UT Brownsville (UTB)

UTB’s A-PRIME TIME mission is to provide accessible and affordable pre-health professional education of high quality that will meet regional and national needs through a novel and vibrant program of medical training to prepare students from the principally Hispanic population for successful completion of medical school. The program will (1) develop an innovative and rigorous curriculum designed to fully integrate academic and clinical experiences through all years of training and (2) support access for a diverse population through multiple entry and exit points to promote efficiency in the education of physicians and other health professionals.

An integrated and competency-based organ systems approach to medical education will be provided by the College of Biomedical Sciences and Health Professions at The University of Texas at Brownsville in collaboration with the A-PRIME TIME consortium: a member of the UT System TRANSFORMATION OF MEDICAL EDUCATION (TIME) Initiative.

UTB is developing and implementing a new model for medical education appropriate for the 21st century. In partnership with the A-PRIME TIME Consortium members (UTEP, UTPA and medical schools at UTHSCH and UTMB) and under the auspices of the TIME Initiative, UTB is committed to provide a pre-health professions program that will produce a cadre of highly-qualified and compassionate students prepared to succeed in a shortened and collaborative undergraduate/ medical school curriculum. Students admitted to the program will enter a structured system with a continuum of academic and experiential learning opportunities with exposure to research and medical/health professionals. In this program, students will progress from a foundational year to a two year innovative organ systems curriculum and finally to a swirled, or shared, environment where faculty of both UTB and its partner medical institutions (UTMB and UTHSCH) are heavily involved in the education process. Throughout their learning, students will have the opportunity to receive instruction from practitioners in the field and gain a holistic understanding of health care. The students’ ability to apply learned knowledge and skills will be continually assessed by a competency based curriculum, jointly developed by the A-PRIME TIME partnership. The pre-health professions program leads to a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and admission to a partner medical school.

Co-Directors:

Nelson, Eldon, PhD, Interim Dean, CBSHP
Office: BRHP 1.101 / Phone: 956-882-5000
email: eldon.nelson@utb.edu

Lehker, Michael, PhD, Professor, Associate Dean
Office: BRHP 1.112 / Phone: 956-882-7960
email: michael.lehker@utb.edu

Faculty:

Rodriguez, Hugo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biomedicine
Office: BRHP 1.124 / Phone: 956-882-5046
email: hugo.rodriguez@utb.edu

Schwarzbach, Andrea, PhD, Associate Professor, Biomedicine
Office: BRHP 1.121 / Phone: 956-882-5057
email: andrea.schwarzbach@utb.edu

Stern, Gustavo, PhD, Director of the Office of Health Professional Careers
Office: Set B 2.306 / Phone: 956-882-5036
email: gustavo.stern@utb.edu

DeWitt, Marguerite, M.D., Lecturer, Criminal Justice
Office: MCR South 328
email: marguerite.dewitt@utb.edu

Ermolinsky, Boris, PhD, Assistant Professor
Office: BRHP 1.123
email: boris.ermolinsky@utb.edu

Garrido-Sanabria, Emilio, PhD, Associate Professor, Biomedicine
Office: BRHP 2.116
email: emilio.garrido@utb.edu

Nair, Saraswathy, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biomedicine
Office: BRHP 1.120
email: saraswathy.nair@utb.edu

Pelly, Lorenzo, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor
Medical Director, Respiratory Care/Emergency Medical Science
Office: BRHP 1.120 / Phone: 956-882-5000
email: pellymd@gmail.com

Zarei, Masoud, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biomedicine
Office: BRHP 2.112
email: masoud.zarei@utb.edu