Joe L. Martinez

San Antonio Life Sciences Institute co-directors named

(Oct. 10, 2003)--The San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI), a new collaboration of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and The University of Texas at San Antonio, is taking shape with appointment of co-directors and formation of a panel to evaluate SALSI research proposals.

Francisco G. Cigarroa, president of the Health Science Center, and Ricardo Romo, president of UTSA, signed an agreement officially establishing SALSI. The institute is supported by funds supplied by UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof and augmented by each university.

SALSI will offer competitive funding for collaborative, peer-reviewed research proposals. Such areas might include neuroscience, health disparities, biomedical engineering and other faculty-led initiatives in the sciences. A portion of the funds also will be directed to educational programs.

SALSI is expected to stimulate San Antonio's $11 billion biosciences sector and, through a new graduate degree program in biomedical engineering, provide an educated workforce for companies in this sector. Co-directors named today are James Roberts, professor of pharmacology at the Health Science Center, and Joe L. Martinez Jr., UTSA Ewing Halsell Professor of Biology.

Roberts and Martinez will work with a panel consisting of eight members appointed equally from the Health Science Center and UTSA. The panel will be a subcommittee of the Executive Research Committee at the Health Science Center.

For more information, contact Kris Rodriguez, UTSA, at 210-458-4550 or Will Sansom, UTHSC, at 210-567-2570.