An Innovation Hub took flight at UT Southwestern in 2025. So did the inaugural graduating class of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health. Our researchers were recognized with some of the highest honors in science this year, and our patients benefited from significant advances in care that ranged from cancer and cardiology to obstetrics and neurology and more.

Building on more than eight decades of excellence at UTSW, 2025 was a year marked by meaningful progress in all three areas of our mission – to educate, to discover, and to heal. These achievements and key developments reflect our commitment to promoting health and a healthy society. They also offer a glimpse into the vision guiding our next chapter.

Leaders appointed to UTSW this year include, from left: Stephen Kimatian, M.D., Jiang He, M.D., M.S., Ph.D., Daniel Hommes, M.D., Ph.D., and Jaehyuk Choi, M.D., Ph.D.

Recruiting and retaining top educators, clinicians, scientists, and staff is central to advancing excellence in every discipline at UT Southwestern. In 2025, we welcomed two new Department Chairs, the inaugural leader of an Innovation Hub to advance biomedical discoveries to commercial development, and the first Director of a Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology to investigate new treatments and provide hope to those with incurable cancers.

Learn more below.

• Kimatian appointed Chair of Anesthesiology & Pain Management
• Prominent epidemiologist He appointed Chair at O’Donnell School of Public Health
• New Innovation Hub chief Hommes harnesses the power of discovery to advance biomedicine
• Choi recruited to lead new Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology

Alexander Tatara, M.D., Ph.D., UTSW Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, explained to students how bones work. Three North Texas high schools participated in STARS Biomedical Engineering (BME) Day, a campus event designed to inspire interest in biomedical careers.

As an academic medical center, education is embedded in every facet of our work and outreach. Four schools train tomorrow’s health care professionals, including the newest, the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, which in 2025 celebrated the graduation of its inaugural class. Inspiring even the youngest to pursue careers in medicine and science remains a priority through programs such as STARS (Science Teacher Access to Resources at Southwestern) and Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern. Meanwhile, innovative initiatives such as the Quality Improvement Boot Camp teach advanced quality and safety tools to UTSW learners with unique twists, as does a program that involves a Shakespearean-themed skills competition for emergency medicine residents.

Find out more below.

• O’Donnell School of Public Health celebrates first commencement and evolves to meet future needs
• High school students experience the thrill of science at STARS Biomedical Engineering Day
• Uplift Science Fair at UTSW inspires more than 300 future scientists
• 10th annual Quality Improvement Boot Camp draws learners and professionals from UTSW and area colleges to learn teamwork-based skills
• Emergency Medicine residents bring dramatic flair to regional skills competition at UTSW

At the inaugural Pinnacle Awards ceremony, employee honorees celebrated for their exceptional commitment to UT Southwestern values included, from left, Kaylee Suarez, Jose Rene Macias, Amber Gemmell, M.S., CGC, Lauren Smith, Hugo Pons, and Thuong “Trizzy” Bui.

At UT Southwestern, excellence isn’t just a goal. It’s the standard that shapes everything we do. In 2025, the Pinnacle Awards program was created to honor a broad spectrum of employees who embody the institution’s standards of excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. Six exceptional employees were recognized in those value-based categories, as well as distinguished service and spirit. Also in 2025, faculty joined staff for the first time in the Quarter Century Club, honoring 25-plus years of commitment to UT Southwestern.

• Honoring the ‘Pinnacle’ of excellence at UT Southwestern
• In celebration of service: UT Southwestern’s longtime employees mark milestone anniversaries

Steven McKnight, Ph.D., received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award related to his discoveries into the role of proteins of low sequence complexity. Dr. McKnight’s recognition marked the second consecutive year and fifth time that a UTSW scientist earned a Lasker Award.

Another hallmark of UT Southwestern is its innovative and impactful research. Our institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. Beyond adding two new NAM members in 2025, major awards were presented to Steven McKnight, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, and Eric Olson, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Molecular Biology. Dr. McKnight received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his discoveries into the role of proteins of low sequence complexity and their influence on cell morphology and regulation. Dr. Olson received the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize in recognition of his CRISPR gene-editing therapy research.

Read more below.

• UTSW biochemist Steven McKnight, Ph.D., earns Lasker Award
• UTSW molecular biologist Eric Olson, Ph.D., receives Horwitz Prize
• Duojia Pan, Ph.D., and Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D., are UTSW’s 24th and 25th members of NAM, the most of any institution in Texas
• UTSW biochemist Zhijian ‘James’ Chen, Ph.D., to receive 2026 Brinster Prize and elected to UK’s Royal Society
• Two UTSW scientists named Clarivate Citation Laureates
• Samuel Achilefu, Ph.D., elected to National Academy of Engineering
• UTSW biochemist to receive O’Donnell Award from TAMEST

Founded in 2015 through a visionary gift from Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. and sustained by a $1 billion-plus “Campaign for the Brain,” UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute (OBI) marked its 10-year anniversary in 2025. OBI combines the best of both the research and clinical care worlds, creating a blueprint to accelerate the future of neuroscience.

Elizabeth Maher, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Neurology, has led research into understanding and treating low-grade gliomas. This work and clinical trials culminated in FDA approval of a drug that gives new hope to these patients.

The research conducted at UT Southwestern has been transformational in advancing both basic science and lifesaving care. Major discoveries were celebrated by the Department of Molecular Biology at a 30-year anniversary symposium while the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute marked a decade of achievement in advancing research and treatment in brain-related disorders, including the approval of a brain cancer drug. Meanwhile, the groundbreaking Dallas Heart Study, now known as the Dallas Hearts and Minds Study, marked 25 years of advancements in cardiac care while state-of-the-art technology called magnetoencephalography is reshaping how UTSW is changing the lives of patients with epilepsy and other neurologic conditions.

Find out more in the story links below.

• UTSW joins other scientists nationwide to celebrate Molecular Biology’s 30th anniversary
• New frontiers in neuroscience: 10 years of progress at UTSW’s O’Donnell Brain Institute
• How UT Southwestern paved the way for a breakthrough brain cancer drug
• At 25, the Dallas Heart Study is shaping cardiac care and exploring links to brain health
• A MEG powerhouse: How UTSW is pushing the limits of brain research, care

The launches of programs in partnership with other academic medical centers were emblematic of UT Southwestern’s efforts to make an impact on the community and improve health care access and outcomes.

Learn more below.

• March of Dimes opens Texas Collaborative Prematurity Research Center
• Maternal Health Accelerator raises nearly $25 million to improve maternal morbidity rates in North Texas

UTSW is among the nation’s highest-performing hospitals based on quality of care in 12 specialties.

Traci d’Auguste, M.B.A., M.S.H.A., joined UTSW in October as the new Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital.

William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital (CUH) was ranked the No. 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth for the ninth straight year, and 12 of our specialties were ranked among the best in the nation. New CEO Traci d’Auguste, M.B.A., M.S.H.A., is poised to advance strategic priorities at CUH and enhance operational performance while maintaining exceptional patient outcomes. In May, UTSW broke ground for a new Radiation Oncology campus in Fort Worth that aims to meet growing demands for cancer treatment in Tarrant County and surrounding areas. The facility will house Fort Worth’s first MRI-guided precision radiation treatment.

Learn more in the story links below:

• UT Southwestern is best hospital in DFW for ninth straight year
• New CEO d’Auguste to lead UTSW’s Clements University Hospital
• UT Southwestern breaks ground on $177M Radiation Oncology campus in Fort Worth

UT Southwestern is known for offering the most advanced care available, cutting-edge research, and the best quality in multiple specialties. In 2025, new designations set the Medical Center apart in several areas, including certification as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center, selection as a North Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and being named a Specialized Program of Research Excellence to speed ways to treat and prevent liver cancer. In addition, UTSW is developing a new Center for Prostate Cancer Care that aims to provide innovative, personalized treatments.

• UTSW certified as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center
• UTSW designated as North Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
• UTSW named Specialized Program of Research Excellence for liver cancer
• Leading men’s health forward: A new center on the horizon focuses on treating prostate cancer seamlessly

Moody Children’s Hospital, shown as it will look when completed in the rendering at left, will be the centerpiece of the New Pediatric Campus under construction across from William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. At right, construction was in full swing in December, with several cranes active as viewed from the Cancer Care Outpatient Building.

Frances Moody-Dahlberg is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Moody Foundation.

Construction of a pediatric campus that will serve as a center for innovation, academic research, and training progressed in 2025. UT Southwestern’s partnership with Children’s Health on the $5 billion project began in 2024, with completion projected in 2031. Generous philanthropists are aiding the effort, including donations of a historic nine-figure grant from the Moody Foundation, $25 million from the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation, and financial support from Goldman Sachs.

Learn more about this project in the story links below.

• UT Southwestern and Children’s Health receive record-setting gift from Moody Foundation
• UT Southwestern and Children’s Health receive $25 million from the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation for new pediatric campus
• Goldman Sachs makes financial commitment to new Dallas pediatric campus

In December, UT Southwestern was selected to operate the new Texas Behavioral Health Center. This milestone is the culmination of a process established by the Texas Legislature and carried out in close partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. When fully operational, the hospital will provide 292 beds for adult and pediatric patients – expanding access, improving outcomes, and strengthening the continuum of behavioral health care in North Texas and statewide.

Find out more below:

• UT Southwestern to open DFW’s first state behavioral health hospital this summer

At the 2025 Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards ceremony, Sidarth Wakhlu, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and interim Chief of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry, received the event’s top honor – the Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine.

From our physicians to our nurses to our advanced practice providers, UT Southwestern’s champions of clinical excellence shine as examples of dedication.

Discover more about those who go above and beyond in the stories below.

• Healing, leading, inspiring: Meet the 2025 Leaders in Clinical Excellence
• 20 UTSW RNs receive D Magazine’s 2025 Excellence in Nursing Awards
• 22 UTSW nurses to join ‘DFW Great 100’
• UTSW’s advanced practice providers: Driving innovation, compassion, and clinical excellence