Update
News & Notes
News & Notes
The addition of Dr. (Yiu-Ting) Chiu (Medicine ’14) to DeTar Medical Group will allow for an influx of residents in the county to improve their overall health by keeping up with preventive health screenings.
— Bernard Leger, MD
De Tar Healthcare System
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School of Medicine
Awad Alyami, MD, (Resident ’23) is a pediatrician at OSF HealthCare in Danville, Illinois.
- Sue S. Bornstein, MD, MACP, (‘92) receives Texas Academy of Family Physicians’ 2023 Presidential Award of Merit.
- Cheyene Bownds, MD, (Resident ’23, ’20) joins Covenant Health as a pediatrician.
- Leopoldo Cabrera, MD, FAAP, (’96) joins Campbell County Medical Group Kid Clinic in Gillette, Wyoming.
- Naidu Chekuru, MD, retired in 2023 after a 40-year career. He was an associate professor at TTUHSC.
- Yiu-Ting Chiu, MD, (’14) joins DeTar Medical Group in Victoria, Texas, as a gastroenterologist.
- Ronald Cook, DO, MBA, (Resident ’96) named Texas Academy of Family Physicians’ 2023 Family Physician of the Year.
- Jenny Curry, MD, (’02) joins Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood in Brownwood, Texas.
- Nagendra Gupta, MD, (Resident ’13) appointed to the Forbes Health Advisory Board.
- Bernard A. Harris, Jr., MD, (’82) joins the Business Advisory Board at Predictive Oncology Inc.
- Sonika Malik, MD, (’22) is now on staff at McLeod Pediatric and Adult Endocrinology in Florence, South Carolina.
- John Molland, MD, (Resident ’95) receives Heritage of Odessa 2023 Community Statesman Award in Health and Science.
- Arrvind Raghunath, MD, (Fellowship ’23) joins McLeod Oncology and Hematology Associates in Florence, South Carolina.
- Bikal Sapkota, MD, (Resident ’23) joins Lane Pediatrics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a pediatrician.
- Sandra Farr Schnable retires in 2023 after 33 years of service at the TTUHSC Department of Ophthalmology.
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Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy
Jennifer Bulin, PharmD, (’20) is a specialty pharmacy senior manager at Essentia Health in Superior, Wisconsin.
- Katherine Casias, PharmD, (’19) joins Maxor National Pharmacy Services as a prior authorization pharmacist.
- Sarah Casselberry, PharmD, RPh, (’23) is an inpatient pharmacist at University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas.
- Magen Fields, PharmD, (’13) is the director of pharmacy at Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo, Texas.
- Ajith Pai, PharmD, FACHE, (’07) joins the Leadership Fort Worth board.
- Mahmoud Salama Ahmed, PhD, receives TTUHSC Emerging Inventor of the Year.
- David Simmons, RPh, retired August 29, 2023, from the TTUHSC Pharmaceutical Care Center in Amarillo, Texas.
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Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Eric Edwards, MBA, (’16) joins Cellares in San Francisco, California, as a senior marketing manager.
- Whitni Redman PhD, (’21) joins Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, as a research educator.
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School of Nursing
Cara Caldwell, NP, (’13) joins Cottonwood Holistic Family Health as a family nurse practitioner.
- Kyle Johnson PhD, RN, CHSE, (’10) is executive director of the TTUHSC Simulation Program and an Academy of Nursing Education Fellow.
- Valerie Kiper, DNP, RN, NEA-BC (’13) won the 2023 KAMR Local 4 News Remarkable Women Contest and received a cash award to donate to a new scholarship fund in her name for traditional Bachelor of Nursing students at TTUHSC Amarillo.
- Kourtney Kouns, BSN, RN, (’05) appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve until June 2025 on the Texas Health Services Authority Board of Directors. Kouns of Seymour, Texas, is the regulatory and quality program coordinator for application services at United Regional Health Care System.
- Melinda McKinnon, RN, retires in 2023 after 32 years at TTUHSC.
- Trisha L. Mims, MSN, MBA, HC, (’03) is senior program manager for disaster health services at the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, DC.
- Jeffrey Parrett, DPM, PA, (’94) joins Texas-based StrideCare Multispecialty Network as a podiatric surgeon.
- Michelle Stemley, DNP, RN, (’22) named chief nursing officer at Woman’s Hospital of Texas in Houston.
- Holly Wei, PhD, RN, selected to succeed Michael Evans, PhD, RN, FAAN, as TTUHSC School of Nursing Dean.
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School of Health Professions
Alicia Balderas, PA, (’10) joins Dalhart Family Medicine Clinic in Dalhart, Texas.
- Lacey Fails (’16) appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve until June 2025 on the Texas Health Services Authority Board of Directors. Fails of Hollywood Park, Texas, is the director of physician recruitment for the Baptist Health System.
- Lisa Famiglietti Snider, (’77, ’75 ) co-wrote “Mis-managed Money in American Healthcare: Problems and Solutions,” published by McFarland Press, 2023. She is a speech-language pathologist.
- Ram Haddas, PhD, MBA, (’13) received the Scoliosis Research Society Biederman Innovation Award for Improving Care for Spinal Deformity Patients utilizing wearables.
- Sarah Maurer, AuD, (’23) joins Lovelace Medical Group’s Ear, Nose, Throat and Hearing Center in Lovelace, Colorado.
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Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health
Rick Danko, PhD, joins TTUHSC as the associate dean for Academic Affairs.
- Joy Ellinger, LBSW, currently serves as chair of the school’s TTUHSC Community Advisory Board and was recently named Executive Director of Dignity Health Management Center in Abilene, Texas.
- Dung T. Le, MPH, ( ’23) accepts a position at Health Collaborative, a nonprofit providing resources and health care in San Antonio, Texas.
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Friends We’ll Miss
David Curtis, MD, PhD (’18, and Biomedical Sciences’16) died April 18, 2023.
- Kathy Gilbreath died Sept. 27, 2023. She was a member of the Texas Tech Foundation, a friend of TTUHSC Lubbock, and the Texas Tech System, serving on two endowment campaigns.
- Janice Henry died June 14, 2023. She was a nurse, a friend of TTUHSC, and was married to the late Charles E. Henry, EdD, founding faculty member of the School of Medicine.
- Holly Stewart Hester, MD (Medicine ’94) died June 15, 2023.
- James Ratliff “Buzz” Hurt died Nov. 2, 2023. He was a friend of TTUHSC Odessa with his wife, Betsy Triplett Hurt.
- Janie Robles, PharmD, AE-C (Pharmacy ’03) died Aug. 16, 2023.
- Patricia Willborn (Health Professions ’59) died Aug. 15, 2023.
- Gary Ventolini, MD died June 20, 2023. He served as the TTUHSC School of Medicine regional dean at the Permian Basin for 12 years.
Dr. (Kyle) Johnson (Nursing ’10) brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to TTUHSC, and his expertise in simulation pedagogy aligns with our university’s mission.
— Schoen W. Kruse
PhD, MSHPED, TTUHSC Vice Provost