UTHSC News


Phil Wenk Gives Back to his Alma Mater and the People of Tennessee

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A hometown dentist-turned-corporate executive, Phil Wenk, DDS, has spent a lifetime serving his community, his profession, his state, and his alma mater. Dr. Wenk, chief executive officer of Delta Dental of Tennessee, is a 1973 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a 1977 graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College… Read More


Collaboration Researching Angelman Syndrome Publishes Findings, Receives $2.4 Million Award

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A three-way research collaboration at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTSHC) is achieving crucial advances in finding a new target for Angelman syndrome, a rare neurogenetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, balance issues, motor impairment, and debilitating seizures. Julio Cordero-Morales, PhD, and Valeria Vásquez, PhD, both associate professors of Physiology in the UTHSC… Read More


Medical Student Searches for a Cure, Continues His Sister’s Fight

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Jon Pat “JP” Ransom has been pursuing pediatrics since his younger sister passed away from neuroblastoma when she was two years old. Now in his second year of medical school, he has joined researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in studying a new treatment for the cancer. “At an early age, I knew I… Read More


Valarie Fleming joins the Office of Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs as Senior Associate Vice Chancellor

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On April 1, 2023, Valarie Fleming, PhD, CCC-SLP, began her role as the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs. In this role, she will provide executive leadership for, and oversight of central campus administrative units that support academic programs and faculty members across the University of Tennessee Health… Read More


Kingsport Dental Clinic Receives $250,000 Donation from Delta Dental of Tennessee

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Leaders of the effort to develop a collaborative regional dental clinic and training site in Kingsport, Tennessee, gathered today to celebrate a $250,000 donation from Delta Dental of Tennessee’s Smile180 Foundation. The milestone gift will be used to purchase equipment for the clinic, a joint initiative of the City of Kingsport, the University of Tennessee… Read More


College of Nursing Offers Students Boot Camp in Prescribing HIV Prevention Medicine

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A multidisciplinary health care team will offer a one-day training for students from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center on prescribing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. Shelby County is home to one-third of all people living with HIV in Tennessee and one-third of people newly diagnosed with HIV in the state in 2020,… Read More


UTHSC Leads $53 Million Healthy Smiles Initiative to Increase Access to Dental Care Across Tennessee

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The College of Dentistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, in collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Health, is undertaking a $53 million project over the next five years to increase access to dentists and dental care across Tennessee, with a focus on the rural areas with the most need.   Funded by the… Read More


Student Pharmacist Expands Internship into Mentoring Opportunity

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For Brianna Hawkins, PharmD/MBA candidate, class of 2023, cancer has been a constant presence in her life. Many of her grandmother’s siblings and their children suffered from colon, liver, breast, pancreatic, and lung cancer, along with other malignancies. Hawkins said after contemplating the impact of cancer on her family tree, she decided to pursue a… Read More