The participating physicians are Benjamin Batson, DO, (Fellowship ’23, Residency ’20, Nursing ’07); Andrew Shakespeare, MD, (Medicine ’13); Ximena Solis, MD, (Residency ’21, ’18; Medicine ’15); and Brian Williams, MD, (Health Professions ’01). Their lung nodule clinic at Covenant Health in Lubbock, Texas, uses low dose CT scans to ensure small lung abnormalities are not cancerous.

The service accelerates the diagnostic process, meaning a patient does not have to wait weeks to get a nodule biopsied.

“It takes the patient’s concern, and gets them to us, so we can help make that determination and get them to biopsy as quickly as possible,” Batson says.

Scanning technology has become more widely used and readily available in recent years, reducing the time between detecting a concerning growth and determining whether it is benign. This is a great relief for this group, who usually diagnose lung cancer after the disease becomes more aggressive and symptoms are evident.

“Patients will get referred to me for a lung mass, and I look back two years ago, and they had a nodule. Now I’m telling them they’re Stage 3 or 4, when I could have told them they were Stage 1 then,” Solis says.

The earlier detection is also intended to bump a state trend. A 2025 Texas Medical Association analysis shows Texas ranked 46th in the nation for lung cancer screenings, and only 12% of high-risk patients are screened. This effort gives the group optimism — not because they are diagnosing patients with lung cancer, but because they are diagnosing it earlier in patients who otherwise would not have been screened.

Solis recalls one patient who visited the hospital because he fell off a ladder and had to get a scan —turns out he also had a nodule that was later diagnosed as cancer.

The group has screened more than 400 patients since the clinic opened in November 2025. With that comes the possible justification to expand the service.

“It’s exciting to be on the forefront of moving the needle toward early-stage diagnosis,” Shakespeare says. “Technology has made that possible; we didn’t have the option before.”

For the mother of two, it is a special calling she has had since she was a young girl. When Villota’s grandmother had cancer, she admired the hospice nurse who took care of her.

When Villota’s mother, Denise, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (and later died in 2018), she was prepared to act as her caretaker throughout treatment. This was before revolutionary therapies were available. Villota’s mother missed out on the CAR-T cell therapy, which genetically engineers a patient’s cells to fight against cancer.

Now Villota has a front-row seat to lifesaving, revolutionary cancer treatment that extends patients’ lives.

“It’s unfortunate what happened to my family, but I can say to patients, ‘I’ve seen what you’re going through and, fortunately, at the time you’re in, you have the benefit of all these amazing therapies. And, we’re not giving up on you,’” Villota says.

— Michael A. Cantu

From transportation and solid waste services to economic development and pipeline safety, Boler supports the Permian Basin’s needs from a public health perspective. Often, that means finding the connections between the big picture and the small picture. For example, eliminating trash from Texas’ Interstate 20, a focus of Boler’s work, involves changing the behaviors of those who litter. Changed behaviors create a cleaner, safer environment, which attracts economic growth and boosts residents’ well-being.

“We make sure we’re still maintaining a place of health that is welcoming and enjoyable for everybody, whether you’re here for five months or five years,” Boler says.

– Holly Leger

But all those years of research and patient care made him ready to treat the toughest cancer diagnoses in the nation and find the best treatment options for patients — many of whom are enrolled in Phase 1 clinical trials.

During his eight-year stint as an oncological pharmacist, he still yearned for more patient interaction. That drove his decision to pursue a career as a physician-scientist.

Today, Song focuses on how patients respond to emerging treatments before they are available to the wider public. He provides for them a possible look into the medication of tomorrow, in hopes of diminishing cancer’s effects.

“Acknowledging patients’ experiences and affirming their struggles is just therapeutic in itself,” Song says.

– Michael A. Cantu

“It’s not always easy,” she says. “I’ve had several patients who were at the end of life that I had to just cry with and hold their hand and hug. I feel like God put me there at that time to be a support for the patients.”

During her five years in oncology, Yaklin also initiated the clinic’s Genetic Risk Evaluation and Testing (GREAT) program, which helps physician assistants identify individuals who do not have cancer but are genetically predisposed to it. 

Now, Yaklin is teaching hematology-oncology classes and clinical skills. She aims to ensure her students educate their patients about preventative cancer measures, like mammograms, colonoscopies and Pap smears. She also continues to work part time in neurology, joking with her students that her experiences makes her the epitome of lateral mobility.

– Holly Leger

Le facilitates partnerships between healthcare professionals and Ipsen, a biopharmaceutical company, to support pancreatic cancer research and drug development. Working in Houston, Texas, a major hub in the United States for cancer care, Le advocates for healthcare professionals by listening to their concerns, reviewing their research and conveying the information back to the pharmaceutical side.

“My goals are to make sure that companies understand clinical needs and patient needs,” Le says. “That way, pharmaceutical companies will listen and make changes or provide the scientific data that healthcare professionals are asking for.”

– Holly Leger