Hongfang Liu, PhD will join SBMI as a new faculty member later this year. She will serve as the director of the Center for Translational Artificial Intelligence in Medicine at our school and the vice president for Learning Health Systems at UTHealth Houston. Earlier this month, she was awarded a $6 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Visit the SBMI website to learn more about Dr. Liu’s research.

UTHealth Houston recently hosted a contest to encourage all students to download the student-centered mobile app. We are happy to announce that the UTHealth Houston Office of Academic Affairs awarded our school a $1,500 cash prize for having the highest percentage of students download the app!

The award will be spent on a campus celebration or social event and the school looks forward to celebrating with our students. We want to thank all SBMI students who participated and the students in Associate Professor Yang Gong, MD, PhD’s BMI 5310 class (featured in the photo above) for participating in the celebratory announcement on Feb. 7th.

Although the contest has ended, we want to remind students who might not have the app to download it and access class schedules, grades, and other information while on the go. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices by visiting the App Store or Google Play and entering “UTHealth Student” into the search.

The Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research (MTPCCR) Summer Institute is currently accepting applications. We encourage all qualified and interested SBMI students to apply.

MTPCCR is a training program for minority graduate students at the master's level and master's trained professionals which consists of a four-day summer institute, paid internships (optional and limited spaces) and Doctoral Application Support Award (DASA). The 4-day Summer Institute is designed to showcase the opportunities and need for minority researchers in cancer control. Through the Institute, 20-25 students will acquire the motivation, skills and resources needed to apply to a doctoral program while working with leaders in research from around the country.

The (in-person) Summer Institute is scheduled for June 22-25, 2023 at University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA). Please find the application packet at this link: https://www.racialhealthequity.org/mtpccr. The application is due no later than March 10, 2023 by 5:00 PM (PST).

As a reminder, the updated SBMI Drop/Withdrawal form is now live. While we hope students won’t need to utilize the form, it can be found on the SBMI Forms page and here are direct links: SBMI Drop/Withdrawal Form (pdf) (Docusign).

The form was developed in conjunction with the Registrar’s Office to streamline course drops, term withdrawals, and complete withdrawals for the semester. Note that March 20, 2023 is the last day to submit your signed form and earn a Withdrawal Grade of “W” in a SBMI course.

If students have any questions about the form or about dropping classes, please contact SBMI Academic Advisor Travis Crook at [email protected] .

The School of Biomedical Informatics will host the 2023 Commencement Ceremony on May 9, 2023 at Rice University’s Stude Concert Hall. We look forward to celebrating all MS, DHI, and PhD graduates from summer 2022, fall 2022, and spring 2023.

Our Office of Academic Affairs has been in communication with all alumni and students who are eligible to participate in the ceremony. For more information on the event, please visit this website.

• Professor James Langabeer, PhD, EdD, MBA, EMT recently spoke to Oprah Daily about how to overcome decision fatigue.
• Dr. Langabeer was also featured in a Texas Monthly article that will be included in the March 2023 issue of the magazine. He explored how the HEROES program is helping people with opioid-use disorders.