Located in the nation’s fourth largest and most diverse city, UHCL is a future-orientated public urban university located next to NASA-JSC, serving a highly diverse student population and a technologically evolving economy.
The Big Questions Speaker Series is focused upon the most critical educational, social, environmental, and technological challenges facing higher education and communities, and presents differing perspectives and authoritative world-class experts to address both challenges and opportunities. The overall purpose of this series is to create awareness, foster informed dialogue, and create communities of practice bearing upon our collective futures.
Spring 2021 Series
Mental Health and COVID-19: How Can Higher Education Help?
Friday, April 23, 2021
10:45 a.m. - 1 p.m. (CST)
Zoom Meeting | Register
Speaker: Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), neuroscience researcher,
and former psychiatry professor at Columbia University and general psychiatrist
Host: Dr. Kevin Wooten
Speaking Points:
- Effects of COVID-19 on mental health, lessons learned and outlook for the future
- Impact of COVID-19 on colleges and universities
- Sustainable mental health, resilient communities and how higher education can help
UHCL Faculty Panel:
- College of Human Sciences and Humanities: Dr. Roberta Leal, Dr. Dorothea Lerman, Dr. Mary Short and Dr. Rick Short
- UHCL Counseling Services: Dr. Cindy Cook
10:45 a.m. Video prelude and welcome by President Ira K. Blake
11:00 a.m. Dr. Short introduces Dr. Gordon
11:03 a.m. Dr. Joshua Gordon begins
11:45 a.m. Q&A
12:00 p.m. Faculty panelist discussion
12:15 p.m. "Roundtable" dialogue
12:45 p.m. Synthesis, featuring moderators and faculty panelists
12:50 p.m. Q&A
1:00 p.m. Conclusion
Dr. Gordon received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of California, San Francisco,
and completed his psychiatry residency and research fellowship at Columbia University.
He joined the Columbia faculty in 2004 as an assistant professor in the Department
of Psychiatry, where he conducted research, taught residents and maintained a general
psychiatry practice. In September of 2016, he became the director of the National
Institute of Mental Health.
His research focuses on the analysis of neural activity in mice carrying mutations
of relevance to psychiatric disease. His lab studies genetic models of these diseases
from an integrative neuroscience perspective, focused on understanding how a given
disease mutation leads to a behavioral phenotype across multiple levels of analysis.
To this end, Dr. Gordon employs a range of systems neuroscience techniques, including
in vivo anesthetized and awake behaving recordings and optogenetics, which is the
use of light to control neural activity. His work has direct relevance to schizophrenia,
anxiety disorders, and depression.
Dr. Gordon’s work has been recognized by several prestigious awards, including the
The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation – NARSAD Young Investigator Award, the
Rising Star Award from the International Mental Health Research Organization, the
A.E. Bennett Research Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and the Daniel.
Disclaimer:
References to NIH or NIMH during this presentation are not intended as endorsements by NIMH of any products or services.
Related Links:
Past Spring 2021 Presentation
Public Health Access and Pandemics: How Can Higher Education Help?
Friday, April 9, 2021
10:45 a.m. - 1 p.m. (CST)
Zoom Meeting | Watch Presentation
Speaker: Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., professor at Baylor College of Medicine, co-director of Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics and renowned author
Host: Dr. Kevin Wooten
Speaking Points:
- Status of COVID-19, lessons learned and outlook for the future
- Impacts of COVID-19 on higher education
- Public health, a resilient society and how higher education can help
UHCL Faculty Panel:
- College of Business: Dr. Femi Ayadi and Dr. Jordan Mitchell
- College of Human Sciences and Humanities: Dr. Karen Alexander, Dr. Bill Amonette, Dr. Isabelle Kusters and Dr. Dawit Woldu
Dr. Hotez is a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of
Medicine, where he is also co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine
Development and Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics. He is a vaccine scientist who
led the development of vaccines to prevent and treat neglected tropical diseases and
coronavirus infections. A new Texas Children’s COVID-19 vaccine is being accelerated
in India and is undergoing clinical testing.
Dr. Hotez obtained his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his M.D. and
Ph.D. from Weil Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University. He is the author
of more than 550 scientific articles indexed on PubMed, and four single-author books.
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of
Arts & Sciences, and has been honored by PAHO/WHO, Research America, B’nai Brith,
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, and other organizations. He appears
frequently on major news outlets promoting global health, vaccines and immunizations,
countering anti-vaccine and anti-science movements.
Related Links:
Fall 2020 Series
Speaker: Dr. James A. Anderson
- Addressing Social Justice and Global Perspectives in the Classroom | Session Recording
- Educators Workshop: Living Up to Our Promise of Change | Session Recording
- Virtual Reception | Session Recording
- Starting a New University and Transforming for the Future
Panelists: Dr. Peter Bishop, Dr. Chris Dede and Jennifer Jarratt | Panel Recording - The 60-Year Curriculum
Presenter: Dr. Chris Dede | Slides | Session Recording - The Transformation of Work in a Post-Pandemic World and Digital Economy
Presenter: Jennifer Jarratt | Slides | Session Recording - How to Integrate Future Thinking into Your Curriculum
Presenter: Dr. Peter Bishop | Slides | Session Recording - Virtual Reception and Q&A | Session Recording