A $3.2 million grant from the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation is funding the research of Joel B. Baseman, Ph.D., professor and chair of microbiology and immunology. Dr. Baseman is advancing the development of new strategies to diagnose and reduce airway disease in infants, children and adults. His discovery of the Community-Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome Toxin (CARDS TX) is the most important finding in this field since the discovery decades ago of the toxins of diphtheria and pertussis.

A $500,000 gift from Nancy Smith Hurd established the Nancy Smith Hurd President’s Chair in Aging Studies. The gift supports a nurse educator/scientist who will lead discovery in advancing the health and well-being of the elderly toward improved quality of life. Adrianne D. Linton, Ph.D., R.N., professor and chair of the Department of Chronic Nursing Care, is just one of several faculty members in the School of Nursing with broad interests in aging research. She studies dementia and challenging behaviors in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

A grant of more than $338,000 from Methodist Healthcare Ministries is providing support for operations and equipment in the Ricardo Salinas Dental Clinic in San Antonio and for Dental School educational activities in Laredo including general and pediatric dentistry residency training programs. The programs provide oral health care to thousands of children and adults who might otherwise not have access to proper care. Adriana Segura Donly, D.D.S., professor of community dentistry, is director of the Salinas Clinic.