Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso Announces Research/Biomedical Sciences Interim Associate Dean

Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical sciences
at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) at El Paso, has been named interim associate dean for the Department of Research and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Lakshmanaswamy succeeds outgoing associate dean Charles C. Miller III, Ph.D.

“Dr. Lakshmanaswamy is a long-serving basic science researcher at TTUHSC, who has been an integral part of the development of the research programs here over the past nine years,” Miller said. “He understands the research priorities of the school and will provide excellent continuity of leadership as the research program moves into its next phase.”

Lakshmanaswamy joined TTUHSC El Paso as an assistant professor in 2004 after being recruited from the University of California in Berkeley, Calif., where he was a specialist and research endocrinologist in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology. Lakshmanaswamy has served as basic science research director since 2009.  One of Lakshmanaswamy’s major research interests is addressing the most prevalent cancers affecting the Hispanic population. His breast cancer research has earned him funding from different agencies.

Miller is returning to his hometown of Houston to assume a leadership role as associate dean for Health Services Research and Healthcare Quality at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. He will retain an adjunct professor appointment at TTUHSC El Paso and continue working with the campus through a partnership with the UT-Houston Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences.

“Dr. Miller was recruited from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston in 2009 to build a strong research base for the TTUHSC El Paso campus, and he exceeded all expectations,” said Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., vice president for health affairs and founding dean of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. “We thank him for his dedication to our mission and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

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