UTMB Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Melissa (Missy) Morrow as Director of the Sealy Center on Aging. A renowned rehabilitation scientist and expert in aging and disability research, Dr. Morrow brings deep experience in translational science, biomechanics, and health technology. She currently serves as Co-Director of the NIA-funded Pepper Center at UTMB and will lead the center’s involvement in the new $5 million Healthy Aging and Technology (Age-Tech) Initiative. We thank Dr. Alan Landay for his exceptional service as interim director and look forward to the center’s continued growth under Dr. Morrow’s leadership.

A new study by Dr. Goodwin, Dr. Xu and colleagues finds that lifting federal visitation restrictions in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic did not lead to a significant increase in resident infection rates. Researchers analyzed data from over 6,000 nursing homes across 27 states using a difference-in-differences framework, comparing COVID-19 infection rates before and after the federal policy change on September 17, 2020. Results showed that infection trends in nursing homes largely followed patterns in their surrounding communities, with no statistically significant change linked to the end of the visitation ban.

Are you an adult age 60+? Do you want to take control of your health and live an active, fulfilling life? Look no further – The Patient Education Programs (PEP) are here to support you! Interested? Visit www.utmb.edu/diabetes or contact cdprogram@utmb.edu.

“Standard lab assays don’t capture the physical forces acting on blood inside constricted arteries,” UTMB Health’s Dr. Misbahud Din tells Dawn. The publication featured Din and Pepper Center Scholar Dr. Yunfeng Chen and their research into how physicians assess a patient’s risk of arterial blood clots.

A KFF Health News story on safety issues in rehab hospitals highlighted research by Dr. Chih-Ying Li, an aging research expert at UTMB Health. Her 2017 study found that for-profit rehab facilities were the only type linked to higher 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions among Medicare patients. Li noted the differences weren’t large, but the finding was consistent.