Dr. Elfervig received her B.S. in nursing from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) at Lafayette, her Masters degree in pediatric nursing from Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA, and her Doctorate degree as Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.S.) in Ophthalmology and Adult health from Louisiana State University Medical Center at New Orleans in 1996. She also did doctorate studies at University of Memphis (U of M) and University of Tennessee at Memphis. She also completed studies in pre-medicine courses at USL and U of M and took optometric courses at Southern College of Optometry at Memphis. She completed a clinical rotation in ophthalmology at the Vitreoretinal Foundation at Memphis. What makes Dr. Elfervig so unique is that she is the first D.N.S. in the field Ophthalmology in the Nation. She loves to learn and is a recent graduate (December 2009) and in the first class at CBU to complete studies for a Masters of Art in Catholic Studies. Dr. Elfervig serves as an Independent Ophthalmic Consultant and Clinician with the Eye Specialty Group as an Advance Practice RN with prescription privileges, in examining and treating ocular conditions as a Practitioner, Researcher, Educator, and giving Community Service. Dr. Elfervig is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an Associate member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Memphis Eye Society. Some of her other memberships include the Tennessee Nurses Association, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, International Society of Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision, American College of Nurse Practitioners, American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses, University of Tennessee-Memphis Center for Vision Research, Greater Memphis Area-Advanced Practice Nurses, National Association of Prolife Nurses, Celebrate Nursing Organization, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She also has many awards and honors to her credit, but she especially appreciated being inducted with her colleagues’ as one of the “Top 100 Nurses” in the Fayette and Shelby Counties in May 2001. Dr. Elfervig has numerous publications to her credit, plus her most recent contribution, the chapter on “Visual Disorders”, a new textbook for advance practice nurses published by Prentice-Hall in 2010. She also has several presentations to her credit as far as Russia and Moorfields Eye Hospital in England. She has given of her time and talent in volunteering of her services on medical eye care mission in Peru and Mexico.

Viswatej Avutu, who goes by Vishu, is a Dean’s Honored Graduate in Biochemistry. He is also a member of the Dean’s Scholars Honors Program. During his time at UT Vishu has received an astonishing number of scholarships and grants, including an Unrestricted Endowed Presidential Scholarship, the American Chemical Society’s International Research Experience for Undergraduates Scholarship, and the Virginia and Ernest Cockrell Jr. Scholarship in Engineering. He also received the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, a scholarship that allowed him to pursue research in science and engineering in Germany. Vishu started his work in Dr. Andrew Ellington’s lab (which he terms “Ellingtonia”) in the summer of 2007, and since then he has collaborated on numerous projects and completed an honors thesis. Vishu’s original research work in Ellingtonia involved the efficient synthesis of aptamers. Aptamers are nucleic acid molecules that bind to a biological target. If that biological target is important in human health, the efficacy of aptamer binding can have important medical implications. While working with Dr. Ellington, Vishu challenged the traditional method of aptamer synthesis. The traditional selection process is preformed in vitro, that is, without the use of an intact, living model system. Instead, Vishu developed a method of aptamer selection that could be performed in vivo or in the living animal. He identified their localization within different cell lines and sought to improve the effectiveness of a potentially therapeutic aptamer. Not only does Vishu investigate new areas of science, he helps others to understand and master challenging material. He says that some of his best experiences at UT were while working as a teaching assistant. He says that work taught him “the importance of understanding something, not just knowing it.” Vishu also spent time helping his peers at the University of Texas Teaching and Learning Center. In his free time he worked at the Round Rock Medical Center, training emergency room volunteers. This summer, Vishu has a research fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. There he plans to continue the research he has started at UT Austin. Next fall, Vishu will pursue a degree in medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Vishu chose Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology and Clinically Oriented Anatomy for his books.