PA students win Challenge Bowl — again

By Alex Branch

Pa Web
 
Students in the Physician Assistant Studies Program once have again proved that UNT Health Science Center truly does recruit the best and the brightest.

UNTHSC PA students won the statewide Challenge Bowl competition at the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants (TAPA) Annual Conference Feb. 8-10 in Houston.

Students Andrew Lee, Abby Plec and Sarah Shaffer earned first place.

Challenge Bowl is a medical quiz for Texas PA programs where teams of students from schools across the state field questions and hit buzzers to submit answers.

UNTHSC PA students have dominated the competition, also finishing first in 2018, 2017, 2015 and 2014, according to TAPA.

Our PA students are committed to be the best of the best,” said Thomas Diver, MPAS, PA-C, Associate Director of the Physician Assistant Studies Program. “They are willing to give what it takes year after year and go the distance to put UNTHSC in the winner’s circle. I am so proud of all our PA students.”

Other UNTHSC PA students who competed were Amanda Carroll, Mackenzie Warner, Racheal Gardner, Sami Morgan, Julia Forsberg, Laura Abel, Kristen Nicole, Iqra Parupia and Kristin Shaffer.

Recent News

Brock Hoffman 08
  • Community
|Nov 24, 2025

Cowboys’ Brock Hoffman honors wife’s UNT Health PA program through NFL’s ‘My Cause My Cleats’ initiative

When Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Brock Hoffman takes the field for warm-ups before Sunday’s game against the Eagles, his cleats will carry a message far bigger than football. As part of the NFL’s annual “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, Hoffman has chosen to honor his wife, Abbey Montoy...
Ab97cf99 8f28 4b5f 8ad9 F54ee30a0022
  • Community
|Nov 14, 2025

UNT Health welcomes new research director to North Texas Eye Research Institute

A former scientific project and alliance manager at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle recently was named the new director of research for UNT Health Fort Worth’s North Texas Eye Research Institute, guiding its next phase of growth and innovation. David Vumbaco, Ph.D., started h...
Img 3423
  • Community
|Nov 14, 2025

UNT Health’s marketing and communications initiatives earn top honors at PRSA Worthy Awards

UNT Health Fort Worth’s marketing and communications staff members were recognized among the region’s best at the 2025 PRSA Worthy Awards Gala, earning multiple honors for creative storytelling and strategic impact. Presented on Nov. 7 by the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations S...
Img 3670
  • Community
|Nov 13, 2025

Report shows attending TCOM the most affordable in the nation

A recent report published by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine showed the cost of producing some of the top primary care physicians in the nation might surprise you, as UNT Health at Fort Worth’s Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine was among the most affordable in the ...