UTHealth SPH San Antonio

📣 The word’s getting out about our faculty experts here in San Antonio!

🎥 Alexander Testa, PhD, talked to ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama yesterday about the city’s rising rates of gun thefts from vehicles.

🛻🔍 Testa has been researching gun thefts from vehicles for a few years now, working with the San Antonio Police Department to study the cause of high rates of gun thefts in San Antonio and spread public awareness on how gun owners can safely store their weapons.

🇺🇸Happy 4th of July! We’re proud to be creating our nation’s next generation of public health leaders! 💪

📣 And here’s a little PSA from your local school of public health: A happy 4th of July always involves following good public health and safety measures!

☀️Always wear sunscreen
🎇 Let the professionals handle the fireworks
🥵 Stay hydrated in the heat

✨Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!

Vanessa Schick-Tsai, PhD, and Alexander Testa, PhD, have been appointed to endowed professorships.

Testa has been appointed to the Blair Justice, Ph.D. Professorship in Mind-Body Medicine and Public Health , and Schick has been appointed to the Beth Toby Grossman Distinguished Professorship in Spirituality and Healing.

About being appointed to this professorship, Testa said: “This endowment is a tremendous honor, and a reflection, not just of my own work, but of all the mentors, collaborators, and students who have shaped my path along the way.

“This provides me with resources to pursue more ambitious, long-term scientific questions to help improve public health throughout Texas. It allows me to invest in promising students, thereby enabling exciting research opportunities for the next generation of scholars. I am excited about what this support will enable my research team and me to accomplish in the years ahead at UTHealth Houston. “

Reflecting on her appointment to the distinguished professorship, Schick said:
“This recognition is an incredible honor. It is humbling to help continue the work Beth Toby Grossman envisioned, but was tragically unable to complete, and I hope to honor her legacy through research that creates meaningful and lasting improvements in people’s lives.

“The emphasis on spirituality and healing is especially meaningful to me. Improving health is not just about treating disease. It is also about healing, restoring dignity, and supporting overall well-being. I am grateful that this professorship recognizes those values.

“In my research, we frequently identify gaps in needs, but traditional grants rarely cover the immediate work needed to address those findings. This endowment bridges that gap, and also allows us to make small but vital investments that respect participants’ dignity, remove barriers to care, and strengthen our community partnerships.

“It is a privilege to be part of this professorship’s legacy. So many of my colleagues are doing work that is also deeply worthy of this kind of recognition, and I am proud to be a part of this faculty environment.”

Jiaming Liang, PhD, has been named a 2026 IMPACT Faculty Scholar by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). 👏

The program is a one-year enrichment opportunity for investigators to develop expertise in designing and conducting clinical trials for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias through integration into IMPACT Collaboratory activities.

Speaking about the opportunity, Liang said:
“This is an important step in my career, moving from community-based dementia caregiving research and intervention development toward health system-embedded pragmatic trials.

“I see a clear need for caregiving perspectives to be more fully integrated into the design of real-world care models.

“I hope to use this opportunity to refine my work in dementia care by connecting caregiver support, care quality, and routine clinical workflows, with the broader goal of developing approaches that better support people living with dementia and their families.”