Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice (ACE)
Director:  Kathleen Stevens, EdD, RN, FAAN

The Academic Center for Evidence Based Practice (ACE) advances cutting-edge, state of the art evidence-based nursing practice, research and education within an interdisciplinary environment. The ACE serves to define nursing roles in evidence synthesis, translation, dissemination and implementation; furnishes a venue for interdisciplinary based methods and practice; facilitates transfer of nursing knowledge to nursing and health care practice; encourages, facilitates, coordinates, and conducts research and interdisciplinary investigations in the field of evidence based nursing; and provides education in evidence based nursing through undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and continuing education programs. Link to more information on the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice (ACE).

Center for Community Based Health Promotion in Women and Children

The Center for Community Based Health Promotion in Women and Children guides and assists the conduct of research and education about the health of women and children and provides a forum for interdisciplinary collaboration in research, service, and education - the three missions of the Health Science Center.

In its work, the Center benefits both the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the School of Nursing by providing opportunities for students and faculty to participate in cutting edge research on health promotion issues relevant to the lives of women and children. The center works with high quality students and faculty who are interested in health promotion for these two vulnerable groups. This innovative interdisciplinary center is a model for the integration of health promotion research, education, and practice. Link to more information on the Center for Community Based Health Promotion in Women and Children.

Center for Violence Prevention

The Center for Violence Prevention is a comprehensive interdisciplinary academic resource that serves to promote the conduct of violence-related research, education and practice. The Center maintains an integrated database on violence in South Texas, serves as a clearinghouse for information and resources related to violence, promotes the conduct of violence-related research, and has created linkages with community agencies and the public on violence-related concerns. Link to more information on the Center for Violence Prevention.

The MESA (Michigan En San Antonio) Center for Health Disparities is a collaborative research effort by the University of Michigan School of Nursing and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Nursing that focuses on elimination of disparities in health promotion and restoration. The major aims are to increase investigators and research focusing on health disparities and to enhance the competence of all researchers to conduct health disparities research. The primary mechanisms to address these aims are collaborative research projects, apprenticeship opportunities for students and faculty and the development of web-enhanced modules to support knowledge and skill development in health disparities research. The center is supported by a 5-year grant. NIH/NINR 1 P20 NR 08378 Link to more information on the MESA: Center for Health Disparities.

Other UTHSCSA Research Institutes / Centers / Consortia:

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio offers an exceptional research and educational environment, with five health science schools (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Allied Health and the Graduate School of biomedical Science). The Health Science Center occupies 130 acres, and the nearby Institute of Biotechnology and South Texas Centers for Biology in Medicine is located in the 1,200-acre Research Park. In partnership with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center, the San Antonio Cancer Institute is designated a Comprehensive Cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. The Geriatric Research and Education Center provides professional and consumer education on issues surrounding the older person.

The Behavioral Research Laboratory occupies a room having 749 square feet. The walls of the room are lined with paneled work stations. There are four prewired phone and computer jacks. A central printing station is available. Each work station has locked and unlocked storage. Bookcases and filing cabinets line the outside walls and the outside walls of the work stations. Requests for space will be reviewed and approved by the Faculty Research Committee and forwarded to the Dean and Associate Dean for Research. A second room of 800 square feet is under development as a data bank which will provide a place for students and faculty to access data (consistent with HIPPA standards) for secondary data analysis. Additional research space is available in other areas of the nursing building for funded center operations.

The Biological Research Laboratory at the School of Nursing is a multi-use facility for faculty and student research involving physiological variables and measurements (862 square feet). The laboratory is classified as a Biosafety Level 2 facility by the UTHSCSA Environmental Health and Safety Department. The lab has a laminar flow hood and CO2 incubator for cell culture and a cryogenic biological storage system for preserving frozen cells. There is also an inverted phase contrast microscope for examining cell cultures which can be upgraded to include a camera. A multi-mode plate reader allows UV/Visible light and fluorescent or chemiluminescent plate assays. Both gamma and scintillation counters are available; thus almost any commercial kit assays can be performed in the lab, regardless of the detection system required. A thermal cycler and gel apparatus are available for molecular biological techniques, as well as a Gel DocIt system for processing the results with publication-quality photos. The lab provides a large area for teaching and individual experimental work. A water system provides water of the highest quality for all applications, including molecular genetics needs. The lab is equipped with a secondary clean up sink and counter space, a chemical fume hood, a refrigerator, a -20º C freezer, a -70º C freezer, and a small autoclave. A pH meter and analytical balance are also present. The lab is plumbed to accept compressed gases and has a house vacuum line. A large stirred water bath with range of room temperature to 44o C and a collection of certified scientific clinical thermometers are available. This includes tympanic membrane thermometers, portable miniloggers, strip charts, a hemoglobin/myoglobin oxygen saturation analyzer, and body density photometer.

Extensive public health clinical resources are available in Bexar County/San Antonio. These include the Texas Department of Health Clinics, WIC Clinics and Planned Parenthood Clinics. Surrounding the campus proximity are 8 not-for-profit and non-governmental hospitals.

Clinical resources available at the University of Texas Health Science Center are University Hospital; Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital; Fredric C. Bartter General Clinical Research Center; and the Cancer Therapy and Research Center.The University Hospital (UH), adjacent to the UTHSCSA, is a 552-bed, tax-supported facility of the University Health System of the Bexar County Hospital District. UH is the major clinical facility associated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). University Hospital serves as a training facility for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals.

The NIH funded Fredric C. Bartter General Clinical Research Center is located on the Special Diagnostic and Treatment Unit (SDTU) of the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital. The purposes of the Center are to: provide a mechanism for performing quality clinical research on both veteran and non-veteran patients in the South Texas area; provide a controlled research environment for investigation by clinical scientists where they can define, study and attempt to solve disease-related problems; encourage increased collaboration between investigators in the basic and clinical sciences; and provide a resource where advances in basic scientific knowledge may be translated into improved patient care.