The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient visits per year, UT Southwestern is the largest medical school in the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

and state of Texas.https://utsystem.edu/sites/default/files/documents/publication/2018/fast-facts/fast-facts-09-2018.pdf UT Southwestern's William P. Clements Jr University Hospital is nationally ranked in nine specialties by '' U.S. News & World Report'' and ranked the best hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth/

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

region.

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

ranked UT Southwestern Medical Center as the top health care

employer Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

in the state of Texas and the top health care employer to new graduates in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. UT Southwestern's operating budget in 2021 was more than $4.1 billion, and is the largest medical institution in the

Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

(and therefore

region), annually training about 3,800 medical, graduate, and health professions students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows. Ongoing support from outside sources provides approximately $554.4 million per year for more than 5,700 research projects. In 2017, the school had the largest federal expenditure funding of all UT System medical institutions at $204.5 million. UT Southwestern's three-part mission is to: educate leaders in patient care, biomedical science, and disease prevention; conduct research; and deliver patient care. It incorporates three major degree-granting institutions – UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and UT Southwestern School of Health Professions. UT Southwestern has four major affiliated hospitals:

Parkland Memorial Hospital Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and serves as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical Dis ...

Children's Medical Center Dallas Children's Medical Center Dallas is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in Dallas, Texas, USA. The hospital has 496 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. It provide ...

, Zale Lipshy Pavilion – William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, and

William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital is a hospital in the Southwestern Medical District in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is one of the main teaching hospitals of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of ...

. UT Southwestern's faculty also provide services at Scottish Rite for Children, VA North Texas Health Care System, and other affiliated hospitals and community clinics in the

region. Faculty and residents provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health c ...

s, more than 360,00

emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year, including more than $106.7 million in unreimbursed clinical services annually. Through the four major hospitals affiliated with UT Southwestern, the medical center also has a large presence in Plano and Frisco, prominent suburbs in the Dallas area. Furthermore, in 2016, UT Southwestern began providing additional care through Southwestern Health Resources, a network combining the systems of Texas Health Resources and UT Southwestern. The network comprises 31

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s, 300

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

s, and more than 3,000

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s and caregivers, serving a 16-county area with more than 6 million residents.

History

Establishment

Under the leadership of Dr. Edward H. Cary and

Karl Hoblitzelle Karl Hoblitzelle (October 22, 1879 – March 8, 1967) was an American theater owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the Interstate Theaters Company, a chain of vaudeville theaters (later movie theaters), now a s ...

, a group of Dallas citizens organized Southwestern Medical Foundation in 1939 to promote medical education and research in Dallas and the region. When

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

moved its school of medicine from Dallas to Houston in 1943, the foundation formally established Southwestern Medical College as the 68th medical school in the United States. Founded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the medical school was initially housed in a handful of abandoned barracks.

Affiliation with University of Texas

When a new state medical school was proposed after World War II, leaders of Southwestern Medical Foundation offered the college's equipment, library, and certain restricted funds to the

, provided the university would locate its new medical branch in Dallas. The Board of Regents accepted this offer, and in 1949 the college became Southwestern Medical School of The University of Texas. In 1954 the name was changed to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. The present campus site on

Harry Hines Boulevard Harry Hines Blvd where Dallas North Tollway starts Harry Hines Boulevard is a major street in Dallas, Texas, ( USA), to the west of Uptown. It was one of the first 'highways' in Texas, and is named for Harry Hines in honor of his work helping ...

was occupied in 1955 upon the completion of the Edward H. Cary Building. This placed the medical school faculty next to the then-newly built

. In November 1972 the name and scope of the medical school were changed with its reorganization into The University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas. This provided for coordinated but separate medical, graduate, and undergraduate components.

Addition of Howard Hughes Medical Institute

In 1986 the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

opened a research facility on the campus. Its investigators also hold faculty positions in the basic science departments of the Medical School and Graduate School.

Name Change

In October 1987 the UT System Board of Regents approved changing the name of the health science center to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The Center consists of three degree-granting institutions: UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and UT Southwestern School of Health Professions.

Physical expansion

UTSW Medical Building Outpatient Facility

Since the late 1960s the university has added more than 6 million square feet of new construction. The 60-acre South Campus includes 20 buildings housing classrooms, laboratories, offices, the extensive University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Library, an auditorium, and a large outpatient center. Affiliated hospitals adjacent to the campus are Zale Lipshy Pavilion,

, William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, and

. In 1987 the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation gave the university 30 acres (120,000 m²) near the South Campus for future expansion. A 20-year master plan for the site, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and John MY Lee and Partners, called North Campus, called for six research towers, a support-services building, an energy plant, and underground parking, in addition to the Mary Nell and Ralph B. Rogers Magnetic Resonance Center and the Moncrief Radiation Oncology Center. Three research towers and an elevated campus connector, linking the South Campus with the North Campus, were completed in the 1990s. A fourth 14-story research tower was completed in 2005, followed by a 12-story research tower in 2011. In 1999 the university purchased an additional 50 acres from the MacArthur Foundation, and a portion was used to create an on-campus student-housing complex of 156 apartments. A second phase of 126 units opened in 2004. In 2008, the university purchased the 24-acre Exchange Park adjacent to the North Campus. In 2008, UT Southwestern announced plans to open the BioCenter at Southwestern Medical District, a facility to commercialize university technologies and attract biotech companies to the area. Also in 2008, UT Southwestern acquired the Exchange Park site and renamed it the Paul M. Bass Administrative and Clinical Center on the North Campus. The center was named in honor of Mr. Bass, chairman emeritus of the Southwestern Medical Foundation, who served in that role until 2008. With this property, the campus grew to 9 million square feet of laboratory, clinical, educational, and administrative space, covering 387 acres. In 2009, the $186 million Biomedical Research Building (NL Building on the North Campus) opened. The building is the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver-certified laboratory space in Texas. UT Southwestern opened its William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital on Dec. 6, 2014, along with the decommissioning of the 50-year-old St. Paul University Hospital. UTSW opened its Radiation Oncology center in 2017. In March 2022, a $100 million gift, made by the O’Donnell Foundation, endowed a new school of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

. It is the largest gift to any school of public health at a public university in the U.S.

Affiliated health care institutions

Major affiliations: *

– The primary teaching institution of UT Southwestern, whose faculty is responsible for caring for the hospital's patients, this 2.1 million-square-foot acute care facility has 882 single-patient rooms, and more than 1 million patient visits each year. *

– The primary pediatric teaching hospital for UT Southwestern, this hospital is licensed for 490 beds, has more than 50 pediatric specialty programs, and is the only pediatric hospital in North Texas with a designated Level 1 trauma center.

– Opened in December 2014 and was expanded in December 2020 as the centerpiece of UT Southwestern's main campus. Together with the hospital's Zale Lipshy Pavilion, the 875-bed facility includes 124 adult ICU rooms, 63 emergency treatment rooms, 56 operating rooms, 42 inpatient rehab beds, 30 neonatal ICU rooms, 30 women’s services suites, 23 inpatient psychiatric beds, 15 infusion rooms, and two nuclear medicine rooms, and it is a Joint Commission-certified advanced comprehensive stroke center. * Dallas Veteran Affairs Medical Center – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ second largest health care system, it serves 38 Texas counties and two counties in southern Oklahoma, providing primary, tertiary, and long-term care. The 822-bed system has a Spinal Cord Injury Center, Domiciliary Care Program, and Community Living Center with a dedicated hospice unit. *

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (Texas Health Dallas, Presbyterian, or Presby) is a teaching hospital and tertiary care facility in the United States, located in the Vickery Meadow, Dallas, Vickery Meadow area of Dallas, Texas.

– Part of the Texas Health Resources (THR) system, this 888-bed, acute-care facility was the first hospital in Dallas to receive Cycle IV Chest Pain accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, and it is also accredited for emergency stroke care by The Joint Commission. In 2016, UT Southwestern and THR launched a clinically integrated health care network, Southwestern Health Resources to provide increased access to primary and specialized care to North Texas residents, from preventive measures to advanced interventions. * Richardson Regional Medical Center *

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, located in Dallas, is a pediatric hospital specializing in the treatment of orthopedic conditions and sports injuries, as well as certain related arthritic and neurological disorders and learning disorder ...

John Peter Smith Hospital John Peter Smith Hospital (also known as JPS Hospital) is a Level 1 Trauma Center, 573-bed county hospital located in Fort Worth, Texas that provides inpatient, outpatient and behavioral healthcare. About John Peter Smith Hospital is part of the ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Clinical services

Annual patient visits to the Medical Center's clinics average 400,000 a year, up from 50,000 annually 15 years ago. This includes affiliated patient care facilities such as the UT Southwestern University Hospitals. The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is a

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

( NCI)-designated Cancer Center. UT Southwestern is an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center, the highest level of certification. It is the only Joint Commission-certified Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center in North Texas, one of only three in Texas. UT Southwestern is home to an NIH Alzheimer's Disease Center and is a Network of Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials Center. The Doris and Harry W. Bass Jr. Clinical Center for Heart, Lung, and Vascular Disease is a collaborative effort between UT Southwestern faculty and community physicians. The center's transplantation programs for heart, lung, kidney, and liver have been certified by the federal government's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Academics

UT Southwestern is governed by the UT System Board of Regents. The Medical Center includes three degree-granting institutions/schools: UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and UT Southwestern School of Health Professions. Throughout its history, UT Southwestern has graduated approximately 22,420 physicians and other professionals in all areas of medicine. In 2022 alone, UTSW faculty is training about 3,800 medical, graduate, and health professions students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows.

UT Southwestern Medical School

UT Southwestern admits approximately 230 students each year. The average

MCAT The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT; ) is a computer-based standardized examination for prospective medical students (both Allopathic M.D. and Ostepathic D.O.) in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Caribbean Islands. It is designe ...

score is 515, and undergraduate GPA in 2017 was 3.81. The acceptance rate for 2014 was 5.6%. UTSW is one of the five least-expensive public medical schools and among the top 10 largest medical schools in the United States. The school's tuition and fees are approximately $23,200 per year for in-state residents, being subsidized by the state. Admission is competitive and, by mandate of the state legislature, 90 percent of applicants admitted are from the state of

. Many out-of-state students earn competitive scholarships that make up the difference. The Medical School's curriculum emphasizes clinical experience and electives from the first year on. The curriculum comprises three periods – Pre-Clerkship, Clerkship, and Post-Clerkship – and focuses on providing a foundation in biomedical sciences, training in clinical care, and opportunities for research. The Medical School features six Academic Colleges that function as small learning communities, each headed by a faculty mentor. Many students use their free time to participate in a variety of community service activities, such as United to Serve, an annual health and fun fair hosted by UT Southwestern for the surrounding community, and the weekly Monday Clinic (one of six clinics), organized by student volunteers and staffed by UT Southwestern physicians, providing free medical care to underserved Dallas communities. Other service opportunities include participating at Camp Sweeney, a summer camp in North Texas for children with diabetes. Along with the M.D. degree, UT Southwestern offers options for students to pursue combined degrees and to earn special graduation distinctions. The combined degrees include: * M.D./Ph.D. – Called the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), this is one of fewer than 50 M.D./Ph.D.-granting programs nationwide that receive financial support from the National Institutes of Health. It combines dissertation work in an area of biomedical science, leading to the Ph.D., along with clinical studies, leading to the M.D. * M.D./M.B.A. – This five-year program in conjunction with UT Dallas focuses on giving future physicians the skills for integrating medicine and business. * M.D./M.P.H. – UT Southwestern and UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston offer students a degree in each field at the end of their four-year M.D. program. * M.D./M.S. in Clinical Science – This program combines didactic training with a mentored clinical research project. The program concludes with submission and defense of a master's thesis. UT Southwestern is ranked 25th in Research and 8th in Primary Care according to the 2017 ''U.S. News & World Report'' Medical School rankings.

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

With an enrollment of more than 1,000 students (549 predoctoral and 484 postdoctoral), the Graduate School educates biomedical scientists, engineers, clinical researchers, and counselors. Programs lead to Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees and, in some cases, non-degree certificates. The Graduate School has 12 Ph.D. programs: Biological Chemistry; Biomedical Engineering; Cancer Biology; Cell and Molecular Biology; Clinical Psychology; Genetics, Development, and Disease; Immunology; Integrative Biology; Molecular Biophysics; Molecular Microbiology; Neuroscience; and Organic Chemistry. In addition, a master's degree and a certificate are offered in Clinical Science. Postdoctoral certificates are offered in Research, Advanced Research, Cancer, Educational Techniques, Obesity and Metabolism, and Scientific Management.

M.D./Ph.D. Program

UT Southwestern runs a

Medical Scientist Training Program The Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs) are dual-degree training programs that streamline the education towards both clinical (typically MD) and research doctoral degrees. MSTPs are offered by some United States medical schools, who are aw ...

(MSTP) offering a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree. It is one of only 54 M.D./Ph.D.-granting programs nationwide that receive financial support from the National Institutes of Health. The largest source of private support for UTSW's program has been from

H. Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

. 0/sup> The clinical training curriculum includes coursework in the disciplines necessary to understand human disease at the level of cellular physiology and biochemistry. In addition, students practice clinical skills at UT Southwestern's affiliated clinical training hospitals, including Parkland Memorial Hospital and William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. Following summer laboratory rotations, students choose one of 10 interdepartmental graduate programs and select a dissertation mentor from the UT Southwestern Graduate School faculty for training in intellectual and experimental strategies. During these years, the MSTP student functions as a graduate student in his or her laboratory while maintaining an awareness of clinical medicine through program activities. Dissertation research culminates in results that significantly advance the state of biomedical knowledge.

School of Health Professions

About 340 students are enrolled in UT Southwestern's School of Health Professions. The school confers a doctoral professional degree in

Physical Therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

and master's degrees in Clinical Nutrition, Physician Assistant Studies, Prosthetics-Orthotics, and

Rehabilitation Counseling Rehabilitation counseling is focused on helping people who have disabilities achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals through a counseling process. Rehabilitation Counselors can be found in private practice, in rehabilitation ...

. The school also has a baccalaureate certificate program in Radiation Therapy. The Physician Assistant program was founded in 1972. For the past five years, graduates have had a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the national certifying exam. Much of the training occurs at Parkland Hospital. 1/sup>

Rankings

Library

The Health Sciences Digital Library and Learning Center supports the information needs of UT Southwestern's research, educational, and clinical activities. The Library and Learning Center maintains a large collection of electronic information resources, print archives, rare books, and materials concerning the history of medicine. It also offers assistance and training in using these resources. The library also has a small branch on the North Campus. 2/sup>

Research

UT Southwestern had a total research expenditure of $554.4 million in 2021 of which $204.5 million was federally sourced. UT Southwestern scientists and physician researchers conduct investigations into cancer, stem cells, neuroscience, heart disease and stroke, arthritis, diabetes, and many other fields. At the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute on campus, investigators research the basic molecular workings of the brain, and their application to the prevention and treatment of brain diseases and injuries. The Institute covers neurodegenerative diseases; depression and psychiatric disorders; migraines; and spine, nerve, and muscle diseases. Also at the Institute are voice specialists, rehabilitation experts, and neuroimmunologists, plus basic and translational scientists in cellular and molecular neuroscience, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, neuro-engineering, imaging, and genetics. Researchers at UTSW's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center – the only cancer center in North Texas with the National Cancer Institute's "comprehensive" designation – are focusing on discovering drug-like chemicals that drive or inhibit cancer growth, and deciphering mechanisms in cell regulatory networks that go awry and contribute to cancer initiation and growth. Researchers in developmental biology, cancer biology, and stem cell biology work on how developmental processes contribute to cancer's progress. In 2011, the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) was established as a joint venture between Children's Health System of Texas and UTSW. Located on the UTSW campus, CRI is home to an interdisciplinary group of scientists and physicians pursuing research in regenerative medicine, cancer biology and metabolism. UT Southwestern established the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine in 2014 for research on fundamental mechanisms of tissue formation and repair, and to develop transformative strategies and medications for tissue regeneration. Research at UTSW's Texas Institute for Brain Injury and Repair focuses on brain injuries and conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. The institute also promotes brain injury education and prevention. Other research currently underway at UT Southwestern includes studies on: * Aging and Alzheimer's – Steven McKnight and colleagues identified a compound (P7C3) and demonstrated that it preserves newly created brain cells and boosts learning and memory. The study has led to further investigations into the mechanism by which P7C3 protects cells from dying and whether the compound might have any protective effect for various neurodegenerative diseases. * Cancer/Biomarkers – John Minna and Adi Gazdar have spent the past 30 years elucidating the genetic changes associated with the development of lung cancer. Their work seeks to discover these changes and use them as biomarkers both to detect lung cancer earlier and to develop new therapies. Their approach is advancing personalized medicine, which aims to target the unique characteristics of an individual's tumor with the best current therapies. * Cancer/Stem Cells – A team led by Sean J. Morrison at CRI has identified the environment in which blood-forming stem cells survive and thrive within the body, an important step toward increasing the safety and effectiveness of bone marrow transplantation. * Cardiology/Regeneration – Researchers, including Eric Olson and Hesham Sadek, have pinpointed a molecular mechanism needed to unleash the heart's ability to regenerate. They found that microRNAs – tiny strands that regulate gene expression – contribute to the heart's ability to regenerate up to one week after birth. Soon thereafter the heart loses the ability to regenerate. Identifying the heart's natural regenerative on-off switch is a critical step toward developing eventual therapies for damage suffered following a heart attack. Olson's lab has also used CRISPR/Cas9 methods to cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy in mice as a proof of principle for human gene therapy. * Cholesterol – UT Southwestern researchers have identified nearly 30 disease-causing genes, including in 1983 the gene responsible for familial hypercholesterolemia, an inherited condition that causes extremely high levels of cholesterol and heart attacks at an early age. That discovery by Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein contributed to the pair winning the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research uncovering the underlying mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism. * Diabetes/Obesity – Philipp Scherer's discovery of adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat, has helped transform the scientific concept of fat as an inert storage depot to that of an endocrine “organ” that exerts control over multiple organs. His studies have revealed adiponectin's potent anti-diabetes effects of blocking glucose production in the liver and improving insulin sensitivity in muscle. Because adiponectin levels fall as fat levels rise, drugs that increase adiponectin may be effective in fighting diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. * Human Genetics – Helen Hobbs and Jonathan Cohen are among the world's leading experts on the genetic factors associated with lipid disorders. Their work, for which Hobbs received the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, has led to the development of a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs – PCSK9 antibodies – for patients who do not tolerate or respond adequately to statins. * Innate Immunity – Scientists led by Zhijian “James” Chen are exploring the mechanisms of signal transduction, namely how a cell communicates with its surroundings and within itself. They are focused on investigating how a cell detects harmful or foreign threats and mounts an appropriate response to restore homeostasis. Chen was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, for work including the cytoplasmic DNA sensor cGAS and its product cGAMP, a novel cyclic dinucleotide second messenger involved in innate immune response. Bruce Beutler received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery that the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is the membrane-spanning component of the mammalian lipopolysaccharide receptor complex that senses microbial infection and triggers septic shock. Beutler continues to identify components of the mammalian immune system through large-scale mouse mutagenesis screens conducted in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, which he leads.

Notable people

Nobel Laureates

Seven UT Southwestern alumni or faculty members have been awarded Nobel Prizes: * In 1985,

Michael Stuart Brown Michael Stuart Brown ForMemRS NAS AAA&S APS (born April 13, 1941) is an American geneticist and Nobel laureate. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph L. Goldstein in 1985 for describing the regulation of choles ...

and Joseph L. Goldstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of the basic mechanism of cholesterol metabolism. Goldstein is Chairman of Molecular Genetics at UT Southwestern, and Brown directs the Erik Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease *

Johann Deisenhofer Johann Deisenhofer (; born September 30, 1943) is a German biochemist who, along with Hartmut Michel and Robert Huber, received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1988 for their determination of the first crystal structure of an integral membrane ...

, Professor of Biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at UT Southwestern, shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using X-ray crystallography to describe the structure of a protein involved in photosynthesis * Alfred G. Gilman shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of G proteins and the role they play in the complex processes by which cells communicate with each other. Gilman, a Regental Professor Emeritus who died in December 2015, was Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School * Bruce Beutler, Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two other scientists for their immune system investigations. Dr. Beutler was honored for the discovery of receptor proteins that recognize disease-causing agents and activate

innate immunity The innate, or nonspecific, immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies (the other being the adaptive immune system) in vertebrates. The innate immune system is an older evolutionary defense strategy, relatively speaking, and is the ...

Thomas C. Südhof Thomas Christian Südhof (; born December 22, 1955), ForMemRS, is a German-American biochemist known for his study of synaptic transmission. Currently, he is a professor in the School of Medicine in the Department of Molecular and Cellular P ...

, Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience and former Chair of the department at UT Southwestern, shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two other scientists for discoveries about cellular transport systems. Südhof, now at Stanford University School of Medicine, was recognized for his pioneering work at UT Southwestern on synaptic transmission 4/sup> *

Linda B. Buck Linda Brown Buck (born January 29, 1947) is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors. She ...

received the 2004 award in Medicine jointly with

Richard Axel Richard Axel (born July 2, 1946) is an American molecular biologist and university professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work on the olfactory system won hi ...

for their work on olfactory receptors. She completed her doctorate at UT Southwestern and is currently a Full Member of the Basic Sciences Division at the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out o ...

and an Affiliate Professor of

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

and

Biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Alumni

* Jim C. Barnett (M.D. 1949) (deceased 2013), Member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

from 1992 to 2008 6/sup> *

, (Ph.D. 1980) 2004 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine for work on olfactory receptors, currently an HHMI investigator at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center * Robert Cade, (M.D. 1954) (deceased 2007) professor of medicine and nephrology at the University of Florida, formulated Gatorade * Daniel W. Foster, (M.D. 1955) (deceased 2018) UTSW chairman department of medicine, holder of the UTSW John Denis McGarry, Ph.D., Distinguished Chair in Diabetes and Metabolic Research * Richard Gaynor, MD specializing in hematology-oncology, educator, drug developer, and

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations g ...

. *

Brett Giroir Brett P. Giroir (pronounced ''jir-WAH'') (born November 4, 1960) is an American pediatrician and a former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Dr. Giroir currently serves as CEO and a member of the Board of ...

, (M.D. 1986), 16th

United States Assistant Secretary for Health The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a Officer of the United States, senior U.S. government official within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The position is a statutory office () and the holder of the offic ...

and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the

United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, is the federal uniformed service of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and one of the ...

* Joseph L. Goldstein, (M.D. 1966) currently Chairman of the Department of Molecular Genetics at UTSW * Malcolm Perry, (M.D. 1955) (deceased 2009) while a surgery resident attended to

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

on November 22, 1963, chief of vascular surgery New York-Cornell Hospital 1978 to 1988, professor of surgery Texas Tech University, professor emeritus UTSW * Stuart Spitzer (M.D. 1971?), incoming

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

from District 4 * Richard Warshak, (Ph.D. 1978) clinical and research psychologist; expert in divorce, child custody, and parental alienation; served as a White House consultant on family law reform * Xiaodong Wang (Ph.D.), biomedical researcher, member of the National Academy of Science 2004, Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2006, Director National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing *

Kern Wildenthal Kern Wildenthal is an American academic and president of the Children's Medical Center Foundation in Dallas, Texas. He also holds honorary appointments as President Emeritus and Professor of Medicine Emeritus at University of Texas Southwestern Me ...

(M.D. 1964) president of the Children's Medical Center Foundation in Dallas, President Emeritus and Professor of Medicine Emeritus UTSW, president UTSW 1986–2008

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Public universities and colleges in Texas Universities and colleges in Dallas

Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

Educational institutions established in 1943 Medical schools in Texas Southwestern Medical District 1943 establishments in Texas