Dr. Alfred G. Gilman

Dr. Alfred (“Al”) Goodman Gilman (1941 – 2015) was a renowned biochemist and pharmacologist. In 1994 he shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology with Martin Rodbell for their discovery of G proteins, that transformed the field of cell signaling. Here at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, he chaired the Department of Pharmacology from 1981 to 2004, becoming Dean of the Medical School in 2004 and Provost in 2006. In 2009, he was appointed first chief scientific officer of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). His multiple accomplishments included writing and editing several iterations of the definitive Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, a textbook first written in 1941 by Alfred Gilman, his father, with Louis Goodman. In addition, he placed a special emphasis on medical education and was instrumental in the formation of the Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) at UT Southwestern. On a personal level, he was an approachable, beloved and inspirational mentor, who taught generations of physicians and scientists.

Annual Symposium April 10, 2025

This year's symposium was held on April 10, 2025. The theme of the event was A New Frontier: The Intersection of Medical Education and Artificial Intelligence.

As the preeminent medical education conference hosted on our campus at no cost each year, the Gilman Symposium provides an invaluable opportunity for educators to learn from invited national and institutional leaders and experts in medical education. The keynote virtual speaker this year was Dr. Marc Triola, a faculty member at NYU Langone Health. Dr. Triola serves as the Associate Dean for Educational Informatics and the Director of the Institute for Innovations in Medical Education. He is an internationally recognized expert in the use of novel technologies and learning analytics to drive medical innovation and cutting-edge medical education research.

In addition, the opening plenary session featured the first campus-wide address from Dr. James Willig, the new Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education at UT Southwestern, as he shared his vision for undergraduate medical education on our campus. Attendees also heard project updates from our SWAT/OME Fellows and our SWAT Small Grants Project awardees, representing some of the best educational innovation work being done by our faculty. 

The agenda can be found here: Alfred G. Gilman Symposium 2025 - Agenda

The recording of the event can be found here: Alfred G. Symposium 2025 - Zoom Recording