Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/1189458
31 t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 9/JA N 2 02 0 • • • MICHAEL E. DeBAKEY VA MEDICAL CENTER Expanded mental health services A new mental health care center at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center expanded much-needed services for Houston-area veterans, including same-day appointments. The facility houses a variety of mental health services, including a post-traumatic stress disorder program, neuropsychology, veterans justice outreach and behavioral health, along with marriage and family counseling. • • • NORA'S HOME Raised nearly $1 million at annual gala The annual Nora's Home gala offered a 1970's-inspired "We Are Family" theme and was hosted by co-chairs Nick and Vicki Massad. As a kidney recipient, Nick spoke about his connection to the Houston transplant commu- nity and to the mission of Nora's Home—to be a home away from home for transplant patients and their families. Following Nick to the absorbing food dyes that confine solidification to a very fine layer. ➟ podium was his living donor—his own daughter, Taylor Tritt. Their story helped raise more than $950,000. • • • RICE UNIVERSITY Made breakthrough in 3D printing replacement organs Rice University bioengineers cleared a major obstacle to 3D printing replacement organs in 2019. In a paper featured on the May 3 cover of Science, Rice assistant professor Jordan Miller, Ph.D., and 15 collaborators from the University of Washington and elsewhere demonstrated a technique for printing living tissues with exqui- sitely entangled vascular networks. The tech- nique allows engineers to mimic the branching structure of the intricate passageways that transport blood, air, lymph and other vital fluids. Printing these is a challenge because the passages for different fluids are intricate and intertwined, so Miller and colleagues created a new open-source bioprinting technology dubbed the "stereolithography apparatus for tissue engineering," or SLATE, which makes soft hydrogels one layer at a time. SLATE uses a digital light processing projector and liquids that become solid when exposed to light. A key breakthrough was the addition of light Rice University researchers helped develop a breakthrough bioprinting technique. Credit: courtesy photo