Vol. 33 | April 2024 – 7 minute read

UT Southwestern has a rich portfolio of faculty using artificial intelligence (AI) applications to further basic, translational, and clinical research. Last year, President Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., established an advisory group and tasked its members with evaluating the current state of AI at UT Southwestern and providing recommendations on how to navigate this new frontier. 

The group, led by Eric Peterson, M.D., M.P.H., Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, and Joan Conaway, Ph.D., Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research, identified five major work streams – IT Capacities, Data Curation, Workforce Education, AI Granting Mechanisms, and AI Organization and Oversight – and delivered actionable recommendations. 

• Invest on the foundations of AI to augment our computing power, data storage capacity, and data and image curation and phenotyping.
• Partner with our Health System affiliates on data structure and curation.
• Expand of our AI training programs so that faculty and staff understand the possibilities as well as the potential challenges and limitations of AI across our mission areas.
• Stimulate AI development on campus through a series of open call and targeted use, rapid cycle pilot grants. 
• Build organizational structures to enhance data governance, oversee AI model performance, and support strategies to speed adoption of AI into our Health System.
• Create an AI Strategic Oversight Committee to ensure AI is appropriately integrated into all our mission areas. 

These recommendations will inform our institution’s continuous engagement with AI as we seek to improve education, research, and clinical care while minimizing potential ethical, social, and legal risks associated with this rapidly evolving field. 

Match Day is a milestone for our Medical School students and an important day for UT Southwestern’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program tracks. It is both a send-off of those who are stepping into residency and a welcome to those who will further their training in our clinical departments. 

Student Match

Roughly 97% of UT Southwestern Medical School students matched to residency programs – well above the national average of 93.5%. Of the 224 students who matched in the Class of 2024, 53 will complete residencies at UT Southwestern, 93 will train in Texas, and the rest will disperse to institutions across the country.

Most popular specialty selections for UT Southwestern students included internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, anesthesiology, and family medicine. View the full list of student matches by specialty and a recap of events.

Successful Matches for JAMP Students

For many prospective medical students from economically disadvantaged families, the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP), makes medical school possible. JAMP is a state-funded initiative that helps students from a variety of backgrounds navigate the unknowns of the educational system and gain valuable experience in the field.

Six UT Southwestern JAMP students matched to residency programs across the nation in competitive specialties such as urology, pediatrics, and plastic surgery.

GME Match

UT Southwestern offered 324 GME positions across 42 GME program tracks. Of those, 319 were filled, representing a 98% fill rate.

A total of 187 trainees will move to Texas from around the country. The incoming class has 88 students who graduated from the UT System, including 50 who completed medical school at UT Southwestern. A group of 44 international graduates will join our GME program tracks.  

On Feb. 27, W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of the Medical School, hosted a reception to welcome Sherry C. Huang, M.D., Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Education. Dr. Huang succeeds Charles Ginsburg, M.D., who has served the institution most capably for 50 years.

As she steps into her new role, Dr. Huang carries the baton forward, building upon the foundation laid by Dr. Ginsburg and bringing fresh perspectives to further advance UT Southwestern’s educational mission.

On March 18, a retirement reception was held to recognize Dr. Ginsburg’s impressive career and achievements. Among his innumerable contributions, he championed the UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Simulation Center, one of the largest in the nation, and the Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern.

The Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be implementing major changes to the peer review process for research project grants and National Research Service Award (NRSA) fellowship applications submitted on or after Jan. 25, 2025.

Noni Byrnes, Ph.D., Director of the NIH Center for Scientific Review, will visit UT Southwestern to go over the efforts to improve the NIH peer review process and take questions. She will specifically discuss NIH plans for a simplified review framework and enhancements for the peer review of NRSA fellowship applications.

Researchers are invited to attend Dr. Byrnes’ seminar on April 23 at 10 a.m. in person at the T. Boone Pickens Medical Education & Conference Center (NG3.112) or virtually via Zoom.

LEVEL Up, a new program for faculty members stepping up to the next level of leadership, is accepting applications through April 15.

Associate Professors and Professors who are already in leadership roles may apply. The curriculum is directed at those who have financial responsibilities and who may participate or supervise recruitment and retention of faculty.

Sessions will be held on the first Tuesday of the month starting in October. For more information, email the Office of Faculty Development.

All employees, faculty members, and applicable contractors must complete UT Southwestern’s mandatory annual compliance training bundle in Taleo Learn by April 17.

Part 1: Ethics, Compliance, and Our Organization’s Expectations of the Workforce

Part 2: Privacy & Information Security Training

Those who do not will have email access restricted and face disciplinary action, possibly including termination. If you have questions, email the Office of Institutional Compliance.

The Focus on Faculty portal (VPN required) allows faculty to create their electronic curriculum vitae (CV) and export it to comply with UT Southwestern’s Promotion and Tenure template and the National Institutes of Health’s biographical sketch format.

This CV engine integrates with source of truth systems to import organizational data and keep them up to date. Learn more about this resource and send any questions to focus@utsouthwestern.edu. 

13th Annual Alfred G. Gilman Symposium on Education

This hybrid event is designed to improve the teaching skills of participating faculty and enhance students’ and residents’ clinical learning experiences. For more information, visit the Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) website.

• April 3 at 7:30 a.m. Register to attend.

Carole Mendelson, Ph.D., Visiting Professorship

The Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee (WISMAC) invites you to attend the Visiting Professorship featuring Catherine M. Bollard, M.B.Ch.B., M.D. Her keynote lecture is titled "Virus-Specific T Cell Therapies – Broadening Applicability."

• April 3 at 4 p.m. Register to attend.

3rd Pak Symposium on Mineral Metabolism Research: Urolithiasis 2024

This event is held in honor of Charles Pak, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and former Director of the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, who has devoted himself to the study of kidney stones and osteoporosis. View the event program.

• April 5 at 8 a.m. Register to attend.

29th Annual Texas Forum for Reproductive Sciences

Participate in an enriching exchange of ideas during this annual forum, which fosters collaboration among basic and clinical reproductive scientists from institutions across the region.

• April 18–19. Register to attend.

Promotion and Tenure: Clinician-Educator/Clinician Track

Join this interactive discussion of criteria evaluated for promotion in the Clinician-Educator/Clinician Track, including research independence, national reputation, and teaching excellence.

• April 19 at noon. Register to attend.

What’s New in GI 2024 Symposium

Hear the latest updates on recognizing symptoms and using current data to establish diagnoses and formulate appropriate treatment plans for the management of gastrointestinal diseases. This event is hosted by the Department of Internal Medicine: Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases and the Office of Continuing Education.

• April 20 at 7:20 a.m. Register to attend.

Call for Applications: SWAT Small Grants

The Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) Small Grants Program is accepting proposals for education-research projects related to UT Southwestern schools’ education priorities. Faculty members or trainees working in collaboration with a UTSW faculty member can apply.

• Submit your application by May 1.