UTHealth Houston

Music and medicine came together for a meaningful cause at this year’s Doctors in Recital. 🎹💙

Physician-musicians from UTHealth Houston and across the Houston medical community took the stage to support Camp PHEver, raising $5,695 for children living with phenylketonuria.

Thank you to everyone who performed, attended, and helped make a difference for these children and their families.

The future of nursing is taking shape earlier than ever.

During National Nurses Month, we are celebrating not only the nurses making an impact today but the students preparing to follow in their footsteps.

Pipeline programs at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston are expanding access for high school students, especially those from underserved communities, through mentorship, hands-on clinical training, and industry-recognized certifications.

With generous support from the HCA Healthcare Foundation and The John M. O’Quinn Foundation, these initiatives help students build confidence, gain real-world skills, and take meaningful steps toward a future in nursing—opening doors to financial stability for students and strengthening the communities they call home.

See how future nurses are getting their start: go.uth.edu/Pipeline

Four distinguished members of the UTHealth Houston community stepped into the spotlight May 1 during the 2026 President’s Scholar Awards luncheon, receiving among the highest honors bestowed upon faculty for their years of excellence, impact, and unwavering dedication.

Each award, given to deserving individuals nominated by their peers, carries with it the honorary title and a cash prize.

This year’s recipients included Qingchun Tong, PhD, Han Zhang, MD, Juliana A. Barros, DDS, MS, and Louise D. McCullough, MD, PhD.

Learn more about the 2026 President’s Scholar Award and this year’s honorees at go.uth.edu/PresidentsScholarAward26

Elizabeth Hillman, MD, MEd, is an associate professor and director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at McGovern Medical School.

She is also a mom of four, wife to her husband Paul—also a clinician educator—and a dedicated volunteer Girl Scout leader. When it comes to motherhood and career, her response is gratitude.

"I am deeply grateful to be the mother of four incredible children who fill each day with joy and adventure. Each of them is wonderfully unique, and they continue to inspire and amaze me every day. My two older daughters are Girl Scouts, and being their troop leader is a wonderful way to watch and guide girls as they develop leadership skills. My mother was my Girl Scout troop leader and I appreciate and put into practice the things she taught me daily. I am also grateful for the opportunity to serve families as a neonatologist caring for ill and premature newborns. Being both a physician and a mother constantly reminds me that every patient is someone’s child, and quality care is of the utmost importance."

This Mother's Day, we share these sentiments: UTHealth Houston is grateful for the unspeakable impact of every mother and mother figure who makes us who we are. Thanks for all you do.