MSTP Leadership
Director
Professor, McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development
Andrew R. Zinn, M.D., Ph.D., is an alumnus of the UT Southwestern MSTP. He did residency training in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in human genetics at the Whitehead Institute before returning to UTSW in 1993 to join the faculty of the McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Zinn maintained an NIH-funded laboratory for nearly 25 years, studying the genetic basis of human sex chromosome abnormalities and miscellaneous Mendelian diseases. His genetic research is best known for discoveries of mutations in the SIM1 gene causing severe obesity and in the POLA1 gene causing X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder, a rare autoinflammatory disease. He has been director of the UTSW MSTP since 2008 and Dean of UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences since 2013.
Associate Director
Associate Professor
Rene L. Galindo, M.D., Ph.D., is an alumnus of the UT Southwestern (UTSW) MSTP. He did residency training in Anatomic Pathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Pediatric Pathology fellowship training at Children’s Medical Center/UTSW, and then postdoctoral research training focusing on childhood soft tissue sarcoma biology in the lab of Dr. Eric N. Olson (UTSW). He officially joined the faculty in the Department of Pathology, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Molecular Biology and Pediatrics. In addition, he is a member of UTSW’s Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Galindo maintained an extramurally supported laboratory (including from the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, American Cancer Society, and NIH/NCI) for approximately 15 years, studying the pathobiology of childhood sarcomas. His research is best known for a novel comprehensive genetic screen utilizing a Drosophila model of human rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a deadly muscle-lineage sarcoma, probing for new RMS genetic drivers. These and other new drivers profiled in his lab led to the discovery of new RMS underpinnings published in prestigious journals such as JCI, Cancer Cell, and Cancer Research. Based on these observations and his dedication to physician-scientist training as Associate Dean for Medical Student Research, Dr. Galindo was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2017. In 2023, he joined the MSTP leadership team as Associate Director, focusing on the MSTP educational curriculum and admission.
Assistant Directors
Assistant Professor
Bret M. Evers, M.D., Ph.D., is an alumnus of the UT Southwestern MSTP and is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Ophthalmology. His doctoral thesis was performed in the laboratory of Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein and involved understanding the role of cholesterol homeostasis in craniofacial and hair follicle development. He completed his Anatomic Pathology residency and Neuropathology fellowship at UT Southwestern. While an Assistant Instructor, he completed an additional fellowship in Ophthalmic Pathology. Aside from his clinical duties in neuropathology and ophthalmic pathology, Dr. Evers is also the Director of Autopsy at UT Southwestern and Parkland Hospital. In 2018 Dr. Evers became the Director of the Histopathology Core and collaborates with numerous basic science researchers throughout the campus. In addition to his clinical and research endeavors, Dr. Evers teaches extensively in the pre-clerkship curriculum of the Medical School and within the Graduate School. He joined the MSTP administrative team in 2021, with one of his roles being to help guide students through their early medical school years and their transition into their graduate studies.
Associate Professor
Bonnie C. Prokesch, M.D., is an Infectious Diseases physician and an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine. A champion of undergraduate medical education and a colleges mentor in the medical school, she joined the MSTP administrative team in 2021 with a focus on helping to guide students through their clinical years and to aide in the transition back to the clinical arena after students complete their Ph.D. work in the lab. She helps to act as a liaison between the medical school and MSTP administration and provides clinical mentorship to students. Dr. Prokesch earned her medical degree and completed a residency in internal medicine, both at the Emory University School of Medicine. She received advanced training through infectious diseases fellowships at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and at UT Southwestern. She joined the UT Southwestern faculty and practices clinical medicine at Parkland and Clements University Hospitals as well as in the outpatient clinic at UT Southwestern.
Director Ermeritus
Professor
Michael S. Brown, M.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics, received his M.D. from The University of Pennsylvania and trained in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology before embarking on research on the molecular mechanism of cholesterol homeostasis for which he and Joseph Goldstein shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Brown was a founding director of the UTSW MSTP. He and Dr. Goldstein have supervised the thesis of 23 MSTP students, a number of whom have themselves gone on to illustrious careers. As MSTP Director Emeritus he participates in program seminars and activities, provides scientific and career advice to students, and advocates nationally for the importance of physician-scientists in biomedical research, academic medicine, and industry.
