University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston President Dr. David Callender, in a year-end interview with Guidry News Service, said that 2012 has been a good year for UTMB. Listen  (9 minutes, 30 seconds)

“I think things are going in a good direction here, in the direction we want them to go," he said.  So I am very pleased with our progress to date.”

Dr. Callender said that he is very proud of the research community at UTMB.

“I think we have outstanding faculty members who drive that research, who make the research enterprise work well,” he said.  “It’s a difficult time for them and for all of us engaged in research, because of the funding challenges.

He said that philanthropic groups are working to make up for reductions in state and federal funding, but there is a limit to what they can do.  And so it’s forced our research community to really focus on excellence.“

Dr. Callender said he expects the research to lead to new cures for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.

“We will be able to better control those,  diagnose them earlier, understand the differences that cause the disease to act differently in different individuals and be able to use that information to manage those diseases more effectively.”

He said that the Texas Legislature will have many challenges when it convenes in January.

“I think we are probably in better shape financially as a state than we were going into the last session,” Dr. Callender said.  “At the same time, the demand for services has grown significantly; so our legislators still face the dilemma of trying to figure out how to best distribute the available dollars.”

Dr. Callender said he is grateful to those in the legislature and others in the community who have supported UTMB in recent years.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today in terms of our recovery from Ike were it not for that support.”