Newsletter
We hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer! We are ending our Summer semester with much news to share fromThe Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program alumni, students, and faculty.
Summer 2019
Welcome to the UTEP DPT Class of 2022! Thirty-six students from inside and outside of Texas joined us for their DPT journey on May 28, 2019.
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Welcome to Balachandar Kathirvelu, MD, PhD – our newest clinical assistant professor. Dr. “Bala” is teaching many of the foundational science courses, including Human Anatomy. He received his medical degree from Kilpauk Medical College (Chennai, India), and his MS and PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Tulane Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (New Orleans, Louisiana). He then completed his postdoctoral training at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California at Los Angeles. Before moving to UTEP, Dr. Bala worked as an instructor of anatomy and as a researcher at Central Michigan Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. We are thrilled to have him join our UTEP DPT Family. |
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Congratulations to Dr. Arlianne Bejarano (DPT Class of 2015) for earning her Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist certification! |
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Congratulations to Dr. Jason Boyle, Dr. Rhonda Manning, and colleagues for publication of their study entitled A Novel Approach to Enhancing Upper Extremity Coordination in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Journal of Motor Behavior. |
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Congratulations to Dr. Alvaro Gurovich and colleagues, who have had multiple publications of their studies this summer! These are: 1) Comparison Between Cuff-based and Radial Tonometry Exercise-induced Central Blood Pressure in the European Journal of Applied Physiology; 2) Characterization of Blood Flow Patterns and Endothelial Shear Stress during Flow Mediated Dilation in the Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging; and 3) Acute Dietary Nitrate Does Not Reduce Resting Metabolic Rate or Oxidative Stress Marker 8-isoprostane in Healthy Males and Females in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. |
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Congratulations to Lily Jimenez (DPT Class of 2017), Dr. Celia Pechak, and Dr. Kiersten Garrand (DPT Class of 2016) for publication of their study entitled Improvements in Students’ Attitudes Towards People with Disabilities With or Without Semi-structured Community-based Interactions in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education. |
Finally, in case you missed this news in the previous newsletters…Dr. Loretta Dillon has announced her retirement, effective December 2019. Please mark your calendars for a November 15, 2019 retirement party! Details to follow in early Fall.
Dr. Dillon has been with our Program since its beginnings in 1993. Simply put, she has been the glue that has held this Program together over her 26 years. In addition to her extraordinary service to the UTEP DPT Program, she has dedicated thousands of hours of service to the physical therapy profession at the local, state, and national levels over her career. In honor of her service, and broad-reaching and long-term impact, we have created the Dr. Loretta S. Dillon Scholarship. We are almost 30% of the way to reaching our goal of $100,000. This will create a sustainable scholarship that will provide financial support to UTEP DPT students for decades. If you have been impacted by Dr. Dillon directly or indirectly, we hope that you will make a donation in her honor.
Give online at
To give by phone, call 915-747-8533. To send a gift by mail, make checks payable to:
The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso and write Loretta Schoen Dillon Endowed Scholarship in the notes line.
Please mail checks to:
The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso
Asset Management and Development
500 Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é
Kelly Hall, 6th Fl
El Paso, Texas 79968