netic targets for treatment of congenital heart
defects and adult heart disease, illuminating the
fundamental principles of organ formation. He
and his team discovered networks of genes that
orchestrate the formation of the heart and have
shown how inherited genetic mutations in these
genes cause congenital heart disease, the most
frequent form of birth defect.
+ Cholesterol, where UT Southwestern
Students come from around the world for medical training.
The People
Making all this innovation possible are the dedicated hands and brilliant minds of the medical, educational and research professionals within this unique
institution that number almost 14,000 total, a small
city in North Texas dedicated to a more healthy human experience worldwide.
UT Southwestern has three degree-granting institutions: the Medical School, the Graduate School
of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Health
Professions. Of these, the prestigious UT Southwestern Medical School is the largest and the oldest. Each year, approximately 5,000 applications are
sent by students who wish to train at this top-flight
school, hoping to receive one of 230 student slots.
UT Southwestern graduates are regularly sought
after by the most competitive medical residency
programs.
The extension and sharing of knowledge for which
UT Southwestern is known starts with the students. Over the past four years, more than 200 students have participated in global health experiences
ranging from one week to 12 months, spanning
every continent except Antarctica. Students are also
actively engaged in the Dallas/Fort Worth community, mentoring students from local elementary
and secondary schools, coordinating health fairs,
promoting healthy lifestyles and fitness, and a host
of other activities, including supervised delivery of
healthcare services at student-run clinics.
Southwestern
Medical School by the Numbers*
(*2014-2015 school year)
953
students enrolled
242
students graduated with
MD degree
54%
male
46%
female
25%
spoke language other than English
in home while growing up
80
different undergraduate colleges
and universities in 30 states
15%
are first college graduate
in family
5,000
applications received on average
per year for 230 student slots
In addition to the physicians and scientists of
tomorrow, UT Southwestern Medical Center is
home to nationally and internationally recognized physicians and scientists, including six Nobel Laureates, 23 members of the National Academy of Sciences and 19 members of the Institute
of Medicine. Their investigations range from the
microscopic level to the whole patient and have
resulted in several notable discoveries, including
in the fields of:
+ Cardiology, where the work of Eric Olson,
Ph.D., is regarded as a major step in finding ge-
36
www.ntc-dfw.org
FALL/WINTER 2015
20
age of youngest medical student
44
age of oldest medical student
researchers have identified nearly 30 disease-causing genes, including in 1983 the gene
responsible for familial hypercholesterolemia,
an inherited condition that causes extremely
high levels of cholesterol and heart attacks at
an early age. That discovery by Michael Brown,
M.D., and Joseph Goldstein, M.D., contributed
to the pair winning the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their research uncovering the
underlying mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism. Ten years ago, researchers at UT Southwestern made the discovery that individuals
who lacked the protein PCSK9 had startlingly
low levels of LDL cholesterol, yet seemed to
suffer no ill effects from these very low levels
of “bad cholesterol.’’ Pharmaceutical companies
were immediately intrigued by the possibilities and began developing drugs that worked
as antibodies to inhibit the function of PCSK9
protein. In March 2015, the first results of
two clinical trials of PCSK9 inhibitors were
released at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, and the results were
highly encouraging.
+ Innate Immunity, for which in 2011, UT
Southwestern established the Center for the
Genetics of Host Defense, under the direction
of Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler, M.D., to accelerate the discoveries of basic research and its
applicability to patients. The fifth UTSW faculty
member to win the Nobel Prize, Dr. Beutler was
honored for the discovery of receptor proteins
that recognize disease-causing agents and activate innate immunity, the first step in the body´s
immune response.
+ T rauma, where a UT Southwestern alumnus
and faculty member, renowned neurosurgeon
Hu