Awards and Appointments

• By Suzanna Cisneros
• August 3, 2018

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) faculty, staff and students were recognized for efforts to improve health care throughout the world. The following faculty have been recognized in 2018. 

School of Medicine

 

Ted Hartman, M.D, former dean of the School of Medicine, was recognized in June at the American Orthopedic Association meeting in Boston for his contribution to the field of orthopaedics. He was the chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery before serving as dean from 1982 to 1989. In 1981, he was elected a director of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and served in this position for nine years.

 

 

Leslie Shen, Ph.D., Department of Pathology, was accepted into the Drexel Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. The program has been developed for senior women faculty at the associate or full professor level who demonstrate the greatest potential for assuming executive leadership positions at academic health centers within the next five years.

 

P. Hemachandra Reddy, Ph.D., executive director of the Garrison Institute on Aging, was honored for his contributions to neurology and brain disorders at the Second International Conference on Neurology and Brain Disorders in June. Currently, Reddy and his lab members are working on how to develop drugs that can enhance synaptic sprouting and maintain mitochondrial ATP levels at synapses of Alzheimer’s disease neurons.  

 

Samuel Prien, Ph.D., was selected by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) Administrative Council to receive the CASNR Teaching Award. Prien, a professor in the TTUHSC Department of Ob/Gyn, has a joint appointment as a professor in the Texas Tech University’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences. As part of its assisted reproductive technology program, Prien works with TTUHSC's physicians and reproductive endocrinologist in the treatment of infertility patients. As an expert in the field of reproductive physiology and technologies, he has became a mentor to students from both universities.
 
The Board of Regents approved the following promotions and tenures:
 
Granting Academic Tenure
George Brindley, M.D., professor, Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation
Alan Santos, M.D., MPH, professor, Anesthesiology
 
Changes in Academic Rank and Granting of Tenure
Timothy Benton, M.D., professor, Family & Community Medicine
Ronald Cook, D.O., MBA, professor, Family & Community Medicine
Cheryl Erwin, J.D., Ph.D., professor, Medical Education
 
Changes in Academic Rank
Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Nimat Alam, M.D., associate professor, Family & Community Medicine
Srilatha Alapati, M.D., associate professor, Pediatrics
Steven Brooks, M.D., associate professor, Surgery
Thomas Cammack, M.D., professor, Urology
Cyrus Caroom, M.D., associate professor, Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation
Lauren Cobbs, M.D., associate professor, Medical Education
Cornelia de Riese, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Johnnie Faircloth, M.D., associate professor, Pediatrics
Dinesh Gowda, M.D., associate professor, Pediatrics
Ellen Hampsten, M.D., associate professor, Family & Community Medicine
Guangchen Ji, Ph.D., research associate professor, Pharmacology & Neuroscience
Kelly Klein, M.D., associate professor, Family & Community Medicine
Bhargavi Kola, M.D., associate professor, Pediatrics
James Maher, M.D., professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Scott Milton, M.D., associate professor, Internal Medicine
Felix Morales, M.D., associate professor, Family & Community Medicine
Michael Phy, D.O., professor, Internal Medicine
Brian Pomeroy, M.D., associate professor, Pediatrics
Dixon Santana, M.D., professor, Surgery
Randall Sheets, M.D., associate Professor, Family & Community Medicine
James Tarbox, MD, associate professor, Internal Medicine
David Trotter, Ph.D., associate professor, Family & Community Medicine
 
Tenured Faculty
Jannette Dufour, Ph.D., professor, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Kendra Rumbaugh, Ph.D., professor, Surgery
Ina Urbatsch, Ph.D., professor, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Simon Williams, Ph.D., professor, Medical Education
 
School of Nursing
 
The AHNA awarded its prestigious Journal of Holistic Nursing (JHN) Writing Award for Practice to Myrna L. Armstrong, Ed.D., R.N., and Darlene Lacy, Ph.D., RNC. The purpose of the JHN Writing Award for Practice is to recognize excellence in writing and its contribution to advancing the scholarship of holistic nursing in practice.

 

Armstrong was a professor and regional dean for the School of Nursing and now is a Professor Emerita. She was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in 1994. She served in the US Army Reserves for 29 years, was activated for the Desert Storm conflict, and achieved the rank of Colonel.

 

 

 

Lacy is currently the RN to BSN program director for the School of Nursing. Although nursing education is her primary focus, care of the elderly continues to be an area of interest and was the focus of her doctoral study, Life Review of the Terminally Ill Elderly.

 

The School of Nursing Staff Council awarded the School of Nursing Staff Awards in May 2018. The awards recognize staff who make significant contributions to the School of Nursing in the following categories:
 
Leadership Award – Lauren Sullivan, Ed.D.
Community Engagement Award – Kyle Chapman
Creative Innovator Award – Lindsay Winti
Customer Service Award – Sally Short

Becky Burpo, DNP, program director for the Nurse Midwifery Program, and Patricia Olenick,Ph.D., a professor in the program, were named as inductees into the Fellowship in the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) in May. Fellowship in the American College of Nurse-Midwives (FACNM) is an honor bestowed upon those midwives whose demonstrated leadership, clinical excellence, outstanding scholarship and professional achievement have merited special recognition both within and outside of the midwifery profession.
 
School of Health Professions
 
Sue Ann Lee, Ph.D., received the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship award to Vietnam. Lee is an associate professor in the Child Phonology Laboratory in the School of Health Professions Center for Speech, Language and Hearing Research.
 
LesLee Taylor, Ph.D., program director of the School of Health Professions Master of Athletic Training Program, received the Most Distinguished Athletic Training Award from the Southwest Athletic Trainer’s Association (SWATA). The award is presented for outstanding service to SWATA.
 
Department of Laboratory Sciences and Primary Care:
Ericka Hendrix, Ph.D. – NAACLS member of RCAP- review committee for accredited programs
ASCP BOC examination committee member for Molecular Biology
 
Christina Robohm, M.S. – TTUHSC President’s Award for Excellence in Interprofessional Teamwork PA Education Association Mission Advancement Commission for Diversity and Inclusion, Vice-Chair ARC-PA Site Visitor
 
Ashley Bell, MMS – PA Education Association, Future Educator Development Steering Committee member
 
PA Students:
Winnie Chau – Texas Academy of Physician Assistants 2018 Student Award Winner
Rebekah Friddell – Student Academy of the AAPA Assembly of Representatives – TTUHSC PA program representative
Kendall Elwood – Texas Academy of Physician Assistants – TTUHSC PA program student representative
Barbara Sawyer – University Distinguished Faculty award
 
Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences:
Sue Ann Lee, Ph.D. –Executive Committee, Asia Pacific Society of Speech, Language, and Hearing
 
Susan Sneed, M.S. –Vice president South Plains Speech-Language-Hearing Association
 
Hesper Holland, M.S. –Alpha Eta Secretary/President-Elect
Convention Program Committee, Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Task Force, Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association
 
Tori Gustafson, Au.D. –Elected vice president for Audiology, Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association
 
Brittany Hall, M.S. – Appointed Councilor for Education and Scientific Affairs, Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association
 
Lisa Gore, M.S. – Evidence-Based Practices Committee, Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association
 

Candace Hicks, Ph.D.– American Speech-Language – Hearing Association (Audiology) Academic Affairs Board She will serve on the national board that establishes academic policies and addresses university issues for the profession of audiology.
 
Department of Clinical Counseling and Mental Health:
Evans Spears, Ph.D.– Appointed to the Texas Tech Mental Health Institute (TTMHI) Advisory Committee
 
MSAC:
Zach Sneed, Ph.D.– Appointed as Professional Subject Matter Expert with the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and also to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Forum on Minority Addictions Counseling: Building a Treatment and Training Workforce
 
Tanya Martinez-Cardenas – Student appointment to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Forum on Minority Addictions Counseling: Building a Treatment and Training Workforce
 
MSCR:
Rebecca Sametz, Ph.D.– Appointed president of the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA) Job Placement and Development Division
 
MSMH:
David Schroeder, Ph.D.– Appointed as co-chair of the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE) Undergraduate Study Committee and also as a reviewer for Teaching and Supervision in Counseling journal
 
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences:
ScD students:
Elaina Manolis– Board Certified Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy; July 2018
 
Katherine Wilford– 2017 USAHS Board of Directors Award for Excellence in Teaching
 
Jason Ashby–Vice chair of the Ohio PTA Educators Consortium; July 2018
 
MOT faculty:
Sandra Whisner, Ph.D.– 2016-present, Texas Occupational Therapy Association, Board Member and Chair for Great Plains West District (elected position)
2016-present, Texas Occupational Therapy Foundation, Secretary (appointed position)
 
Dawndra Sechrist, Ph.D.– 2017-present Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) On-Site Reviewer
2017-present National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc (NBCOT), Selected to participate in the OTR Item Enhancement Team Meetings to finalize items for the NBCOT certification exam
2017-present 2018 National Sex and Gender Education Summit Scientific Planning Committee Member
 
Matt Geddie, Ph.D.– 2015-present, American Occupational Therapy Association, Critically Appraised Topic Reviewer
2017-present, Journal of Allied Health Reviewer
 
Laurie Stelter, OTR– 2018, American Occupational Therapy Association, Academic Fieldwork Leadership Council, ad-hoc  committee appointment
2017-present, Texas Occupational Therapy Association, Education Chair for Great Plains West District, (appointed position)
 
Cynthia Tiongco, OTR– 2017-present, American Occupational Therapy Association, AOTA Conference Proposal Reviewer
2017-present, Texas Occupational Therapy Association, Development Chair for Great Plains West District, (appointed position)
 
Karen Aranha, Ph.D.– 2017-present, American Occupational Therapy Association, AOTA Conference Proposal Reviewer
2017-present, Journal of Allied Health Reviewer
2018, World Federation of Occupational Therapy, Conference Proposal Reviewer
 
ScD faculty:
Phil Sizer, Ph.D.– Recipient of the TTU System Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Research Award, January, 2018; Co-Recipient of the TTU System President’s Innovation Award, December, 2017; TTU i-Launch Competition- Second place, TKQuant, LLC., TTU Innovation Hub, May 2018; TTU i-Launch “Minute to Pitch It” Competition- Third place, TKQuant, LLC TTU Innovation Hub, May 2018; TKQuant, LLC., Lubbock Chamber of Commerce Award of Excellence June 2018
 
Brad Allen, PT – Chair of the South Plains District of the Texas Physical Therapy
Association
 
DPT faculty:
Mikala Reznik, PT – Chair of the Permian Basin District of the Texas Physical Therapy Association
 
Neeraj Kumar, Ph.D.  – Membership chair of the Permian Basic District of the Texas Physical
Therapy Association
 
Gary Kearns, PT – Member of the Integrative Medicine Symposium Planning Committee
 
Doug Dendy, PT– Member of the Advisory Board for Cycle for Life Project
 
Athletic Training:
Toby Brooks, Ph.D. – Director of Education for the National Sports Performance Association (NSPA) – appointed July 2018
 
DJ Gililland  – Selected as a mentee in the NATA Foundation faculty Mentor Program for 2018-2019
 
LesLee Taylor, Ph.D. – Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), June 2018;
President, Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)
and  2018 Meritorious Graduate, Chapman High School