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Research Symposium School of Medicine Office of Research

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Research Symposium
SOM Office of Research
MRIOB 4.321
Email: somresearchsymposium@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1764

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UTHSCSA Urology Speakers

The urology practice of UT Health San Antonio is leading the trend in treating urologic diseases by offering the most advanced care available for adults and children, including surgery for rare and complex kidney cancer, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, complex kidney stone disease, voiding dysfunction and many other urologic conditions.

Our physicians are nationally and internationally-recognized. They are the experts that other urologists turn to for assistance with some of the most challenging conditions affecting the urinary tract.

Our physicians remain current with the latest studies and research, which provides them with the expertise necessary to offer many options for diseases of the urinary tract as well as innovative therapies for all urologic diseases. Additionally, our practice has the support of a large research infrastructure that allows our faculty to use the most innovative treatments and concepts that are available.

Ronald Rodriguez, MD, PhD

Ronald Rodriguez, MD, PhD

Chair
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Ronald Rodriguez, MD, PhD

Dr. Ronald Rodriguez is a clinician-scientist, whose body of work includes the development of the first genetically engineered oncolytic adenovirus, the study of histone deacetaylase inhibitors, the study of the biology of prostate cancer including targeted therapeutics and the role of microRNA in the development of androgen independent disease, the study of immunotherapeutics for urologic cancer, the development of near infrared technology to visualize live prostate cancer cells in real time during surgical resection, the clinical development of cryotherapy as a minimally invasive technique for urologic cancer, and the clinical development of a center of excellence for locally advanced kidney cancer, with tumor thrombus involving the renal vein and inferior vena cava. He has also worked as an entrepreneur, having developed multiple patents for gene therapy and founded a startup biotechnology company, as an physician educator functioning as the urology residency program director at Johns Hopkins for 7 years, as an administrator running a large research enterprise for more than 15 years, a clinical department for 5 years, and a medical school for one year.

Ronald Rodriguez, MD, PhD
Chair
UTHSCSA Urology Department

Lesley Anne M. Durant, JD, CHC, CHPC

Lesley Anne M. Durant, JD, CHC, CHPC

Vice President, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer
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Lesley Anne M. Durant, JD, CHC, CHPC

Lesley Anne M. Durant, JD, CHC, CHPC. Lesley Anne is the Vice President, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer for DHR Health in Edinburg, Texas. She is a licensed attorney in the state of Michigan and is certified in Healthcare Compliance and Healthcare Privacy Compliance by the Compliance Certification Board. Lesley Anne graduated cum laude from both Central Michigan University and Michigan State University College of Law and holds a Bachelor's degree in History and a Juris Doctor. Lesley Anne is a member of the Health Care Law Section of the ABA, the Health Care Compliance Association, and speaks on the topics of Ethics, Compliance, and Health Care Law.

Lesley Anne M. Durant, JD, CHC, CHPC
Vice President, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer
DHR Health in Edinburg, Texas

Rachel Pearson, MD, PhD

Rachel Pearson, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor
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Rachel Pearson, MD, PhD

Rachel Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at UT Health San Antonio. Dr. Pearson authored a memoir titled “No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine,” and her writing on humanism and health appears in publications including the New Yorker, the Texas Observer, Texas Monthly, and the New York Review of Books. She received an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to earn an M.D. and a Ph.D. in medical humanities from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She completed a pediatrics residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital through the University of Washington. As a bilingual, fifth-generation Texan, Dr. Pearson is excited to return home and advocate for the health of Texas kids.

Rachel Pearson, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
UTHSCSA Pediatrics Department

Dharam Kaushik, MD

Dharam Kaushik, MD

Associate Professor
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Dharam Kaushik, MD

Dr. Dharam Kaushik, MD is an Associate Professor and program director of urologic oncology fellowship in the Department of Urology at the University of Texas Health San Antonio. He finished his medical school in India and performed basic science research at Rosewell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York. He completed his Urology surgical residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska and fellowship in urologic oncology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. His primary research interests include renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus, detection of novel biomarkers, newer therapeutic targets in renal cell carcinoma, evaluating effect of exercise (Yoga) in urologic cancer.

Dharam Kaushik, MD
Associate Professor
UTHSCSA Urology Department

Deepak K. Pruthi MD, FRCSC

Deepak K. Pruthi MD, FRCSC

Assistant Professor
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Deepak K. Pruthi MD, FRCSC

Dr. Deepak K. Pruthi MD, FRCSC is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Urologic Oncology, Department of Urology at the University of Texas Health San Antonio. Born in Texas he moved gradually moved north ultimately settling down in Canada where he spent his formative years. He graduated from the University of Winnipeg (BSc & BA). He went to medical school at the University of Manitoba where he obtained his MD and a medical research degree (BSc Med). He completed his Urology surgical residency at the University of Manitoba. He then moved back to San Antonio to complete his Society of Urologic Oncology-approved fellowship in Urologic Oncology and obtained a Master in Clinical and Translational Investigation. His primary research interests include renal insufficiency, anatomic and pathologic-based predictive modeling, studying oncologic outcomes, and examining the role of systemic therapy in early/locally advanced stages of urologic cancer.

Deepak K. Pruthi MD, FRCSC
Assistant Professor
UTHSCSA Urology Department

Pratap Kumar, PhD

Pratap Kumar, PhD

Professor
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Pratap Kumar, PhD

Dr. Pratap Kumar, Ph.D., is a tenured Professor in the Department of Urology with joint appointments in the Departments of Molecular Medicine and Pharmacology, and graduate faculty in the School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. He is also co-leader of the cancer prevention program of the NCI designated Cancer Center, and a Research Health Scientist at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System; San Antonio, Texas. His research program is focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in genitourinary and gastrointestinal pathogenesis. Some of the seminal contributions from his research program include the development of natural products as potential adjuvants for cancer therapy and molecular marker signature for cancer prognosis. Basic science discoveries from his laboratory have been translated to the clinic. Current projects include deciphering the role of (i) ribosomal protein S6K and histone deacetylases in chemo-radiosensitization and (ii) STAT3/survivin in stellate-cancer cell interactions as an intervention strategy for treatment of solid tumors including prostate and pancreatic.

Pratap Kumar, PhD
Professor
UTHSCSA Urology Department

Daniel Hughes, PhD

Daniel Hughes, PhD

Professor
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Daniel Hughes, PhD

Dr. Hughes earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. After graduation, he worked as a chemical engineer at Dow Chemical in Freeport Texas, returning to graduate school after 23 years in industry. He earned a Masters of Education degree in Motor Behavior and a PhD in Kinesiology from University of Houston, with a sports/exercise psychology specialty. Upon receiving his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at U.T. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in the Department of Behavioral Sciences. During his postdoctoral training, he led the implementation of the exercise testing and monitoring laboratories in the Behavioral Research and Treatment Center. After his postdoctoral fellowship, he joined the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio where he leads the “Muevete Mas laboratory”.

His research focuses on exercise interventions for cancer survivorship to address cancer related health disparities. Dr. Hughes has been funded by National Cancer Institute, and sits on several key committees including the GAP4 Movember Steering Committee for a worldwide exercise initiative for metastatic prostate cancer survivors. Currently, in partnership with colleagues from UTH-SA, Rice University, U.T. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and St. Mary’s University; his research is focusing more on testing a holistic mind-body interactive model to mitigate the negative effect on stress for a primary and tertiary prevention.

Dr. Hughes has over 30 publications in the area of exercise and cancer prevention, served as grant reviewer for NCI, and continues to serve as a reviewer for several of top tier journals in cancer prevention. Dr. Hughes is both an American College of Sports Medicine certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist® and American Heart Association Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification.

Daniel Hughes, PhD
Professor
UTHSCSA Urology Department

Robin Leach, PhD

Robin Leach, PhD

Professor
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Robin Leach, PhD

Dr. Robin Leach is a Professor in the Department of Cell System and Anatomy and the Department of Urology, where she also serves as the Division Chief of Research. Dr. Leach has worked in the area of cancer early detection and identifying biomarkers for prostate cancer for the nearly 20 years and is an active member of the National Cancer Institute’s Early Detection Research Network. In addition, Dr. Leach is the Associate Director for Education for the Mays Cancer Center at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, one of three National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Centers in Texas.

Robin Leach, PhD
Professor
UTHSCSA Urology Department

Keith Ashcraft, PhD

Keith Ashcraft, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
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Keith Ashcraft, PhD

Dr. Ashcraft received his bachelors of science in biology in the piney woods of east Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University. From there he traveled west and completed his PhD at the UT Health San Antonio in 2017. Dr. Ashcraft is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Urology department under the mentorship of Dr. Denise O’Keefe where he is studying the role of the essential vitamin B9 (folate) in contributing to aggressive prostate and kidney cancer. This research hopes to inform the nutritional decisions of those who have or are at a higher risk of these cancers. As a SABER*IRACDA scholar, Dr. Ashcraft hopes to continue high impact research while also gaining valuable tools to better communicate scientific concepts and to become an effective educator and mentor.

Keith Ashcraft, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
UTHSCSA Urology Department

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