UT Health Austin

06/22/2026

Testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) shouldn’t be intimidating — it’s a normal part of taking care of your health.

One of our primary care physicians and an HIV specialist, Aliza Norwood, M.D., wants you to know that:
1. STI testing is routine.
2. Many STIs have no symptoms.
3. Testing is personalized based on your health history and sexual activity.

Having open, honest conversations about sexual health can help you make informed decisions for yourself and your partner(s). Healthcare providers are here to answer questions without judgment and help you feel confident about your next step.

06/12/2026

Academic Medicine Week is a reminder that academic medicine brings specialty care, research and training together in ways that improve outcomes and expand what patients can access. At The University of Texas at Austin, that means Central Texans can get highly specialized care close to home, not somewhere else.

That includes rare emergency heart care after a bull-riding injury, major transplant milestones for kids and adults, and breakthrough pediatric interventions like a Berlin Heart implant in a newborn.

It also includes new capabilities now accessible in Austin, like the first pediatric bone marrow transplant performed in Central Texas, so families can stay nearer to their support systems during treatment.

06/10/2026

We’re pleased to welcome Mehdi Mirsaeidi, M.D., to our Pulmonology Clinic.

Dr. Mirsaeidi is a board-certified pulmonologist who specializes in interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis and complex respiratory infections. He also has extensive research experience focused on improving diagnosis and treatment for serious lung conditions, including pulmonary fibrosis, COPD and lung cancer.

His expertise helps enhance care options for patients and families navigating complex lung and breathing concerns.

Learn more about Dr. Mirsaeidi: https://bit.ly/4uqKiz0

06/01/2026

When two-year-old Milah Faciane suddenly couldn’t stand or walk, her care team had to move fast.

Kevin Kumar, M.D., and Elias Rizk, M.D., neurosurgeons with UT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences at Dell Children's Medical Center, helped identify the cause: a tangled mass of blood vessels compressing her spinal cord.

In the operating room, Kumar and Rizk led an intricate, hours-long procedure to open her spine, isolate the abnormal vessels one by one, and relieve pressure on the spinal cord.

After surgery and intensive rehab, Milah began crawling again, then standing, then taking steps — mobility milestones that once felt out of reach.

Read more in People:

A Texas toddler regained the ability to walk after emergency surgery for a rare spinal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

05/29/2026

Symptoms that interfere with your daily life deserve attention.

Whether you’re experiencing pelvic pain, persistent fatigue, mental health concerns or changes that don’t feel quite right, you don’t have to navigate them alone.

Learn more about our women’s health services: https://bit.ly/49t86uE

05/27/2026

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Navkiran “Kiran” Shokar to our primary care clinic! A board-certified family medicine physician, she focuses on preventive care, patient education and supporting overall health and wellness.

Dr. Shokar also serves as chair of the Department of Population Health and as associate dean for community affairs at Dell Medical School - UT Austin. Her work centers on cancer prevention and control, shared decision-making and community-based research to address health disparities in low-income and underserved communities.

Her approach brings prevention closer to home by connecting community needs with everyday care, helping more people access the information they need to make informed choices and stay healthier over time.

05/26/2026

A defining milestone for heart care in Austin.

Heart transplant patient Victor Gamble rang the ceremonial bell after discharge, surrounded by the community that helped make it possible, marking the Institute for Cardiovascular Health’s 500th heart transplant.

The care Gamble received at the Institute for Cardiovascular Health was coordinated, team-based care, meaning before transplant, during surgery and through recovery, he had an entire team that met daily to discuss his care and help with his recovery.

The Institute for Cardiovascular Health is a partner program with Ascension Seton, and surgeons in the program are Dell Medical School - UT Austin faculty, including Gamble’s surgeon, Dr. William Kessler. This kind of clinical and academic collaboration helps Central Texans access complex care with teams who keep learning and improving.

05/21/2026

Please join us in welcoming Trisha Parekh, D.O., to our Pulmonology Clinic!

As a board-certified pulmonologist, Dr. Parekh cares for people living with chronic lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and bronchiectasis. She also serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Dell Medical School - UT Austin.

As a behavioral scientist, Dr. Parekh designs and tests patient- and community-level interventions that address the social and environmental factors that shape lung health, with a focus on reducing COPD-related disparities. Her work is supported by the National Institutes of Health and grounded in a patient-centered approach built on trust and understanding.

We’re proud to have her expertise on our team and excited for the impact her care and research will bring to our community.

05/20/2026

When knee pain makes every step a question, patients deserve answers that are personal.

In our Musculoskeletal Institute, clinicians are using a shared decision-making tool that brings together what patients report about pain and function with clinical data and predictive analytics. This AI-enabled approach has improved decision quality, supported choices that better matched patients’ goals and led to better functional outcomes.

The result? Clearer expectations, stronger collaboration with the care team and a plan built around each person.

Learn more:

Researchers developed and tested a shared decision-making tool that integrates patient-reported outcomes, electronic health record data, and predictive analytics to support personalized treatment decisions for knee osteoarthritis, significantly improving decision quality and patient-provider collabo...

05/19/2026

Please join us in welcoming Zakariah S. Mahmood, M.D. to our Musculoskeletal Institute!

As a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and upper extremity surgery, Dr. Mahmood cares for patients with a range of needs, including hand trauma, bone loss reconstruction and complex upper-extremity conditions, with a focus on helping people get back to daily life with less pain and better function.

He also serves as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at Dell Medical School - UT Austin, contributing to team-based learning and multidisciplinary education.