Kay Bailey Hutchison, Honorary Chairman
United States Senator (R-TX)
In 1993, Kay Bailey Hutchison was elected as the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. Seven years later, more than four million Texans re-elected her to a second full term - the largest number of votes ever garnered in the state. In 2001 she was elected Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, becoming one of the top five leaders of Senate Republicans, and the only woman.
Senator Hutchison grew up in La Marque, Texas , and graduated from the University of Texas and UT Law School. She was twice elected to the Texas House of Representatives. In 1990, she was elected Texas State Treasurer, where she trimmed her agency's budget more than any other state official while increasing returns on Texas' investments to an historic $1 billion annually.
She spearheaded the successful fight against a state income tax and to put a cap on the state debt.
The Senator's heritage in Texas is historic. Thomas Rusk of Nacogdoches was the first Texan to serve in the U.S. Senate seat she currently holds. He and the Senator's great-great-grandfather, Charles S. Taylor, were friends and both signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. The Senator lives in Dallas with her husband, Ray, an attorney, and their daughter, Bailey, and son, Houston.
Dr. Michael S. Brown, TAMEST Founding Co-Chairman
Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine
Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Michael S. Brown received a B.A. degree in Chemistry in 1962 and an M.D. degree in 1966 from the University of Pennsylvania. He was an intern and resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and a post doctoral fellow with Dr. Earl Stadtman at the National Institutes of Health. In 1971, he came to Dallas where he rose through the ranks to become a professor in 1976.
He is currently Paul J. Thomas Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Dr. Brown is also a member of the Board of Directors of Pfizer, Inc. and is Chairman of its Science and Technology Committee. Dr. Brown and his long-time colleague, Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, together discovered the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, which controls the level of cholesterol in blood and in cells. They showed that mutations in this receptor cause Familial Hypercholesterolemia, a disorder that leads to premature heart attacks in one out of every 500 people in most populations. Their work laid the theoretical groundwork for the development of a class of drugs called statins that block cholesterol synthesis, increase LDL receptors, lower blood cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. Statins are taken daily by more than 20 million people worldwide. Brown and Goldstein have received many awards for this work, including the U.S. National Medal of Science and the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology.
Dr. J. Tinsley Oden, President
Associate Vice President for Research Engineering
Director, ICES
The University of Texas at Austin
J. Tinsley Oden earned his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from The Oklahoma State University in 1962. He has served on faculty of The University of Texas at Austin since 1973 and previously served as chair of the Department of Engineering Mechanics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and also taught at Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Oden is director of the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, and holds the Cockrell Family Regents' Chair in Engineering No. 2. He develops mathematical theories and implements computational models of problems in fluid mechanics, nonlinear solid mechanics, physics and molecular systems. He has helped develop computer models and algorithms to implement theories that solve a wide range of problems, from automobile design to manufacturing processes to surgical procedures. Dr. Oden is currently the principal investigator for a project studying the use of computer methods to improve the effectiveness of laser therapy for prostate cancer.
Dr. Oden has authored or co-authored over 500 scientific essays, book chapters and refereed journal articles, including over 50 books and monographs. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States , Mexico and Brazil . Dr. Oden has served as president of the Society of Engineering Science, the American Academy of Mechanics, and the International Association of Computational Mechanics.
Universities in Portugal , Belgium , Poland and France have awarded Dr. Oden with honorary doctoral degrees. He also received a knighthood as "Chevalier de l'ordre des Palmes Academiques" from the French Government. Dr. Oden was listed as one of the most highly-cited researchers in the world for 1981-1999 by the Institute for Scientific Information. Dr. Oden serves on the editorial boards of over twenty scientific journals and is an Editor of Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering.
Dr. Daniel W. Foster, Past President
John Denis McGarry, Ph.D. Distinguished Chair
in Diabetes and Metabolic Research
Department of Internal Medicine
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Daniel W. Foster, a graduate of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, took his residency in Internal Medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas before entering postdoctoral research training at UT Southwestern and the National Institutes of Health. He joined the faculty at Southwestern following his tenure at NIH. He became chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine in 1988 where he served for 16 years.
Dr. Foster's research has focused for many years on the intermediary metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. With his colleague, J. Denis McGarry, he discovered the malonyl-CoA regulatory system for fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. He received the Robert H. Williams Distinguished Chair of Medicine Award of the Association of Professors of Medicine in February 2001, and was named Great Teacher by the National Institutes of Health in 2002.
In addition to the Institute of Medicine , Dr. Foster is a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. David E. Daniel, Vice President
President
The University of Texas at Dallas
Dr. Daniel’s professional work has focused on environmental controls for contaminated land and groundwater. He has published over 100 technical articles and authored or edited five books. His work has been recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which awarded him its highest award for papers published in its journals (the Norman Medal) and on two separate occasions awarded him its second highest award, the Croes Medal. He has taught more than 125 continuing education and training courses on environmental controls, which have been attended by more than 15,000 engineers and scientists. In 2000, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the nation’s highest recognition for engineering achievement.
In 2005 and 2006, he served as Chair of the External Review Panel of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which was charged by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with review of the government’s work in identifying facts surrounding the performance of New Orleans’ levees during Hurricane Katrina, and to advise on the causes of failure and the adequacy of the levees to resist flooding from future hurricanes.
While Dr. Daniel was serving as Dean, the University of Illinois' College of Engineering rose in national rankings to No. 4, trailing only MIT, Stanford, and California-Berkeley, and also opened a new $80M computer science center in addition to launching a new Department of Bioengineering. As President of UTD, Daniel has initiated a broadly inclusive strategic planning process, scaled up UTD’s development and communications programs, reconfigured several key leadership positions, overseen continued growth of the institution’s academic and research programs, launched a campus beautification project, and worked with the DFW community to build new partnerships.
Dr. Irma Gigli, Secretary
The Walter & Mary Mischer Professor in Molecular Medicine
Director, Center for Immunology & Autoimmune Diseases
Deputy Director, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine
The University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
Dr. Gigli obtained her undergraduate education in Argentina and her medical training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Her training in immunology was at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Miami. She served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and at Massachusetts General Hospital in Immunology and Dermatology. She was previously Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of California at San Diego.
She has been President for the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and is currently an Honorary Member of that Society, is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Academy of Dermatology, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2003 Dr. Gigli received the Distinguished Professional Woman of the Year Award from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Dr. Gigli has published over 160 original manuscripts and book chapters, many of which identify basic mechanisms involved in host defense and in the development of skin diseases. Her expertise is not limited to the crossroads of clinical immunology and dermatology but also basic immunology. Her contributions to her area of expertise, the relationship of the structure and function of proteins of the compliment system, are many and often firsts.
Dr. Stephen A. Holditch, Treasurer
Department Head, Petroleum Engineering
Texas A&M University
Stephen A. Holditch is the Head of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering and holder of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Chair.
Dr. Holditch earned three degrees in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University. In between his M.S. and PhD., Holditch was a production engineer for Shell Oil Co. After completing his PhD., Dr. Holditch joined the Texas A&M petroleum engineering faculty in 1976.
In 1977 Holditch formed S.A. Holditch & Associates, Inc., a full-service petroleum engineering consulting firm, which became part of Schlumberger Technology Corp. in 1997 and today is known as Schlumberger Data and Consulting Services. He was a Schlumberger Fellow and served as a production and reservoir engineering advisor to the company's management until retiring to rejoin the Texas A&M faculty.
Dr. Holditch is recognized as an industry leader in the evaluation and stimulation of low permeability reservoirs. The author of more than 120 technical articles, he has contributed to three textbooks and delivered hundreds of presentations to industry groups.
His career includes extensive service to the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), including President, 2002; Vice President- Finance, 1998-2000; and he was a member of the B oard of Directors, 1998-2003. He also has been a Trustee of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineering (AIME).
His numerous honors include National Academy of Engineering (1995), Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (1998) and ASME Rhodes Industry Leadership Award (1999). SPE has recognized him with the Distinguished Service for Petroleum Engineering Faculty (1981), Distinguished Lecturer (1982-83), Distinguished Member (1989), the Lester C. Uren Award (1994), John Franklin Carll Award (1999), Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal (2005), and Honorary Member Award (2006).
At Texas A&M University , Dr. Holditch is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Graduates in Petroleum Engineering, and previously held the Shell Distinguished Chair and the Rob L. Adams Professorship, both in petroleum engineering.
Mr. Kenneth E. Arnold
President
K. Arnold Consulting
Ken Arnold has a BCE degree from Cornell and an MS in Civil Engineering from Tulane. He has over forty years of experience in the oil and gas industry starting in 1964 with Shell Oil Company. Ken founded Paragon Engineering Services in 1980 which was purchased by AMEC, a UK based project management and engineering services company, in 2005. He is currently Senior Executive Vice President of AMEC Paragon based in Houston and also Chief Engineer, Oil & Gas, AMEC reporting to the Managing Director in Aberdeen.
Ken is co-author of two textbooks and over 50 technical articles on project management, production facility design, and offshore safety. He has twice been chosen as a distinguished lecturer by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and is the editor of the Production Facility Volume of the SPE Petroleum Engineering Handbook. He was named 2003 Houston Engineer of the Year by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, and is a member of the Marine Board of the National Research Council.
Arnold has taught facilities engineering at the University of Houston and is a recipient of both the SPE Public Service Award and the SPE Production Engineering Award. He has received an American Petroleum Institute citation for his work in promoting offshore safety. Ken is a registered professional engineer and serves on the advisory board of the engineering schools of both Tulane University and Cornell University.
Dr. Paul F. Barbara
Richard J.V. Johnson-Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry
The University of Texas at Austin
Paul Barbara was born in New York, NY in 1953. He attended Hofstra University , earning a B.A. in 1974, and then went on to perform graduate work with R.G. Lawler at Brown University, receiving his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1978. From 1978 to 1980 he carried out postdoctoral work at Bell Laboratories. He joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 1980, achieving the rank of full professor in 1990.
In 1995 Dr. Barbara was named 3M-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. In 1998 he moved to the University of Texas, Austin to fill the Richard J.V. Johnson Welch Chair in Chemistry, which he holds presently along with title, Director of the Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology. He is currently a Senior Editor of Accounts of Chemical Research, and a Past Chair of the Division of Physical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.
Dr. Barbara was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999, a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1993, a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science in 2004 and in to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. Other awards include an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1983), a Presidential Young Investigator award (1984), the George Taylor Distinguished Research Award (1990), a NSF Creativity Award in 1998, the 2002 Interamerican Photochemical Society Award, the JPA award in 2004, and over 35 named and plenary lectures.
Dr. Barbara's research interests include nanoscience, nanotechnology, ultrafast chemical reaction dynamics in solution, radiation chemistry, photochemistry femtosecond spectroscopy, near field scanning optical microscopy, and single molecule spectroscopy. He has published over 210 articles and book chapters.
Dr. Arthur L. Beaudet
Professor and Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Beaudet received a B.S. in Biology magna cum laude from College of the Holy Cross in 1963 and his M.D. cum laude from Yale in 1967. He then did two years of pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins and spent two years as a Research Associate at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda before going to Baylor College of Medicine in 1971, where he has remained to the present. Dr. Beaudet has published over 200 original research articles in diverse aspects of mammalian genetics. His contributions included the demonstration of mutations in cultured somatic cells in the 1970s at a time when such evidence was still considered novel. He published extensively on inborn errors of metabolism, particularly on urea cycle disorders. His group was the first to describe uniparental disomy in humans in 1988. He has had long-standing interests in somatic gene therapy and in cystic fibrosis. More recently his major focus has been on genomic imprinting as it relates to Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes, including identification of the gene causing Angelman syndrome.
Dr. Beaudet is well-known as one of the editors of the Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease tome for the 6 th through 8 th editions, and he has served on many editorial boards and national review panels. He was President of the American Society of Human Genetics in 1998 and is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Beaudet is currently the Henry and Emma Meyer Distinguished Service Professor and Chair in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. William R. Brinkley
Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Brinkley's career in cell biology and academic medicine spans a period of over 40 years. His research has focused largely on tumor cell biology with emphasis on the structural and molecular basis of mitosis and chromosomes stability/instability in normal and cancer cell division. His laboratory carried out pioneering work on mitotic spindle assembly and function and regulation. He and his laboratory developed and perfected many techniques for light and electron microscopy and are credited largely with pioneering the first use of immunofluorescence to identify dynamics of cytoskeletal proteins in ekaryotic cells, especially the tubulin/microtubules components of the mitotic spindle and cytoplasmic complex. In addition to research and education, his service has been largely involved with science policy and advocacy at the local, state and national level to encourage students and colleagues to become "good citizens of science" at every opportunity.
Dr. C. Thomas Caskey
Director, Institute of Molecular Medicine
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
C. Thomas Caskey is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, and Duke University Medical School. He has received numerous academic and industry-related honors. His genetic research documented the Universality of the Genetic Code, discovered the mechanism of peptide chain termination, identified the genetic basis of 10 major heritable diseases, opened the understanding of triplet repeat diseases (Fragile X, myotonic dystrophy and others) to genetic �anticipation�, developed the STR method of personal identification (now used worldwide) for forensic studies, and developed a viral vector vaccine for HIV (now in Phase III at Merck).
Dr. Caskey is currently the Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston . He has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Cogene Biotech Ventures, Ltd., Senior Vice President, Human Genetics and Vaccines Discovery at Merck Research Laboratories, West Point , Pa. and President of the Merck Genome Research Institute. He serves as an Adjunct Professor, Department of Molecular & Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He is past President of the American Society of Human Genetics, Human Genome Organization, and TAMEST. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Caskey is on the Board of Directors of Lexicon Genetics, Odyssey Thera, Envivo, Argolyn, and MAS.
Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa
President
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Dr. Francisco Cigarroa’s academic career began at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1995 focused on the disciplines of pediatric surgery and multi-organ transplantation. His research interests, while active in pediatric surgery, were centered on the role of fetal growth inhibitors affecting the growth of targeted neoplasms. In the area of transplantation, his focus was on improving the number of available organ donors through splitting techniques and living related liver donors all aimed at saving children’s lives. During his tenure as a full-time surgeon at the Health Science Center, he revived academic pediatric surgery and started the pediatric multi-organ transplantation program including intestinal transplants. He has published in peer review journals in these surgical disciplines.
In 2000, Dr. Cigarroa was appointed President of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He has focused much of his attention on growing the research strengths of the University with a more than doubling of its sponsored research since 2000 and has established a world recognized aging research institute and imaging center. He has also markedly increased the amount of modern research space. In addition, Dr. Cigarroa has focused much of his attention on addressing access to health professional education as well as health disparities resulting in the establishment of regional health campuses in Laredo, Edinburg, and Harlingen, Texas. These efforts have resulted in national recognition. Last year, the Health Science Center was recognized as the number one public institution in the continental United States in relation to Hispanic graduates from medical school. Dr. Cigarroa is recognized for increasing the Health Science Center’s success across education, clinical service and research throughout South Texas. He remains an active transplantation surgeon.
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) awarded Dr. Cigarroa its highest university award, the Dr. Ignacio Chavez Medal of Merit. Cigarroa was also inducted into the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico in 2006.
Dr. Kenneth I. Shine
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
The University of Texas System
Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., a cardiologist and physiologist, earned his medical degree in 1961 from Harvard Medical School. Before joining The University of Texas System, Dr. Shine was founding director and senior policy fellow of the Center for Domestic and International Health Security of the RAND Corporation, where he studied public health preparedness, bioterrorism, stress and health in the context of American foreign policy. He has had a decades-long career in heart research and medical education, serving as a teacher, clinician, research scientist and administrator. Dr. Shine was a professor at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine, and served from 1986 to 1992 as dean and provost for medical science at UCLA.
He is a professor of medicine emeritus at the UCLA School of Medicine, and is currently the UT System executive vice chancellor for health affairs. For the six UT System health components, Dr. Shine oversees a combined $6.1 billion budget, academic planning and programs, health care delivery, personnel, and facilities planning and construction.
The Institute of Medicine elected Dr. Shine to membership in 1988, and he served as the organization's president from 1992 to 2002. He was president of the American Heart Association from 1985 to 1986, and is currently chair of the Food and Drug Administration's Scientific Advisory Committee.
Dr. Max D. Summers
Distinguished Professor
Endowed Chair in Agricultural Biotechnology
Texas A&M University
Max D. Summers, who holds the Endowed Chair in Agricultural Biotechnology, is a Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University with academic appointments in the departments of Biology, Entomology, and Biochemistry and Biophysics. Current research focuses on the function of a newly discovered membrane-associated isoform of importin-alpha during the facilitated sorting of integral membrane proteins to the cell inner nuclear membrane (INM). This unique translocon-associated protein is being studied for its role in recognition of INM-destined membrane proteins and its ability to function both co- and posttranslationally during facilitated protein sorting and trafficking. M. Summers is known for his early studies on the molecular biology of baculoviruses and the seminal and enabling technology that resulted in the development of the Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS). The BEVS is used world wide as a highly effective eukaryotic expression system for basic research, gene discovery and the commercial development and production of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and research reagents. Thousands of structurally and functionally authentic recombinant proteins have been expressed using this system, of particular note has been the recent notices for the pending marketing of a prostate cancer vaccine (Provengetm, Dendreon), a Papilloma Virus Vaccine (Ceravixtm, GlaxoSmithKline) and a non egg-based Flu vaccine (FluBIØktm, Protein Sciences).
Dr. Harry L. Swinney
Sid Richardson Foundation Regents Chair
Department of Physics
The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Harry Swinney earned his Ph.D. in physics from the John Hopkins University in 1968. He served on the faculties of New York University (1971-73) and the City College of the City University of New York (1973-78) before joining the Physics Department of The University of Texas at Austin in 1978. Dr. Swinney's research has always focused on conceptually simple table-top laboratory studies of the dynamics and transitions in the behavior of physical and chemical systems.
Dr. Swinney currently holds the Sid Richardson Foundation Regents Chair and is founding director of the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, which researches the behavior of systems that are driven far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Dr. Swinney has conducted pioneering studies of chaos, pattern formation, and turbulence in fluids, chemical reactions, and granular media (e.g., sand). Current studies are examining the irregular (fractal) patterns of oil-water interfaces, fluid flow through granular beds (as in refinery cat crackers), and the spreading of pollutants and nutrients in oceanic and atmospheric type flows.
In 1992, the National Academy of Sciences elected Dr. Swinney to membership. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Physical Society.
The American Physical Society also awarded Dr. Swinney with the Fluid Dynamics Prize in 1995 for "outstanding contributions to fundamental fluid dynamics research." He won the Career Research Excellence Award from UT-Austin in 1997 for maintaining superior research programs over many years at the university. He also belongs to the "Society of Scholars" of John Hopkins University, his alma mater.
Dr. Richard A. Tapia
University Professor
Directory of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education
Maxfield-Oshman Professor of Engineering
Rice University
Dr. Richard A. Tapia, a mathematician and professor, in 1967 earned his mathematics Ph.D. from the University of California , Los Angeles . He has a 39-year career in mathematics research and education, serving as a professor at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison , Stanford University, his current post at Rice University and current adjunct positions at the University of Houston and the Baylor College of Medicine.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Tapia serves as associate director of graduate studies and founding director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education. He has devoted himself to outreach programs that excel in recruiting women and underrepresented minority students to the university's Ph.D. programs in mathematical sciences. Dr. Tapia is known for his research in the computational and mathematical sciences.
He has authored or co-authored two books and over 80 mathematical research papers. He was the first Hispanic elected to the National Academy of Engineering, served as a President Clinton appointee to the National Science Board from 1996-2002, and has served as chair of the National Research Council's Board on Higher Education and Workforce. He is the chair of the Advisory Committee for the Houston Independent School District 's National Science Foundation Urban Systemic Initiative.
Dr. Tapia holds honorary doctorates from Carnegie Mellon University and The Colorado School of Mines. In 2004, Dr. Tapia won the "Distinguished Service to the Profession" award from both national mathematics societies , the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and The American Mathematical Society and the same year he won The Public Service Award from his alma mater UCLA. In 2005, Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology Magazine named him one of the 50 most important Hispanics in Technology and Business. He has also won numerous awards for his commitment to public service and advancing underrepresented minorities in education. Currently two national conferences carry his name.
Dr. James J. Truchard
President, CEO and Founder
National Instruments, Inc.
Dr. James Truchard, National Instruments President and CEO, co-founded the company in 1976 while working at The University of Texas at Austin. Under Truchard's leadership, NI has pioneered the development of virtual instrumentation software and hardware that has revolutionized the way engineers approach measurement and automation applications. As NI has grown from a three-man team to a global organization with more than 4,000 employees, Truchard has led the company with a conservative, deliberate approach that has yielded steady company success. He has incited innovation, growth, and expansion in a highly successful, worldwide enterprise. As a result, NI has seen 29 years of growth in its 30-year history. Truchard’s long-term course for NI equally balances the success of its customers, employees, shareholders, and suppliers. Truchard and his management team have created such a winning corporate culture that FORTUNE magazine has named NI as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America for the past eight years. In 2004 Dr. Truchard was named University of Texas Distinguished Engineering Graduate. In 2007, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Ellen S. Vitetta
Director, Cancer Immunobiology Center Professor of Microbiology
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Vitetta is Professor of Microbiology, Director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center , and holder of the Sheryle Simmons Patigian Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunobiology and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. She is an immunologist who does translational (�bench to bedside�) research. She has published over 475 papers, edited several books, and is a co-inventor on 12 issued patents. She and her colleagues first described IgD on the surface of murine B cells and she was the co-discoverer of IL-4. Her group demonstrated that IL-4 was a �switch� factor for antibody. Over the past two decades, she has developed antibody-based �biological missiles� to destroy cancer cells and cells infected with HIV. These novel therapeutics have been evaluated in tissue culture, in animals and, since 1988, in >300 humans. In 2001, Dr. Vitetta developed a vaccine against ricin which completed testing in 15 human volunteers in 2005. The vaccine was safe and elicited neutralizing antibodies.
Dr. Vitetta has been the recipient of the Pierce Immunotoxin Award, 15 Faculty Teaching Awards, the FASEB Excellence in Science Award, the American Society of Microbiology Abbott Clinical Immunology Award, The American Association of Immunogists Excellence in Mentoring Award and the American Association of Cancer Research Rosenthal Prize. Dr. Vitetta was the 1993-94 president of the American Association of Immunologists. In 2004, she became a founding member of UT Southwestern's newly established Southwestern Academy of Teachers and the UT Academy of Health Science Education, 2006
In 2004, Dr. Vitetta's former graduate student, Dr. Linda Buck, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine with Dr. Richard Axel. Dr. Buck is the first alumna of the graduate school to receive this honor. In 2006, Dr. Vitetta was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame by Governor Rick Perry.
Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi
Professor and Investigator
Baylor College of Medicine
Howard Hughes Medical institute
Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi started her medical education at the American University of Beirut before she transferred to Meharry Medical College where she earned her degree in 1979. She completed residency training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology at the Baylor College of Medicine, and decided to pursue research training and a career as a physician-scientist after seeing children with neurological diseases. She joined the faculty of Baylor in 1988.
Dr. Zoghbi is a professor in the departments of Pediatrics, Neuroscience, Neurology, and Molecular and Human genetics. Dr. Zoghbi uses genetic and cell biological approaches to study devastating neurological disorders. Her research has helped uncover the gene that causes Rett syndrome and the genes responsible for the neurodegenerative spinocerebellar ataxias. Dr. Zoghbi also identified the gene responsible for the development of inner-ear hair cells essential for hearing. Her career is dedicated to understanding the mechanisms underlying these diseases in hope of developing effective therapies.
Dr. Zoghbi serves on the Board of Directors of the Mcknight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Rett Syndrome Association, the medical and research advisory board of the National Ataxia Foundation, and is a member of the Advisory Council of the NINDS at the NIH. She also serves on the Editorial Boards of Science, PloS Biology, and Neuron.
In 1996, the Society of Pediatric Research awarded Dr. Zoghbi with the E. Mead Johnson Award, the nation's most distinguished pediatric research award. She won the Sidney Carter Award in 1998 from the American Academy of Neurology for �outstanding work in the field of child neurology and developmental neurobiology.� That same year the National Institutes of Health awarded her with the Javits Award for �exceptional scientific excellence and productivity in research� supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She is the youngest professor and first female from Baylor to be elected to the Institute of Medicine and to the National Academy of Sciences.