News
UTRGV B2BMED program paved road to success, first cohort grads say
The spring 2023 UTRGV graduates from the B2BMED program included Natasha Garcia-Rodriguez, from McAllen; Megan Zamora, from Mission; Jose Martinez, from McAllen; Viviana Villalobos, from Mercedes; and Karina Cantu, from Mission. B2BMED is a two-year research training program supported by the National Institutes of Health Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training Program.
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – JUNE 8, 2023 – Five scholars in the first cohort of the Rio Grande Valley Bridge to Baccalaureate in Biomedical Sciences program graduated from UTRGV this spring semester, three years after its inception in 2020.
B2BMED is a two-year research training program supported by the National Institutes of Health Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training Program. Scholars in this program matriculate from South Texas College with an Associate of Science in Biology, or from Texas Southmost College with an Associate of Science in Biology, then move into UTRGV’s Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science program, known as BMED.
In total, it takes four years to obtain both the associate and bachelor’s degrees from the community colleges and UTRGV.
The B2BMED project, funded by a more than $2 million grant by the National Institutes of Health, brings UTRGV, STC and TSC together to develop a research training program in biomedical sciences, following and supporting aspiring students from STC and TSC as they transition into the UTRGV BMED program.
Read the full article here: THE NEWSROOM: UTRGV B2BMED program paved road to success, first cohort grads say
Congratulations Dr. Chew!
Congratulations Spring 2023 BMED Graduates!
Congratulations to Dalin Abuzalata for being awarded outstanding student of the year - graduate program from the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She accepted the award at the annual TAND conference in Austin, Texas April 15th, 2023. Award well deserved!
Excellence in Online Learning Conference
Our HABS students and faculty attended the Center for Online Learning and Teaching Technology for the Annual Excellence in Online Learning Conference on April 14, 2023 in order to connect with fellow educators to gain insight and ideas to incorporate in your own online or hybrid courses.
In this conference, attendees had the opportunity to build new foundations in best practices and innovations in Online and Hybrid education. Also, Faculty and Staff had the opportunity to participate in sessions, hear from peers sharing their experiences, and engage in hands-on workshops aimed to foster interactions, collaboration, and problem-solving in online and hybrid education. Attendees also had the opportunity to network with faculty and online learning professionals from the South Texas Region.
Dietetics and Medical Laboratory Science graduate students Karla Zurita and Jackie Reyes provided nutrition education at the Texas Onion Fest in Weslaco, March 25, 2023. Participants enjoyed the spin the wheel nutrition trivia game. Great job!
Learn more about our Graduate programs
Master of Science in Dietetics Program
Master of Science in Health Science in Medical Laboratory Sciences
Congratulations to Rachel and Susana who received a proclamation from the city of Edinburg to honor National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits.
This year's theme, "Fuel for the Future," highlights the importance of fueling our bodies at every age and eating with the environment in mind. Practice gratitude for your body by giving it the fuel it needs with sustainable foods! A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Nutrition and Dietetics Technician, Registered can teach you how nutrient needs may change with age, and give you personalized nutrition information to meet your health goals.
Learn more about our graduate and undergraduate programs in Nutrition and Dietetics:
Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences Program (BSNS)
Master of Science in Dietetics Program
UTRGV hosts health day for more than 700 pre-K students
Dr. Salinas' research group sponsored a 700+ preschool student health fair at our UTRGV gym facilities over the course of 2 days. They taught 4-year-olds about proper nutrition as well as the importance of physical activity. They had 15 BS-Nutritional Sciences and MS in Dietetics students over the 2 days and they executed our 'nutrition stations.' The students really stood up to the challenge and did a great job!
 |
UTRGV hosted a two-day health fair, March 9-10, on the Edinburg Campus for more than 700 pre-K students, all from PSJA, to help make an early impact on their nutrition, fitness and hygiene habits. The South Texas Early Prevention Studies (STEPS) research group, from the UTRGV College of Health Affairs, hosted the health fair as part of a curriculum focused on obesity-reduction. |
 |
The students were split over two days. On both days, STEPS hosted half of the students in a health fair at the HPE II gymnasium, and the other half outside on the UTRGV track and field. After lunch, the groups swapped activities. |
 |
The outside group was led by students from the UTRGV departments of Health and Human Performance and Kinesiology, in field day activities like potato sack races, dances and fitness games. |
| (UTRGV Photos by David Pike) | |
Little Marco Alvarado is still in pre-K at PSJA, but he gets it. “My dad is strong and I’m strong!” he said. “And bad food will make your tummy hurt!”
He heard that valuable nutrition lesson reinforced during a special health fair hosted Thursday and Friday by UTRGV on the Edinburg Campus: Good food, like fruits and vegetables, will make him grow big and strong.
The two-day health fair was designed to make an early impact on the nutrition, fitness and hygiene habits of hundreds of pre-K children from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district.
The South Texas Early Prevention Studies (STEPS) research group, from the UTRGV College of Health Professions, invited 750 PSJA pre-K students and their parents to participate in the health fair as part of a curriculum focused on obesity-reduction. Called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-ED) project, it is a multi-pronged approach that helps children learn how to make healthy choices.
Read the full articles here:
THE NEWSROOM - UTRGV hosts health day for more than 700 pre-K students
ValleyCentral.com - UTRGV: 2 day health fair for PSJA ISD pre-K students
Learn more about the Best Online Health Science Master's Degree Programs
BMED Induction Ceremony 2019
Incoming BMED students receive their white coats at the 2022 BMED Induction Ceremony.
First cohort of Luminary Scholars start college life this fall at UTRGV
This Fall 2022 semester, UTRGV welcomed the first cohort of the one-of-a-kind scholarship program at UTRGV – the Luminary Scholars. On Aug. 22, the Scholars and their families were recognized at a special banquet to kick off their new journey at the university. (UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy)
THE NEWSROOM - August 30, 2022 - RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – This fall semester, 24 UTRGV students will make campus history as the first members of an exclusive group known as the Luminary Scholars.
To welcome the newest Vaqueros, the first cohort and their families were recognized formally at a banquet on Monday, Aug. 22, on the Edinburg Campus. Scholars and their families met with college deans, university leadership, UTRGV President Guy Bailey and Executive Vice President and Provost Janna Arney.
Unveiled last year, the one-of-a-kind scholarship program offers full tuition and fees for all four undergraduate years, and full tuition and fees for the professional or undergrad programs the student is admitted to, including the UTRGV School of Medicine and its School of Podiatric Medicine.
“The Luminary Scholars is truly an extraordinary scholarship program that we are proud to offer to exceptional students,” Arney said. “We are excited to welcome this talented, and we look forward to supporting them on their educational journey. We believe they will be a big part of the future success of our Rio Grande Valley community.”
Read the full article here: "First cohort of Luminary Scholars start college life this fall at UTRGV"
Congratulations! Dr. Murat Karabulut and Dr. Chew!
Dr. Karabulut (PI) and Dr. Sue Anne Chew (Co-PI) received a 2022 Texas Society for Advancement of Health Professions (TSAHP) Research and Innovative Practice Grant Award for their project entitled “The Effects of Low Volume HIIT vs. MIIT+BFR on Body Composition, Hormone Concentration, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Arterial Elasticity in Overweight or Obese Male Adults
A certificate and check for $1,500.00 will be presented to Dr Karabulut at the TSAHP Annual Conference during the Awards Dinner on September 22, 2022.
Congratulations to Biomedical Student, Melanie Mendoza!
Ms. Mendoza completed GET PHIT’s online Summer 2022 Bootcamp and was awarded a “Certificate of Excellence” for her final project work by the UT Health Houston GET PHIT faculty.
Ms. Mendoza’s project was in collaboration with Ms. Andrea Salcedo, a student from the University of Texas El Paso. Using a Texas Department of State Health Services data set, Melanie and Andrea explored whether uninsured hospitalized Hispanic female patients with a primary diagnosis of diabetes experienced a longer hospital length of stay relative to their insured counterparts. The project was ranked first based on the outstanding quality of the presenters’ knowledge, research question, methods and approach, results and discussion, and presentation.
The 8-week GET PHIT Online Bootcamp consists of:
- 4 weeks of lectures and assessment/activity materials on public health informatics, data standards and analytics, epidemiology, public health surveillance, bias and equity in data use, among other topics
- 4 weeks of working on a group research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor
We are very proud of Melanie’s achievement, and we feel certain you are as well.
 |
Congratulations to BMED student Karina Cantu for receiving a $5000 research stipend to conduct research in the data science field with Purdue University through the all-new National Data Mine Network program funded by the National Science Foundation. |
| Congratulations to BMED student Viviana Villalobos on placing 1st at the UT MD Anderson Summer Undergraduate Research Program Poster Competition for her presentation titled “Substance P Receptor Antagonism Enhances Chemotherapeutic Responses in Triple Negative Breast Cancer" |
|
Congratulations on Emerging Scholar Faculty Excellence Award!
Ten faculty named recipients of UTRGV Faculty Excellence Awards
May 12, 2022 - RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Ten faculty members have been named recipients of the 2021-2022 UTRGV Faculty Excellence Awards .
The awards are given annually and recognize UTRGV faculty who have demonstrated outstanding work in seven areas: teaching (both for tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure track ranks), online teaching, research, service, student mentoring, community-engaged scholarship and sustainability education.
Two new awards were installed this year: Distinguished Career and Emerging Scholar.
Dr. Janna Arney, UTRGV executive vice president and provost, congratulated the honorees.
“We are proud to celebrate our esteemed faculty and all they have accomplished,” Arney said. “UTRGV is fortunate to have exceptional faculty shaping our students and having an impact on the university and the Rio Grande Valley community. These awards recognize their dedication and their successes, and I am grateful they are Vaqueros.”
Each faculty winner receives a $5,000 monetary award.
 |
“The reason I got into medicine was because I feel that it is a profession I can wake up to every day and know that I'm going to effect change, every single day.” -Eloy Lozoya, |
Eloy Lozoya, from Brownsville, will graduate on Friday with a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. He is part of the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP), a partnership between nine UT System medical schools to provide a seamless transition from undergraduate to medical school. He will be attending the UT Health McGovern School of Medicine in Houston this fall.
May 11, 2022 - By Victoria Brito Morales - BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – Sometimes, the pieces just fall into place.
For Brownsville native Eloy Lozoya, simple curiosity led him to a place he never imagined. Now, the 22-year-old is about to graduate from UTRGV with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences.
Commencement is Friday and he already has big plans for the fall. Lozoya is part of the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP), a partnership between the nine UT System medical schools to provide a seamless transition from undergraduate to medical school. He will be attending the UT Health McGovern School of Medicine in Houston this fall. Read the full article here.
 |
Ms. Rachel Villarreal, Clinical Associate Professor, was selected as the Latinos and Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition (LAHIDAN) member spotlight for the January edition of Adelante. LAHIDAN is member interest group within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics whose mission is to empower members to be the nation's food and nutrition leaders for Latinos and Hispanics. |
|
You can read Rachel's interview in the Adelante Newsletter "Member spotlight 2022" here |
|