New Library Reflection Room Dedicated During Fiesta Celebration
2nd Annual Image of Research Winners and Awards Reception
Danny Jones Essay Winner Presents During Library Fiesta Celebration
Librarian Jonquil Feldman Announces Retirement
Korean Nursing Students Visit the Nixon Historical Library
Librarians Present Webinar on Predatory Publishing for NNLM
Library Gallery Opening April 22, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
It’s been a little over a year since a student group led by Omar Akram came to Briscoe Library with a proposal to set aside a room for a meditation space where students would be able to pray or meditate in privacy and comfort. Thanks to many campus collaborators on the project, a room was identified and eventually transformed into a new space that was dedicated at a ribbon-cutting and reception during Briscoe Library’s Fiesta Celebration on April 11th.
Doing the honors for the ribbon-cutting were Omar Akram and Helen Fleck, SGA Secretary. Pictured below are John Kaulfus, (Chief Student Affairs Officer, Title IX Director) representing the Office of Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs, Paulina Mazurek (Director of Wellness & Professional Formation) representing the Office for Undergraduate Medical Education, and Owen Ellard Senior Director of Libraries. Attending along with many other students, faculty and staff was Arthur Campos (Architect) representing the Office of Facilities Management and many of his team who worked on the creation of the room.
The room, decorated to inspire a reflective atmosphere, also features 6 black and white photos from a collection taken by campus photographer (Creative Media Services), Brandi Jenkins.
For more information about the room, please contact Peg Seger, segerp@uthscsa.edu.
We are pleased to announce the winners of Briscoe Library’s 2nd Annual Image of Research Photography Competition!
1st Place
Kristina Andrijauskaite, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Winter’s Tale
This picture depicts zebrafish embryo which travels across the crystallized well of the tissue culture plate. There are different animal models used in scientific research. However, zebrafish have many advantages, such as its rapid development, transparency and suitability for in vivo imaging. I use zebrafish to study microgravity induced alterations on vascularization and stress responses. First, I expose them to simulated gravity and then I spend numerous hours looking at them under the microscope and uncovering the world of imagination. I believe you do not have to travel thousands of miles to capture magnificent winter images; as they can be discovered by looking through the microscope lenses in the UTHSCSA lab.
2nd Place
Elliott Moss & Alexander Hutchinson, Long School of Medicine
Hear a Murmur, Save a Life
Cardiac murmurs are found in 1-3% of newborns. Of those with a murmur, as many as half are associated with some degree of congenital anomaly of the heart. With modern day management, babies born with congenital heart defects live to adulthood about 95% of the time. Untreated, congenital heart defects are one of the leading causes of mortality in newborns. These facts help underlie the truth that detecting a murmur and deciding on a correct management plan is a vital part of caring for a neonate as a pediatrician. Unfortunately, there currently is no standardized protocol for the assessment and management of a neonatal murmur. All management decisions are made simply based on the pediatrician’s experience and intuition. Our team is working with the Pediatric Cardiology department of UT Health to implement and refine a standardized protocol for how to proceed when a murmur is auscultated in a neonatal patient by one of our pediatricians. We hope to improve neonatal health outcomes, prevent both insufficient and excessive testing, and help ease the decision-making burden on the pediatricians.
3rd Place
Breeanne Soteros, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
La Reazione Nera
The precise organization of synapses in the brain anatomically define and link the neural circuits that give rise to all our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. At every moment, synapses are formed and restructured with incredible specificity in response to each of our experiences. Our research seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms which enable the specificity of these synaptic events. We utilize various molecular, cellular and behavioral approaches to delineate the genes that govern synapse formation, maintenance and elimination in the central nervous system.
Pictured here, we see the beautifully complex structure of a Purkinje cell – made possible by “la reazione nera” (the black reaction) – a stain invented in the 1870s by the late scientist Camillo Golgi. Golgi’s stain enables the visualization of dendritic spines – fine protrusions along the dendrite where excitatory synapses occur. By use of genetic manipulation and Golgi staining, we can begin to tease apart the genes that shape the synaptic landscape throughout the lifespan.
IPE Award
Kunal Baxi (Cancer Biology), Nicole Hensch (IBMS – Cell Biology, Genetics & Molecular Medicine), and Amanda Lipsitt (Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinical Fellow)
Glow Fish Glow
This image shows a 5 day old zebrafish embryo that has been genetically modified to express red, blue, and yellow fluorescent proteins from a transgenic cassette (Brainbow). The gene encoding each fluorescent protein is flanked by two pairs of lox sites that are recognized by the Cre recombinase. Without Cre-induced recombination, the first protein (red) in the array will be expressed. Cre expression results in one of three outcomes: red (no recombination), blue (recombination event 1), or yellow (recombination event 2). When additional copies of the Brainbow cassette are inserted into a cell, these three primary colors can be mixed, thereby increasing possible color combinations. This diversity of color using a single promoter provides a powerful platform for studying a variety of biological processes such as neuronal morphology and cell lineage tracking. We use this system as a tool to study heterogeneity of cells within a soft tissue tumor (rhabdomyosarcoma) using zebrafish as a model system.
Briscoe Library’s 2nd Annual Image of Research Photography Competition came to a close with an awards reception during the library’s Fiesta Celebration on Thursday, April 11th. All entrants, Image of Research Judges, contest sponsors, students, faculty, and staff were invited to come view the entries, meet the winners, and enjoy refreshments.
During Briscoe Library’s Fiesta Celebration on April 11th, Jacob Canfield (pictured here) sparked quite a discussion about his winning essay Anti-Vax: 19th Century Insights into a Modern Healthcare Issue. (Canfield,Jacob_EssayAward_2019)
The audience of students, faculty and staff attending the presentation included Rajia Tobia, past Executive Director of the UT Health Libraries who began the essay contest (Danny Jones History of the Health Sciences Essay Award) in honor of her late husband who served as Head of Special Collections at the UT Health San Antonio Briscoe Library and who was also a Past President of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library.
The Nixon Library, located on the 5th floor of Briscoe Library, houses approximately 6,000 rare and classic texts in the history of medicine, nursing, dentistry, and other health care disciplines, dating from the 15th to early 20th centuries. The Nixon Library also houses the University Archives and a small collection of local historical documents.
Jacob’s presentation will be expanded as part of a lecture series sponsored by the Friend’s starting next fall.
Jonquil Feldman, MALS, has announced her retirement on April 30 after 21 years at Briscoe Library. She joined the library in 1998 as a Reference Librarian, and in 1999 became the Assistant to the Library Director, supporting library operations and administration. In 2006, she assumed the position of Director of Library and Outreach Services, overseeing several library units, including reference, access services, interlibrary loan, and community outreach. When the library was reorganized in 2016, she was appointed Associate Library Director.
Over the years, Jonquil has worked on a number of projects that shaped the physical spaces of the Briscoe, RAHC, and Laredo libraries. She participated in writing successful proposals for funding from the National Library of Medicine and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. She also worked on accreditation efforts for the Schools of Dentistry and Nursing, Health Professions programs, LCME, and SACS.
Prior to joining UT Health San Antonio, Jonquil worked in libraries at Harvard Medical School, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pittsburgh. She received her master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Chicago. She is a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals and a graduate of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries Leadership Fellows Program. She has published chapters and articles on health science librarianship, and has presented papers and posters at numerous conferences. She was co-chair of the Program Committee for the Medical Library Association’s Annual meeting in 2015, and also co-chair of the Association’s South Central Chapter meeting, which took place in San Antonio in 2018. Since 2007, she has served on the Editorial Board of Medical Reference Services Quarterly. In 2019, she was appointed Editor of that peer-reviewed journal, and she expects to stay busy producing four issues a year, traveling, and enjoying this new chapter in her life.
On Monday April 15, 2019, visiting nursing students and faculty from Korea toured the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library. Their visit was part of an exchange program through the School of Nursing. Several works from the rare book collection were on display, including Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing (1859), Micrographia (1667) by Robert Hooke, Darwin’s Origins of Species (1859), and Our Army Nurses (1895) by Mary A. Gardner Holland. Also on display were several historical medical instruments, including an amputation and bloodletting kit.
For more information about the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library or to schedule a visit, contact Andrea N. Schorr at schorr@uthscsa.edu or (210) 567-2403.
On April 10, 2019, Librarians Chris Gaspard and Emme Lopez presented a 60-minute webinar to the South Central Regional Medical Libraries group, which is a section of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Chris and Emme presented on the development of predatory practices, how to identify these practices, and how to make empowered decisions about a journal or publisher. The NNLM set a record with 195 attendees.
Briscoe Library takes great pride in being the site for the 2nd gallery opening for an exhibit of environmentally themed screen prints produced by local area high school students taking part in the Air Quality Academy. The academy is sponsored by UT Health San Antonio, The AETNA Foundation, La Printeria, Westside Development Corporation, ImpactSA, and the Alamo Colleges District.
Through the program, students work on their creative designs in collaboration with professionals in the fields of health science, advocacy and art. Outcomes of the program for students include:
The exhibit will be on display for the remainder of April, extending into the first part of May.
The UT Health Libraries are pleased to announce a new staff member at the Laredo Regional Campus Library. Tracy Vasquez has joined the staff as a part-time Library Specialist I. With a background in education, Tracy shares library duties with Elizabeth Ramirez to serve the needs of the campus and Laredo-area community.
While the Laredo Regional Campus Library is small in size, affiliated users and community members alike have access to all of the same resources provided by the UT Health Libraries in San Antonio.
ClinicalKey, well known for its books and journals content, offers a variety of other services. Looking for a video or image to add to your presentation? ClinicalKey has over 4 million images and over 50,000 videos available for use. Simply search and select images, insert into Presentation Maker and export into PowerPoint (with citation included).
See ClinicalKey Presentation Maker video for quick demonstration.
For a list of the newest titles at the Briscoe Library click here.
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Andrea N. Schorr, Head of Resource Management.