Sept. 2011: Faculty Senate hosts annual Speaker Series

By Dr. Jim Burdine, Speaker

Good day! My name is Jim Burdine, and I serve as speaker of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) Faculty Senate.

In July, the Faculty Senate hosted its annual Speaker Series. As we are uniquely positioned to address issues concerning the entire institution, this series – sponsored by the Office of the President – serves as a forum both to inform its faculty and administration and to promote a greater integration among its academic units. The series addresses develop­ments affecting the future of the entire TAMHSC, provides a comparative perspective on health care research and health care delivery, and invites outstanding scientists on controversial or other subjects that arise from research in the biomedical sciences and technology.

This year’s guest speaker was Dr. Mina Bissell, who has been recognized for her lifetime contributions to the fields of breast cancer research, the enhanced role of extracellular matrix, and the nucleus environment to gene expression in normal and malignant tissues. These works have ushered and changed some central paradigms, thereby strengthening the importance of context in the development of cancer. Dr. Bissell spoke at the Baylor College of Dentistry and the College of Medicine at Scott & White in Temple.

In addition to the Speaker Series, the Faculty Senate is currently working on electing faculty members to the Medical Sciences Library Council, including a student representative from the TAMHSC.