McAllen Campus faculty and staff interviewed on local news show

Watch McAllen faculty and staff members talk about their Master of Public Health program on KRGV's local news segment "Inside The Valley" here.

SRPH faculty recognized by The American Academy of Health Behavior

Yan Hong, Ph.D., assistant professor of social and behavioral health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, was selected as the 2010 Judy Black Early Research Award winner by The American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) during its annual meeting in Clearwater, Fla.

Dr. Hong was chosen for her paper, “Care Arrangements of AIDS Orphans and its Relationship with Children’s Psychosocial Well Being: Evidence from Rural China.” Co-authors include Li Xiomind, Fang Xiaoyi, Zhao Guoxiang, Zhao Junfeng, Zhao Qun, Lin Xiuyun, Zhang Liying and Bonita Stanton.

The Judy K. Black Early Career Research Award commemorates the life of the wife of one of the AAHB’s founders and past presidents, Dr. David R. “Randy” Black. It recognizes early-career health behavior research that is innovative, rigorous and makes an important contribution to science or practice.

The research poster by Matthew Smith, Ph.D., and Marcia Ory, Ph.D., on “Implementation and Delivery of an Evidence-based Fall Prevention Program for Older Adults in Texas” was selected as a 2010 Research Poster of Distinction by the AAHB. Co-authors were Yichen Cheng and Angela Hochhalter.

Dr. Zuniga leads McAllen Asthma Coalition

A new organization, the McAllen Asthma Coalition (MAC), is pioneering a unique education program in elementary schools to help children learn how to manage their asthma.

“During the past two decades, asthma has increased across the United States and in Texas,” said Genny Carrillo Zuniga, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.P.H., assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) School of Rural Public Health in McAllen. “Childhood asthma rates are highest among minorities. Increasing numbers of children with asthma are found in families with low education attainment and those who reside in low-income communities.”


Two years ago, Dr. Carrillo Zuniga (pictured left) decided to address the problem of increasing numbers of childhood asthma cases in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). She was awarded funds by the Texas Asthma Control Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to organize MAC, and it launched in August 2008. Some MAC partners are Betty Chang-Menard of South Texas College (STC) Nursing and Allied Health, Nancy Nadeau of The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), and Dora Hernandez of the Texas Asthma Control Program.

A unique aspect of the asthma education program involves students at STC and UTPA. These students visit RGV elementary schools to work directly with children who suffer asthma attacks.

“This is the first time local higher education institutions have cooperated in addressing asthma as a public health improvement project,” said Dr. Carrillo Zuniga.

Respiratory therapy majors at STC and nursing majors at UTPA were trained to carry out a special open airways curriculum developed by the American Lung Association, a founding partner of MAC. The open airways program teaches children to identify indoor environmental factors that trigger asthma and how to use an inhaler with medication to clear congested airways.

During the first visit to an elementary school, the STC respiratory therapy majors administered an asthma control test to establish a baseline for each child. Children with asthma then were taught how to use their inhaler and a peak flow meter at home.

Asthma education training is also offered to parents and elementary school personnel based on information provided by the American Lung Association and the National Healthy Homes Training Center and Network.

UTPA nursing majors have organized health fairs for children and parents at several Rio Grande Valley public schools.

“Senior students studying for a B.S.N. (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) participated in the health fairs as part of their community health course,” Nadeau said. “The goal was to provide health education to empower the asthmatic children and their parents to take better care of themselves.”

Another program by the McAllen Asthma Coalition is aimed at adult education among Spanish speaking communities. Promotoras are trained to instruct families about healthy indoor environments and environmental triggers that cause asthma. The promotoras then visit families in colonias whose children have asthma and provide them with individual training.

Financial grants awarded to Dr. Carrillo Zuniga have funded the promotoras education efforts, which she also organized and coordinated.

“We are evaluating the training programs in order to expand the asthma education efforts to an additional four elementary and middle schools in the Rio Grande Valley this year,” Dr. Carrillo Zuniga said.

Olga Gabriel appointed new director of Texas A&M Health Science Center McAllen campus

Olga Gabriel, M.P.H., has been appointed director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center McAllen campus. She is a past director of the Children’s Defense Fund Texas-Rio Grande Valley and was the founding director for U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett’s district office in McAllen.

“Ms. Gabriel’s education and experience in developing, supporting and implementing community-based programs made her an outstanding candidate for this position,” said J. Steven Moore, M.D., M.P.H., executive associate dean of the HSC-School of Rural Public Health. “We look forward to her providing direction, focus and energy to the educational, research and outreach programs of the School of Rural Public Health in a way that meets the needs of the citizens of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.”

Gabriel received an undergraduate degree in health education from The University of Texas-Pan American and a Master of Public Health degree from HSC-School of Rural Public Health in Community Public Health and Management.

“Having received my master’s degree from the school, I know firsthand how passionate the faculty are to not only train the next generation of public health professionals, but also to impact the lives of Texans,” Gabriel said. “I look forward to forging collaborations between the school and this community in hopes of improving the lives of South Texas families.”

Dr. McLeroy Selected as Research Laureate by American Academy of Health Behavior

Dr. Kenneth R. McLeroy, professor of social and behavioral health in the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, has been selected the 2010 Research Laureate for The American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB). The annual award honors an individual who has made a significant, enduring contribution to health behavior research, and is the highest award bestowed by the AAHB. The process is highly competitive and based on a comparative review of finalists’ lifetime records of research productivity and national and international impacts on the field. The award was made recently during the academy’s annual meeting in Clearwater, FL.

Dr. McLeroy said he is honored and gratified by the award from such a distinguished group of scholars.

“Being rewarded for participation in an ongoing discussion about interesting ideas is a bit disconcerting,” Dr. McLeroy said. “Many of the ideas with which I have been engaged and for which I am being rewarded have come from a variety of sources, and while I think I have contributed to them, they are ideas emerging from conversations with colleagues over a number of years that belong to all of us. I have been extraordinarily fortunate to work with a very productive group of colleagues across the years, and much of the credit for this award belongs to them.”

The American Academy of Health Behavior’s mission is to promote excellence in research and in the application of research to improve public health.

“Valentines for Vets”

SRPH students conducted their annual “Valentines for Vets” drive by collecting notes of appreciation and thanks for injured veterans’ service and sacrifice for our country. “Valentines for Vets” is a national drive to support and promote National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week, Feb. 6-13. The students collected money and supplies from other students and faculty, and received some donations from local hotels to present 88 Valentines bags to the veterans at the Veterans Administration hospital in Temple. Each bag included basic toiletries such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and lotion, cookies and other supplies.

Dr. Donnelly Honored by The Children’s Environmental Health Institute

The late Dr. K.C. Donnelly, head and professor of environmental and occupational health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health since 1999, was honored for his work Tuesday, February 16 by The Children’s Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) with a resolution and framed photo collage. With more than 30 years of experience in basic and applied research, Dr. Donnelly’s research included environmental exposure studies in Azerbaijan; the Czech Republic; Shanxi, China; and numerous U.S. locations.

Dr. Donnelly also conducted animal and human population studies on population exposures and the genotoxicity of complex chemical mixtures.

Based in Austin, CEHI was established to identify, validate and develop solutions to address adverse health effects to children occurring as a consequence of exposure to hazardous environmental substances