Dear faculty, staff, students and residents:

With the holidays upon us, an uptick in the number of hospitalizations from COVID-19 in the past week and the recent developments of yet another COVID-19 variant (Omicron), we encourage every employee and student to get a COVID-19 vaccine. For the approximately 90% of those of you who have been vaccinated, we also encourage all those eligible (everyone 18+) to get the booster vaccine, which can be scheduled conveniently and given here on campus at Wellness 360 or at our UT Health Medical Arts and Research Center (MARC). 

We also ask that you serve as an advocate to family and friends in helping to explain that vaccines are safe and effective. Based in science and research, vaccines have proven to be the best means of preventing significant illness, hospitalization and death from the virus.

Our university is currently vetting state and federal rules regarding vaccine requirements and how they may or may not apply to our organization. University of Texas institutions have been subject to conflicting state and federal rules regarding vaccine requirements, and we will continue to navigate the conflicts carefully and pursuant to our understanding of controlling law. This is a dynamic situation as some of the rules have been challenged in courts and, as a result of recent decisions, guidance continues to change.

UT Health San Antonio will take appropriate steps to ensure our institution complies with this guidance and the final recommendations. Communication, to include specific details on the federal guidelines, what areas within our organization the vaccine mandate may not impact and/or those specifically who may not be impacted, will be coming in the next several days.

For our faculty, staff and students working within the various health systems in the region, each system will have its own vaccine mandate policies and procedures. To practice in these facilities, individuals must comply with their regulations, which go into effect in early January 2022.

Under review currently for UT Health San Antonio is the narrower vaccination requirements based on the Federal-Contractor Rule. This rule applies to institutions that have signed a specific type of federal contract that now has a vaccine requirement. UT Health San Antonio does have numerous federal contracts that now must ensure affected employees are fully vaccinated by Jan. 18, 2022, unless they qualify for medical or religious exemptions. These institutions must also require indoor face coverings during periods of high or substantial community transmission.

We will navigate through the current environment — federal mandates to new variants — with our highest priority always on safety. Over the past 18 months and throughout the pandemic, our organization has responded to the call of service demonstrating we will do everything it takes to make lives better for our faculty, staff, students and the communities we serve.

Thank you for all that YOU do every day to make a safer and healthier community.  

William L. Henrich, MD, MACP

President and Professor of Medicine

Employees are invited to participate in this year's Deck the Halls tree decorating contest! 

What: Holiday tree decorating contest (large or small personal trees)

When: December 1 through December 23, 2021

Where: All UT Health Physicians clinics (employees working from home encouraged to participate)

How: Send a direct Facebook message with a photo of your tree along with the title and department to @UTHealthSAPhysicians. Submitted photos will be added to a Facebook album for voting. Gather as many likes as you can through December 23 at midnight!

**Décor must be small child friendly. No obscene gestures or symbols.**

Don't forget to download and share the flyer with your colleagues! 

Nominations for the 2022 Presidential Excellence Awards are open with a submission deadline of 5 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. The Presidential Awards recognize exemplary performance by individuals who consistently excel in their positions and demonstrate a strong commitment to the mission and core values of UT Health San Antonio. Please take the time to nominate someone deserving of this acknowledgment. Find award categories, eligibility, and nomination forms below:

• Presidential Distinguished Research Scholar Award - One Research Award
• Presidential Clinical Excellence Award - Two Clinical Awards
• Presidential Teaching Excellence Award - Seven Teaching Awards
• Presidential Employee Excellence Award - Five Individual and One Team Award

Click here to download the flyer and share with your colleagues! 

How to enter

Send a direct message with a  photo of your door along with the title and department to @UTHealthSAPhysicians on Facebook.

Get Facebook likes by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31. Submitted photos will be added to an album for sharing. Share your door to get the most likes.

When: Doors may be on display Oct. 25 – Nov. 1

Doors must be taken down by close of business on Nov. 1.

Where: Doors facing lobbies or non-patient care areas.

Winners will be announced on Nov. 1. Bragging rights and prizes awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Rules

Must be small child friendly décor

Do not obstruct any EXITs or immediate access to them | Do not cover a door so that it is not recognizable as an EXIT | Do not cover both sides of any one door (only the public – hallway side may be decorated) | Do not cover the door’s viewing window | Make sure decorations do not hamper the operation of the door | All decorations must be made of fire-resistant material | No Glitter | No Items obstructing walk-ways or hanging from the ceiling or doorway | No obscene or inappropriate symbols, drawings, words, phrases, etc.

All practices and employees working from home are encouraged to participate. Multiple doors per practice allowed!

Please share with your clinics: 

Pink shirts with blue scrub bottoms every Friday in October

Guidelines:

• All pink shirts must be worn with the employee’s blue scrub bottoms.   
• No large brand names or logos allowed. 
• No obscene words, gestures or symbols allowed. 
• If an employee’s shirt is deemed inappropriate for the workplace, they will be sent home to change and vacation leave will be used to make up their time.

Halloween costumes permissible in clinic on Oct. 29

Costume Rules:

• Employee must be identifiable
• No costume masks  
• No scary or inappropriate costumes
• If an employee’s costume is deemed inappropriate for the workplace, they will be sent home to change and vacation leave will be used to make up their time.

TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE AWARD, REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

PILOT PROJECTS

Deadlines: 
November 15, 2021 (Letter of Intent)
December 15, 2021 (Full Proposal)

Overview

The Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (Greehey CCRI) is soliciting proposals for pilot project awards. The primary goal of this program is to support collaborative translational studies that will lead to the repurposing of FDA-approved drugs for treating pediatric cancers. The program is supported through Greehey CCRI institutional funds.

Eligibility

Greehey CCRI Program

Applicants must hold faculty appointments or equivalent research-level positions at UT Health San Antonio (UTHSA) or The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).

Only collaborative applications that link studies relevant to pediatric cancer with approaches to identify and test new uses for FDA-approved drugs and/or drugs currently in clinical trials, for treating pediatric cancers will be considered. The focus can include synthetic lethal interactions and novel combinatorial approaches to improve therapy. The use of Greehey CCRI target identification core and/or the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery (CIDD) for identifying candidate drugs and the use of the Greehey CCRI PDX core for testing the anti-tumor efficacy of candidate drugs are highly encouraged.

Previous pilot project award recipients may apply, but the new application must be a distinct project or a substantial departure, not a simple extension of the previously funded project. Applicants need not be directly affiliated with the Greehey CCRI but must have a Greehey CCRI faculty member as the collaborator. The relevance of the project to children’s cancer must be clearly defined within the proposal.

Submission, terms, and conditions

An individual may submit no more than one project as a Principal Investigator, plus one as a Co-Investigator.

A required letter of intent (LOI) must be submitted by Monday, November 15, 2021, at 5:00 pm.  It should include the project’s title, principal investigator (PI), a one-page summary of the project, and a list of 3 to 4 potential reviewers from UTHSA, but not from the same department or research group as the PI (Click here for LOI template). The deadline for receipt of the full application is December 15 at 5:00 pm. Note that all applicants must first submit an LOI before the full proposal. Both the LOI and the full proposal should be submitted electronically, each in a single PDF file attached to an email message to Ms. Nickie Akande (Akande@uthscsa.edu).

Pilot application forms can be found here.

Awards will be made initially for a one-year period starting on or about January 31, 2022. Progress reports will be requested six months (brief) and 12 months after the initiation of funding. For projects involving the use of human subjects or vertebrate animals, no expenditures will be permitted until Greehey CCRI is provided with a copy of the official letter of approval by the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Investigators are encouraged to submit IRB and IACUC protocols early to avoid significant delays in project initiation. Excessive delays in meeting these regulatory requirements may result in the withdrawal of the award. Applicants must also be in compliance with institutional research training and conflict of interest disclosure policies.

Budget and financial policies

The initial budget for these awards is $50,000. Additional funds will be considered based on the project’s progress and subjected to satisfactory review (at six months and 12 months after the initiation of funding) by the scientific review committee. Facilities and Administrative costs are not allowed. Funds may not be used to support the salary of the PI or faculty-level collaborators. Although the PI (and Co-PI/Co-I, if applicable) should be listed in the personnel section of the summary page, there is no minimum effort requirement. Budgets may include non-faculty salaries, but they should not exceed 25% of the total amount requested. In addition, budgets may NOT include funding for travel or the purchase of computers or other equipment unless it can be justified as essential to the project.  Other allowable expenses include consumable laboratory supplies; animal purchase and per diem; Greehey CCRI, or UTHSA core facility fees; costs related to human subject enrollment and management (listed as “Patient Care Costs” on the budget page); and other expenditures that can be justified as being essential for the completion of the project.

Application requirements and format

Applications should be prepared using the templates provided (adapted from PHS Form 398). Font size should be no smaller than 11pt, preferably Arial or Times New Roman. The font size for figures, figure legends, charts, and tables may be smaller but clearly legible. Margins all-around should be at least 0.5”. Pages should be numbered sequentially. The length of the Research Plan (narrative with illustrations included) is limited to 4 single-spaced pages. The organization of the proposal should be as follows:

• Cover page (p. 1)
• Project summary (level appropriate for scientific peers in the field) and key personnel (p. 2)
• Budget (p. 3)
• Budget justifications (p. 4; maximum 1 page)
• Biographical sketch for PI (maximum 4 pages; for NIH template, format, (see sample)
• Biographical sketches for other key personnel (maximum 4 pages each)
• Research plan (maximum 4 pages; use continuation page template)
• Hypothesis and specific aims
• Background and significance
• Preliminary data
• Work proposed (including statistical analysis, pitfalls, alternatives)
• Literature citations (maximum 1 page)
• Additional information regarding the project (maximum 1 page) to include:
  • Collaborative, interdisciplinary, or community engagement features, if applicable
  • Description of how the pilot project will interact with existing programs of the Greehey CCRI, or UTHSA, as appropriate
• Letters of support (1-page maximum) from core directors or Research Imaging Institute are required (if applicable)
• Letters of collaboration (optional; 2-page maximum)
• Appendices are not allowed
• A UTHSA Certificate of Proposal (COP) is not required

Review process and criteria

Applications will go through a two-tiered system of review. The first phase, or scientific review, will be performed by a Scientific Review Committee, including members of the Mays Cancer Center. Scientific merit will be scored by these reviewers based on the following criteria:

• Significance
• Novelty / innovation
• Strength of the study protocol, including:
  • Design
  • Feasibility
  • Preliminary data
  • Integration with ongoing research
  • Qualifications of the investigative team
• Contribution to the career development of basic/translational scientists, if applicable
• The extent of meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration
• Likelihood of future NIH or other competitive external funding
• Use and leveraging of Greehey CCRI, or partner resources (for example, core facilities, biobanking)
• Potential for ultimately improving health outcomes
• Protection of human subjects and experimental animals

A programmatic review will be conducted to determine the potential impact on childhood cancer. Funding decisions will be based on scientific merit programmatic relevance.

Funding expectations

Depending on the availability of funds, up to three proposals will receive support.

Responsibilities of the Principal Investigator

The principal investigator of funded projects is required to:

• Abide by NIH rules and regulations
• Abide by Greehey CCRI/UTHSA policies and procedures
• Submit progress reports in a timely fashion
• Acknowledge support from Greehey CCRI funds in all publications relevant to the pilot project

The countdown is on to football season! UT Health San Antonio is the official health care provider for UTSA Athletics. Come out to the Mays Cancer Center’s “Kick Cancer” tailgate event on Sept. 11, from 2 – 5 p.m. at the Alamodome, to compete against your friends and family, and practice your kicking skills at our 30 foot 3-point field goal kick challenge. Enter to win prizes and hang out with fellow fans as the Roadrunners take on the Lamar University Cardinals at the Alamodome.

Follow UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see all the updates for the big event. Be sure to like, share, retweet and tag us for a chance to win a UT Health San Antonio cooler full of prizes! 

WHAT: Mays Cancer Center’s “Kick Cancer” tailgate event

WHEN: Sept. 11, 2021 from 2 – 5 p.m

WHERE: Alamodome