Two UT Southwestern Faculty Members Inducted Into Shine Academy

DALLAS – Feb. 16, 2021 – In recognition of outstanding teaching, the UT System’s Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education is inducting two UT Southwestern educators as new members during its annual conference in Austin. The event will be held virtually on Feb. 20.

Nora Gimpel, M.D., associate professor of family and community medicine, and Kevin Klein, M.D., professor of anesthesiology and pain management, and otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, will join 28 current and former UTSW faculty members named to the academy, which recognizes exceptional health science teaching.

“I am honored to be recognized by the UT System as a member of the Shine Academy, and I am so grateful for the opportunity that UT Southwestern has given me to continue my passion in education and medicine,” says Gimpel, a UTSW faculty member since 2004. “I am committed to continue enhancing the integration of community health science into academic departments in order to respond to an educational and community need.”

Klein, a third-generation Texas physician who is a noted anesthesiology leader and educator at the medical center, says he was elated and overjoyed at the honor: “I am very proud to be included in this esteemed company of educators. I have had many wonderful role models as teachers in my 43 years at UT Southwestern and I continue to have a lot of work to do to measure up to them.”

Established in 2005, the academy is named after Kenneth I. Shine, former UT System executive vice chancellor of health affairs. Shine, who retired in 2013, championed many UT System-led enhancements in health care education and research, and served as interim chancellor for the UT System in 2008.

More than 150 UT System educators have been inducted into the academy. Nominations for membership may come from the president, dean, vice dean, or faculty senate at any of the six health institutions in the UT System.

The 2021 honorees from UTSW are:

Nora Gimpel, M.D.

A member of UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) since 2014, Gimpel serves as vice chair of community health in the department of family and community medicine. 

She has mentored numerous pre- and postdoctoral students in community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles, training them to create innovative research models and culturally appropriate approaches of care for the underserved. Gimpel has published several academic articles and delivered scores of international, national, and regional presentations on CBPR and topics related to community medicine. 

“My goal as an educator is to inspire learners to think about medicine as the art of compassionate care and social interaction,” she says. “I teach the scientific and social aspects of medicine and I intend to create environments where the learners are inspired to think critically.”

In addition to her departmental roles, Gimpel leads UT Southwestern Medical School’s community health scholarly activity and distinction tracks and directs the Community Medicine Fellowship Program. She also serves on the boards of the Society of Student-Run Free Clinics and the North Texas Alliance to Reduce Teen Pregnancy. 

Gimpel earned her medical degree at the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine in Argentina and completed her residency in family medicine at the Center of Medical Studies and Clinical Research in Buenos Aires.

Gimpel, who holds the Dr. John L. and Louise Roan Professorship in Family Medicine at UTSW, has been selected to participate in several leadership training programs, including LEAD, AΩA Fellowship in Leadership, and the AAMC Minority Faculty Leadership, to continue her career development as a leader in education. “I was born in a family of teachers and started teaching when I was 18. I’ve been inspired by those who demonstrated true passion and dedication for education. Considering the current health inequalities and disparities, I strongly believe in an integrated educational approach that emphasizes the importance of biological, psychological, and social determinants of health.”

Kevin Klein, M.D.

Klein graduated from UT Southwestern Medical School in 1981, then completed a three-year residency in internal medicine and a two-year residency in anesthesiology here.

His career at UT Southwestern spans four decades, during which he has served as a leader of the anesthesiology faculty and as a practicing anesthesiologist. Klein has become known as UTSW’s expert in difficult airway management, and he has been designated a fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

In 2019, Klein served as the 136th president of the Dallas County Medical Society (DCMS), the second-largest medical society in the nation. His one-year term leading the 7,700-member group marked the sixth time a member of the UTSW faculty led the DCMS.

At UTSW, Klein has served on or assisted with numerous institutional committees, task forces, and initiatives. He helped establish the UTSW Heart Transplant Program at the former St. Paul University Hospital and served as medical director of anesthesiology when then-Zale Lipshy University Hospital was preparing to open – designing each operating room, acquiring and supervising installation of all anesthesia equipment, and writing numerous policies and procedures.

The Klein family’s medical tradition bridges 100 years, with his grandfather preceding him as a DCMS member and his father practicing medicine in South Texas, eventually serving a term as president of the Cameron County Medical Society.

“The road to becoming a physician is long and difficult and the motivation must come from within. You help the sick and injured, but physicians help others in a deeply personal way that has its own rewards,” he notes. “When I meet with my students for the first time, I do my best to make them feel welcome in the clinical environment. I want everyone – students, patients, and staff – to feel that the care given to each patient is better because a medical student is there. And I want them to have fun.”

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 23 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,500 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 105,000 hospitalized patients, nearly 370,000 emergency room cases, and oversee approximately 3 million outpatient visits a year.