As always, we welcome our new students and are very happy to have the returning students back. If students need any assistance this semester, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs at [email protected] or 713-500-3911.

We want to wish all students a healthy & successful fall semester!

The fall 2024 semester began on August 26, 2024. Course Add/Drop via myUTH will run from August 26 to September 11, 2024. Please refer to the academic calendar for other important dates as well as events. Course offerings and classroom information can be found on the semester schedule page. Textbook information is posted at this website.

Courses students register for in myUTH may take up to 24 hours to appear in Canvas. To complete required coursework, students must make sure their computer meets the technical requirements.

Students enrolled in in-person/on-campus classes should attend each weekly class session at the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics building space (6th floor of 7000 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030). Please refer to attendance policy for more details.

• Canvas Login
• Contact the Educational Technology team.

Our liaison librarian at the TMC Library is Kelsey Koym. The best way for students and faculty to reach Kelsey is to use the consultation form: https://librarytmc.libwizard.com/f/consultation

It is important that all students log-in to your myUTH account and submit or have submitted a full payment for your tuitions & fees bill and/or have selected a payment plan to avoid being DROPPED for non-payment. If you have selected a payment plan, please submit the initial payment in a timely manner so you are not dropped from courses.

Students who do not have their balance paid in full or have not made their first payment of 50% of their tuition and fees on an installment plan will be dropped from courses and not be eligible for reinstatement.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

You can find additional information on how to make a payment through the Bursar's website (Tuition Payments) or you can call them directly at 713-500-3088. More information on UTHealth Houston Student Services offices can be found here: https://www.uth.edu/student/.

You may also apply for an Emergency Tuition Loan to assist with payment at this time. Here is the link with general eligibility criteria and required documents. Completed Emergency Tuition Loan applications should be sent to [email protected]. Applications received after 3 pm will be processed the next business day.

The McWilliams Academic Calendar also provides all important dates for the semester that you should be aware.

Members of the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics Community have recently achieved noteworthy accomplishments. We want to recognize and applaud these individuals.

• MS Student Guadalupe Salinas works at Laredo Medical Center and she was recently named the Employee of the Quarter (2nd quarter). She joined the organization in January in such a short amount of time, she has already “surpassed expectations on projects that are improving patient outcomes, fighting hunger in Laredo and surrounding communities, and enhancing employee engagement.”

• Several McWilliams School of Biomedical researchers recently co-authored a JAMIA article. Alumnus Jeritt Thayer, PhD ’24, MS '21 is the corresponding author. Other McWilliams authors include Associate Dean for Student, Faculty, and Community Affairs Amy Franklin, PhD & Assistant Professor Deevakar Rogith, MBBS, PhD '15.
• Congratulations go out to McWilliams staff member Robin Cavalier-Brown. In July, she was awarded the UTHealth Houston Classified Staff Council’s Staff Recognition Spotlight Award for her outstanding work performance. She is a Business Systems Analyst with almost 34 years of service at UTHealth Houston. Robin is an integral member of the staff whose contributions to our school community are immeasurable. She is photographed below with several other awardees (Robin is near the center in the green blouse).

  

• Our Vice Dean for Education, Dr. Susan Fenton, appeared on a recent HIPcast- Health Information Professional's Podcast episode.
• In late July, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics hosted our first generative AI competition for high school students. Read this story to learn more about the competition and winners.

• DHI Student Greg Olson, DDS, pictured here, was recently named the Associate Dean for Technology Services, Informatics at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry.

• Our school was recently awarded a grant to support our students from the Laredo-area. Visit this webpage to learn more.
• Assistant Professor Yulin Dai, PhD, along with Kai Zhang, PhD and Zhongming Zhao, PhD, recently earned a grant from the National Institute on Aging (part of NIH). The project is titled “Identify Actional Drugs that Enhance Resilience in Alzheimer’s Disease Individuals.” The total budget of $429,000 will be utilized effective August 1, 2024 to April 30, 2026.

• Three of our DHI alumnae attended the Nursing Informatics #NI2024 Conference in Manchester UK in late July. The alums include (l-r) Kelly Brown, DHI '24, Amy Clodfelter, DHI '23, and Kathy de Figueiredo, DHI '23, MS '15. Dr. Clodfelter also presented at the conference.

We encourage students to bookmark the UTHealth Houston Central Student Portal. This site will serve as a guide to help connect students with the most sought-after resources:

• Bursar’s Office
• Disability Accommodations
• Financial Aid Office
• Office International Affairs (OIA)
• Police Station
• Registrar Office
• Student Life (Auxiliary enterprises) - University Housing, Student Parking, Rec Center, Student Health & Counseling, Shuttle Services, Bookstore, Health Insurance and much more)
• TMC Library
• Veteran Services

Another great resource is the UTHealth Houston student-centered mobile app that you can download onto your mobile device. This app allows you to access your class schedule, grades, financial aid, and payment plans while on the go. It is available on both iOS and Android devices by visiting the App Store or Google Play and entering “UTHealth Student” into the search.

The Office of Global Health Initiatives is pleased to announce a new Student & Trainee Travel Award for Global Health worth $1,000. This award aims to provide UTHealth Houston students and trainees with invaluable opportunities to engage in global health work while fostering cultural humility and reciprocal partnerships. This award can empower the next generation of healthcare leaders to address health disparities and make meaningful contributions towards global health equity.

Any full-time student or trainee in a UTHealth Houston school may apply (undergraduate and graduate positions such as residents and fellows). Travel must be related to global health education, research, or clinical settings and must be for a minimum of seven days.

There are two application deadlines per year: September 15 and February 15. For more information and a link to the application, please visit this website.

Student Intercouncil at UTHealth Houston is hosting the 26th annual Salutation on September 5. There will be food, beverages, giveaways, and great prizes such as monthly parking passes, gift cards, and more. Your UTHealth Houston student ID is your admission ticket.

Who: All UTHealth Houston students
When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 5
Where: Denton A. Cooley, MD and Ralph C. Cooley, DDS University Life Center, 7440 Cambridge St.

For more information on this event, visit https://www.uth.edu/sic/events/salutation.

• The HIMSS Foundation is accepting scholarship applications. This is an excellent opportunity for HIMSS student members to showcase their academic proficiency to advance their education and career. The deadline to apply is September 9. Click here to learn more or to apply.
• The application for the HIMSS25 Student Ambassador Program is now open through September 27. Formerly known as the HIMSS Program Assistant program, this is an enriching volunteer opportunity for students to get immersed in and engaged with the healthcare IT industry at HIMSS25 in Las Vegas. Please review this PDF for more details.
• Houston HIMSS will host the Women in Health IT event on September 25 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (CT) at TMC Innovation in the Texas Medical Center. Two McWilliams faculty members, Drs. V. Gail Turner and Meera Subash, will be featured speakers. For tickets, visit this website.

UTHealth Houston collaborates with UT System to promote the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program (a part of UT System). This opportunity is available to students at each school.

There are several upcoming information sessions where students can learn more about this program. Additional information is also available on the fellowship website.

• Professor Dean Sittig, PhD was quoted in a WIRED article that explores how last month’s massive IT outage impacted hospitals and patient safety.