About Us
Manzoor Bhat, MS, PhD, is the Vice Dean for Research at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.
Dr. Bhat is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, and holder of the Zachry Foundation Distinguished Chair in Neurosciences. Dr. Bhat’s research focus has been in the area of genetic and molecular processes that underlie neuron-glial interactions, synaptic organization and neurodegeneration. Dr. Bhat has been continuously funded by the NIH for the past two decades and has also received funding from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Simons Foundation, and the John Doran Family Foundation. He is a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Research Foundation and serves on the executive advisory committee of Target ALS. At UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Bhat led the charge to establish a Mouse Genome Engineering and Transgenic Facility, an institutional resource that creates genetically modified mouse models for UT Health San Antonio investigators.
Patrick Sung, DPhil, is Associate Dean for Research in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Dr. Sung is a Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology. He holds the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry and serves as the Director of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Sung also co-leads the Cancer Development and Progression program at the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center. In his role as Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Sung provides support and mentorship to biomedical science faculty.
David Gius, MD/PhD, is Assistant Dean for Research for the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Dr. Gius is the Associate Director of the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Gius also leads a research laboratory on cancer as an aging disease, as well as provides support and mentorship to young investigators and students.
Jose E. Cavazos, MD/PhD, is Associate Dean for Resident Research Training in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Dr. Cavazos is a Professor of Neurology and Physiology. He is the Director of the MD/PhD program at UT Health San Antonio. He reorganized the program and grew it into a nationally recognized Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) receiving NIH funding in 2018, and recently receiving an outstanding impact score for the renewal of the MSTP award. Dr. Cavazos has also served as Program Director for the Clinical Neurophysiology fellowship since 2005. He was our CTSA KL-2 Program Director between 2014 and 2018, and contributed to our successful NIH renewal. Dr. Cavazos joined the efforts of our Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Disease at UT Health San Antonio and became the Core Leader for the Research Education Component in 2020 that recently received NIH funding as the South Texas ADRC. As Associate Dean for Research, he leads research training of residents and fellows in the Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs of the Long School of Medicine.
Kate Lathrop, MD, is Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Dr. Lathrop is a breast medical oncologist at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research interest is in early therapeutics for breast cancer and health outcome research. She is the current fellowship director for the Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship, a member of the UT Academy of Educational Scholars and the Program Director for the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Denise Graham, MPH, Senior Program Coordinator
Denise received her Master of Public Health degree from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and Bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas. She has worked with multiple health programs in the state government, healthcare and higher education sectors. She is the Senior Program Coordinator for medical student research programs and services.
Jennifer Maldonado is the Vice Dean for Research’s Executive Assistant in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Jennifer received her Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and is a U.S. Navy Veteran who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. As the Vice Dean for Research Executive Assistant, Jennifer is the point of contact for managing the Vice Dean for Research’s daily meeting agenda and partners with colleagues to oversee event and fiscal planning.
Chris Valdez, PhD, is the Associate Director of Research Operations in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Dr. Valdez is an Assistant Professor of Cellular and Integrative Physiology. He is a former Department of Defense Principal Investigator, and was awarded a two-year Research Associateship Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Research Council. Dr. Valdez completed his PhD training in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan where he was awarded a two-year Rackham Graduate School Merit Fellowship and three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. As the Associate Director for Research Operations, Dr. Valdez leverages his technical and administrative background to manage programs and services that support strategic research areas within the Long School of Medicine.