the Health Science Center,” said Brian A. Herman, Ph.D., vice president for research at the Health Science Center. “We are delighted that Dr. Brown and UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., will be here to help unveil its cornerstone.”

Special parking arrangements for ceremony
Due to construction in the area, the cornerstone unveiling will occur inside the Greehey Institute on the Greehey Academic and Research Campus. A shuttle bus will run continuously from 1 to 4:30 p.m. between the Long and Greehey campuses for the event. Community members attending the cornerstone unveiling may park at the Greehey Institute parking lot by entering the campus from Floyd Curl Drive behind the CTRC.

RSVP information
Campus or community members who plan to attend are asked to RSVP to (210) 567-2058 or SpecialEvents@uthscsa.edu.

Dr. Brown’s discoveries led to statin drugs for cholesterol control
Dr. Brown and his UT Southwestern collaborator, Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Their laboratories made key findings about the biochemical and genetic mechanisms that regulate the level of cholesterol in blood and cells. Those findings led to the development of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, which are in wide use today.

School of Medicine celebrating its 40th anniversary
The theme “Groundbreaking Discovery” was selected to honor Dr. Brown’s presence on campus, to look to the future Nobel Laureate-quality research that will be conducted in the South Texas Research Facility, and to celebrate the discoveries at the Health Science Center that have changed lives, starting four decades ago with the opening of the School of Medicine.

The School of Medicine’s first academic year was 1968-1969. Groundbreaking discoveries made over the years in the School of Medicine include the Palmaz Stent, the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved stent for treatment of peripheral vascular and cardiovascular disease. Another major discovery was a lung-sparing, adjustable artificial rib device for children born with life-threatening chest wall abnormalities.

School of Medicine classes began Sept. 3, 1968, the day after Labor Day, with 105 students. The school’s first affiliated teaching hospital, Bexar County Hospital (now University Hospital), was dedicated two months later.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $668 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $16.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $36 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 25,600 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and other health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty members are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.