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2024: A Year Etched in Energetic Imagery

Published on: By: Staff Reports

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A group of people stand and sit on the ground looking at the darkened sky outside UT Southwestern
All eyes were on the sky April 8 as UT Southwestern learners, faculty, and staff gathered for a solar eclipse watch party outside the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Biomedical Research Building. Suddenly daylight turned to darkness and normality to awe as the UTSW community came together to experience the rare celestial event.

How would you describe the past year at UT Southwestern in imagery? One analogy might be dallas mountain, 2023, an inspiring yet bold sculpture on campus comprised of brightly colored boulders reaching skyward. The photos of our dedicated staff, brilliant students, gifted faculty, patients, donors, community members, and others who all are part of the broader supportive UTSW network who enable us to heal, discover, and educate at greater levels paint a picture of strength, vibrancy, persistence, joy, reverence, and diligence. View some of the photos taken this past year and experience the energy that moves UT Southwestern toward higher levels of excellence.

Select an image to begin the slideshow.

A high school student looks through a brochure at a Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program  (HPREP) event in January. HPREP exposes students to medicine and science career opportunities through activities that include participation in a college fair and mentorship with UT Southwestern students.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, nearly 100 UT Southwestern volunteers assembled into a “clean team” to carry on the legacy of a leader who spent his life serving others. They walked more than 50 streets in Dallas’ historic Fair Park district to beautify the area as part of the annual MLK Fest DFW, hosted by The Walls Project.
Shawna Nesbitt, M.D., M.S., Vice President and Chief Institutional Opportunity Officer (left), talks with keynote speaker Opal Lee during UT Southwestern’s annual Black History Month Celebration in February. The 98-year-old activist and retired educator is recognized worldwide for the movement to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday.
On Friday, March 15, more than 200 fourth-year medical students celebrated Match Day 2024, learning where they would serve their residencies upon graduation. Brianna Wilson (center) and her family are all smiles after finding out she matched to University of Chicago.
Russell Poole, M.B.A., Vice President of Information Resources and Chief Information Officer, greets Gold pin recipient and Technical Supply Specialist III Raed Jaber as he receives his certificate at a PACT Platinum and Gold Celebration in April. UTSW team members earned 966 PACT Gold and Platinum pins for exceptional customer service in the most recent calendar year.
Hundreds of UTSW learners, faculty, and staff gathered for the solar eclipse watch party April 8. The day was one for the books, with entertainment provided by the Dallas Mavericks dancers and mascot, tasty offerings from local food trucks, and live music performances by talented UTSW musicians.
An interactive performance of the lion dance at UT Southwestern’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration entertains the campus audience. Also at the May event, keynote speaker Saad B. Omer, M.B.B.S, M.P.H., Ph.D., Dean of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, spoke about engaging with the community to improve public health globally.
UT Southwestern Medical School graduates raise their diplomas to celebrate earning their degrees on May 8, 2024. Rejoicing at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (from left) are Brianna Alvarado, M.D., Chieh-An “Vivian” Chen, M.D., Maishara Muquith, M.D., Kim Le, M.D., Annie He, M.D., Aaron Hurd, M.D., Connor Eichenwald, M.D., Feroz James, M.D., and Armon Amini, M.D.
Yin Gao, Ph.D., M.S., receives her degree from Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern. She was one of more than 80 students to complete her education at UT Southwestern’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Members of the UTSW community and friends participate in the Dallas Pride Parade in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. UT Southwestern won the best walking group award at the June 2 event, which started at Fair Park. It was the third year for UTSW to participate. Pride Month events at UTSW also included a Pride Brunch at McDermott Plaza.
The UT Southwestern campus has experienced enormous expansion in recent years, including on North Campus above where the Cancer Care Outpatient Building and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Biomedical Research Building can be seen in this June 2024 photo. Ground also was broken recently on North Campus for the new joint pediatric campus in partnership with Children’s Health.
Donald Seldin Plaza is becoming an art lover’s mecca. A 13-foot-tall work, dallas mountain, 2023, is the seventh large outdoor piece donated to UT Southwestern by Nobel Laureate Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D. In July, teams from Crozier Fine Arts and Ugo Rondinone Studio prepare to install the fifth and final boulder of the sculpture.
UT Southwestern Assistant Chief of Police Pete Amaral is sworn in at a ceremony in September. The new Assistant Chief, whose wife, Jennifer, pins on his badge, previously worked at the Grand Prairie Police Department. He said of UTSW: “The culture and staff here are second to none.”
Celebrating 15 years of participation, members of the UT Southwestern community united on Sept. 21 for the American Heart Association’s 2024 Dallas Heart Walk. More than 2,600 people, comprising nearly 180 teams, registered to represent UTSW. The University had the highest number of walkers of participating companies at this year’s event and raised more than $41,000.
Three Ayita Wheelchair Dance students delightfully perform their routine at the UT Southwestern DFW Adaptive Sports Expo in September. The event is organized by the UT Southwestern DFW Adaptive Sports Coalition, UT Arlington, the UTSW Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, among others. This event is designed to increase awareness of adaptive sports and promote active, healthy, and engaged lifestyles. 
Leaders and benefactors of UT Southwestern and Children’s Health were joined by children at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new pediatric hospital on Oct. 1. The $5 billion pediatric campus, located across from William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, will expand access to a full range of pediatric services from routine to complex, creating a one-of-a-kind hub for academic research, training, and the development of lifesaving technologies.
To kick off the school year, members of the newest cohort of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health mingle at the Incoming Student Welcome Event in June. UT Southwestern’s fourth school, launched in 2023, offers M.P.H., M.D./M.P.H., and Ph.D. programs. 
At a UT Southwestern reception, Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., holds the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award he received, an honor often called “America's Nobels” that is regarded as the country’s preeminent biomedical research prize. Dr. Chen received the award for his discovery of the cGas enzyme, which senses invading pathogens and triggers the body’s innate immune system.
Bradley Mueller, B.A., a Clinical Simulations Operations Specialist in the UTSW Simulation Center, helps Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern students get some hands-on experience during an October field trip. The school represents a unique partnership between UTSW and the Dallas Independent School District to expose students at young ages to science.
Kehinde Odedosu, M.S., Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, assists a student during a STEAM Academy (Student Empowerment and Engagement) event in November.
UT Southwestern honored its nearly 800 community members who self-identified as veterans at its 10th annual Tribute to Veterans ceremony on Nov. 11. Pictured here, the event featured the presentation of the colors by Dr. John D. Horn High School’s JROTC Color Guard.
Eleven UTSW clinicians were honored for their exceptional contributions at the seventh annual Leaders in Clinical Excellence ceremony recognizing compassion and dedication to patient care, including Bonnie Prokesch, M.D., a 2024 Patient and Family Recognition Award recipient, (center), holding the young patient who became her namesake, along with parents Dylan and Paula Warren.
A performer with the Anoli Dancers of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma entertains the audience at the First Nations Heritage Month Celebration, which showcased both the beauty of Native American culture and the legacy of overcoming challenges dating back generations. The Nov. 20 ceremony began with a welcome to the audience from UTSW’s First Nations Intertribal Alliance Business Resource Group (BRG).
More than 130 School of Health Professions students celebrated graduating Dec. 14 at a commencement ceremony. The event marked achievement of doctorate and master’s degree programs in multiple allied health fields. Above, a proud 2024 graduate receives her hood at the ceremony.
William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, photographed this summer at dusk, celebrated its 10th anniversary in December. Since UT Southwestern’s flagship hospital opened on Dec. 6, 2014, annual inpatient admissions have increased by nearly 44%, Emergency Department visits grew 43%, and the volume of procedures and surgeries performed have risen by more than 135%.
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