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Little feet making big strides

Preemie beats the odds thanks to UTHealth Houston pediatric neurosurgeon

Separated by the glass barrier of the neonatal incubator, Aisha Atkinson watched over her newborn son, Aries, longing to hold him, to touch him, to love him. Entangled by tubes and wires, he fought for his life while an orchestra of machines whirred in the background.


Vision to reality
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Vision to reality

A unique award inspires innovation

The thought of a surgeon cutting into your child’s brain is enough to send any parent spiraling. Tawny McAnally knows the feeling all too well. Her daughter, Morgan Layton, was diagnosed at age 13 with intractable epilepsy, a neurological disorder causing seizures that cannot be managed using medication.

Hope for the little ones
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Hope for the little ones

Retraining the brain to overcome pediatric stroke

A developing brain holds extraordinary untapped potential—neural networks and pathways form rapidly as children grow and experience the world around them. For victims of neonatal arterial ischemic stroke, a condition that occurs when an infant’s brain loses blood supply, this plasticity offers profound benefits.

Bite-sized innovation
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Bite-sized innovation

Dental program transforms graduates into pediatric specialists

Chelsea Wehr, DDS, asked herself the same question that has sparked scientific progress throughout the ages: Is there a better way? With all the new developments in digital dentistry, she knew there had to be a better way to of correct cleft lip and palate in newborns.

All in
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All in

Alumna leads the way for future generations

Young people often bounce from one idea to another as they consider their career aspirations. But for Anita Khetan, MD ’95, the answer was always simple: doctor.

A future full of smiles
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A future full of smiles

Outreach event provides dental care to underserved children

For children, poor oral health can spark harmful consequences that may affect the entire course of their lives—from pain that impairs concentration in school to discolored teeth that might impact their confidence.

Stronger links, healthier communities
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Stronger links, healthier communities

Connecting social services and health care

The headlines scroll endlessly across our screens as digital trackers race to keep pace with COVID-19 cases and deaths. But in the wake of this turbulent health crisis, some of the most vulnerable members of our community are fighting a concurrent economic pandemic with enormous stakes: falling behind financially and facing a deadly disease.

School of Public Health students
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A brighter outlook ahead

School of Public Health students help families navigate the COVID-19 pandemic

As quarantines and lockdowns rippled through our communities at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shreela V. Sharma, PhD, RD, recognized an opportunity to help families address mounting health and social needs through Brighter Bites, a nonprofit organization she cofounded in 2012. With help from School of Public Health students, they are compiling resources to ensure families have access to the help they need.

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From healer to healing

Trauma ICU nurse fights breast cancer during COVID-19

When COVID-19 cases began spiking in early 2020, Liz De Macedo, RN, stood alongside her fellow nurses to care for the critically ill patients inundating Houston hospitals. She put off her routine health care so she could continue providing care for her patients. In September, she managed to squeeze in an appointment with her gynecologist. What started out as a routine exam turned upside down when her physician found a lump in Liz’s breast.

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Leading the class

Student leaders foster equity and inform policy

Micaela Sandoval’s passion for science took root at an early age, fostered by summers volunteering at the zoo and days dreaming of working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, Tristen Tellman nurtured birthday wishes for chemistry sets and microscopes so she could explore her world.

Women dentists wearing superhero capes
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The wonder women of oral health

Mentoring the next generation

If you had to pick a superhero to describe your path in dentistry, which superhero would you choose? Peggy O’Neill, PhD ’74, DDS ’90, contemplated the seemingly odd question. Then an answer came to mind—one that would honor her fellow panelists and other women in oral health care.

Victoria Cisneros
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A Cycle of Empowerment

Alumna's gratitude enhances department

As Victoria Q. Cisneros, DDS, balanced classes, labs, and clinics with family life, the women of UTHealth School of Dentistry proved themselves to be much more than classmates and faculty members.

Woman cooking with young girl
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A healthy foundation

UTHealth public health expert seeks to remedy childhood obesity

The grocery store poses a familiar challenge to parents of young children. Aisles of unhealthy food sit right at a child’s eye level, dazzling them with eye-catching packaging and promises of sugar-filled delights. With such readily available junk food and decreased activity levels across the United States, children as young as one face the rising threat of obesity.

Children wearing masks and raising their hands
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In this together

Caring for our communities during COVID-19

Between day care closures and social distancing measures, children’s lives have been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. But if there is a silver lining for parents during this health crisis, it is that children seem to be less susceptible to the most dangerous effects of the virus.

April Crawford presenting CLI Engage
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Nurturing new growth

Helping children flourish during the shift to remote learning

School has looked a little different over the past year. As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, living rooms quickly turned into classrooms, and parents transformed into teacher aides. For our youngest learners in their formative years, transitioning from learning in the classroom to learning at home can be difficult. Faculty and staff at the Children’s Learning Institute at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth have made it their mission to help teachers and families navigate this arduous terrain as they nurture these promising seedlings.