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Whether it’s eliminating health disparities or mentoring young scientists, Regents Professor Jamboor K. Vishwanatha, PhD, has a passion for helping underserved populations.

A trusted mentor to students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty who have trained in his laboratory, Dr. Vishwanatha promotes opportunities for under-represented students and faculty through institutional, regional and national programs. Together, these activities have resulted in mentoring of more than 3,200 students and faculty.

As a faculty member, Dr. Vishwanatha has personally trained and mentored 36 undergraduate students from the partnerships he has built with minority-serving institutions.

His leadership and commitment to the development of STEM was recognized in 2019 when Dr. Vishwanatha was one of just 15 educators nationwide to receive Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring at the White House.

However, Dr. Vishwanatha called his true reward seeing the many researchers he had mentored reach success in their respective fields.

“I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to make a difference in the lives of many individuals,” Dr. Vishwanatha said upon receiving the award. “It is gratifying to see them as successful citizens contributing to the scientific advancement in our country.”

Dr. Vishwanatha also is Founding  Director for the HSC Texas Center for Health Disparities, one of 12 NIMHD Specialized Centers of Excellence in Minority Health and Health Disparities in the country. The Center conducts research into health disparities, trains new investigators in health disparity research and conducts community outreach.

As the COVID-19 disproportionally impacted Black and Hispanic communities this summer, the National Institutes of Health looked to Dr. Vishwanatha and HSC to lead the Texas CEAL Consortium, the Texas portion of a $12 million award for outreach and engagement efforts in ethnic and racial minority communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Because of Dr. Vishwanatha dedication and leadership, HSC is a national leader in the fight against health disparities. He embodies the HSC value to Serve Others First. For those reasons, Dr. Vishwanatha is an HSC Hero

Join us throughout 2020 as we celebrate the people, events and innovations that made UNTHSC all it is today — and look ahead to the next 50 years. For the 50th anniversary, team members nominated people whose contributions make them HSC Heroes. Each week, a new Hero will be revealed. View the list of all our Hero profiles published so far this year. There is a new one each week.

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