South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program

09/02/2026

Congratulations to Jack Prochnau on being elected as a GSBS Representative to the Student Government Association (SGA)! 🎉👏

Jack continues to be a strong advocate for his fellow graduate students and an active voice within our university community. We’re excited to see him return to SGA and continue supporting student engagement, advocacy, and connection across campus.

Congratulations, Jack! We’re proud to have you representing GSBS and the STX-MSTP! 🧡💙

GraduateStudentLeadership UTSanAntonio

08/26/2026

🎉 **Congratulations to STX-MSTP student Dang Nguyen on his first-author publication in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity!

Dang and colleagues’ work, “Prenatal exposure to environmental stressors alters gut macrophage development and gastrointestinal function of male offspring,” explores how prenatal environmental stressors can shape immune development and gastrointestinal function in offspring.

We are proud to celebrate this exciting accomplishment and Dang’s continued contributions to impactful physician-scientist research! 👏🧬🔬

🔗 **Read the article:** https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2026.106947

08/26/2026

🎉 **Congratulations to STX-MSTP student Enrique Torres Hernandez on his co-first author publication in Human Brain Mapping!

Enrique and colleagues’ work, “Brain Structural Abnormalities in Addiction Disorders: Transdiagnostic Meta-Analyses,” examines shared and distinct patterns of brain structural abnormalities across addiction disorders using a transdiagnostic meta-analytic approach.

We are proud to celebrate this exciting accomplishment and Enrique’s continued contributions to impactful neuroscience and physician-scientist research! 👏🧠🔬

🔗 **Read the article:** https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70551

08/26/2026

🎉 Another congratulations to STX-MSTP student Freedom Green on her second recent publication, this time in Viruses!

Freedom and colleagues’ work, “The Environmental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Benzo[a]pyrene (BP) Alters SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis in a Mouse Model of Disease,” examines how exposure to the environmental pollutant benzo[a]pyrene may influence SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease progression.

We are proud to celebrate another exciting accomplishment and Freedom’s continued contributions to impactful infectious disease, environmental health, and physician-scientist research! 👏🧬🦠🔬

🔗 Read the article: https://doi.org/10.3390/v18080823

08/26/2026

🎉 Congratulations to STX-MSTP student Chris Mullally on his first-author publication in bioRxiv!

Chris and colleagues’ work, “Collapsing retroviruses for efficient delivery of viro-toxic cargoes,” explores an innovative approach to engineering retroviral systems for the efficient delivery of viro-toxic cargoes.

We are proud to celebrate this exciting accomplishment and Chris’s continued contributions to innovative biomedical and physician-scientist research! 👏🧬

🔗 Read the article: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.28.735095

08/26/2026

🎉 Another congratulations to STX-MSTP student Chris Mullally on his second recent publication in bioRxiv!

Chris and colleagues’ work, “Full-length structure of the anti-viral and pro-tumor DNA deaminase APOBEC3B,” provides new structural insight into APOBEC3B, an enzyme with important roles in antiviral defense and cancer biology.

We are proud to celebrate another exciting accomplishment and Chris’s continued contributions to impactful biomedical and physician-scientist research! 👏🧬🔬

🔗 Read the article: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.18.733170

08/26/2026

🎉 Congratulations to STX-MSTP student Anne Wells, PhD, on her first-author publication in Molecular Brain!

Anne and colleagues’ work, “Tbx1 heterozygosity in the oligodendrocyte lineage shifts myelinated axon composition in the mouse fimbria without behavioral impairments,” examines how Tbx1 heterozygosity within the oligodendrocyte lineage affects myelinated axon composition in the brain, providing new insight into the relationship between cellular changes and behavioral outcomes.

We are proud to celebrate this exciting accomplishment and Anne’s continued contributions to neuroscience and physician-scientist research! 👏🧠🔬

🔗 Read the article: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13041-026-01311-4

08/26/2026

🎉 Congratulations to STX-MSTP student Freedom Green on her recent publication in Viruses!

Freedom and colleagues’ work, “The Environmental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Benzo[a]pyrene (BP) Alters SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis in a Mouse Model of Disease,” investigates how exposure to an environmental pollutant may influence the course and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

We are proud to celebrate this exciting accomplishment and Freedom’s continued contributions to impactful biomedical and physician-scientist research! 👏🧬🔬

🔗 **Read the article:** https://doi.org/10.3390/v18080823

08/24/2026

08/12/2026

What a great way to kick off our first Bench to Bedside Seminar of the year! 🩺🔬💙

Thank you to Dr. Cavazos for sharing program updates, and to our student Urmi and her colleague Esha for showing our students how they can get involved with student-run free clinics and make an impact in our community.

And a very special thank you to Dr. Daohong Zhou for sharing his journey, experiences, and words of wisdom with our students. We’re incredibly grateful for his time, openness, and willingness to share the lessons he’s learned along the way.

A great evening of learning, connection, and mentorshipi — and a wonderful start to this year’s Bench to Bedside series! 🧬✨