[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1976-E1977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY

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                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 1997

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the University of Texas 
Health Science Center in Houston for 25 years of excellence in medical 
education and research. A vital component of the Texas Medical Center 
in my district, UTHSC's research and academic institutions have trained 
some of our Nation's finest medical professionals and led to pioneering 
treatments for many diseases.
  The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston was launched 
on October 20, 1972, with the mission of becoming one of the Nation's 
outstanding academic health centers. By any measure, UTHSC has achieved 
that lofty goal. From an initial enrollment of 1,260 students, the 
university now educates over 3,000 students in its six medical 
institutions--the graduate school of biomedical sciences, and dental 
branch, the school of public health, the medical school, the school of 
nursing, and the school of allied health sciences. These students 
receive hands-on training in the finest teaching hospitals in the 
world, learning their trade alongside doctors at the M.D. Anderson 
Cancer Center, Hermann Hospital, and LBJ General Hospital.
  Staying ahead of the curve has been the hallmark of UTHSC. From its 
earliest days,

[[Page E1977]]

UTHSC's leaders foresaw the evolving trends in medical research and 
practice--from the rise of managed care to the recognition that the 
best medicine is often preventative medicine, and the revolution in 
treating diseases through medicine at the molecular level. Their 
leadership has helped create a new model for academic health centers to 
follow. Leaders such as Cheves Smythe, M.D., founding dean of the 
medical school; Reul A. Stallones, M.D., founding dean of the school of 
public health; Alton Hodges, Ph.D., founding dean of the School of 
Allied Health Sciences; and Elizabeth C. Jones, founding dean of the 
school of nursing, all played key roles in building an institution that 
is on the cutting edge of education and research.
  Their success in anticipating the future direction of medical science 
culminated in 1995 with the establishment a new institute for the 21st 
century. The Institute of Molecular Medicine for Prevention of Human 
Diseases. This institute will help doctors and scientists at UTHSC 
continue to develop breakthrough therapies for widespread chronic 
diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. UTHSC has also 
been conducting groundbreaking research on the disaster relief and 
emergency medical services [DREAMS] telemedicine project, which will 
provide state-of-the art, emergency medical services to military 
personnel in remote areas and help field-test recent advances in 
military telemedicine. This project will test innovative technologies 
and apply them to real world situations, helping our soldiers in hot 
spots around the world, and then translate those breakthroughs to 
civilian medicine to help patients of industrial accidents, natural 
disasters, and other traumas.
  The University of Texas Health Science Center is setting the pace for 
biomedical research. Between 1989 and 1996, a time when other research 
institutions struggled, UTHSC research funding by contracts, grants and 
gifts nearly doubled, growing from $49 million to $95 million. Through 
aggressive research fundraising and the new institute of molecular 
medicine, the foundation has been laid for even greater success in the 
years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the University of Texas Health Science 
Center for 25 years of excellence and innovation in medicine and wish 
them greater success as they build for the 21st century.

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