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Nurse Who Works with HIV Patients Around
Globe Among Exemplary Employee Awardees

Ioana Patringenaru | May 18, 2009

Photo of Terry Alexander
Terry Alexander, this year's principal exemplary staff employee, pets a lion during a trip to Romania.

During one of his first visits to Romania, Terry Alexander, a nurse and supervisor in the neurosciences department, met with older teens and young adults who had been infected by the HIV virus as infants and toddlers.

Alexander remembers being moved by of the plight of the youngsters, who had contracted the disease through no fault of their own during hospital stays. He was equally moved that these young men and women had agreed to take part in a study of the disease’s long-term effects.

“They were innocently exposed,” he said. “And now they were able to provide the world with a better understanding of disease.”

Alexander was in Romania to train nurses and physicians in patient evaluation techniques for an HIV study and to make sure they met international academic and research standards. For all his efforts at work and beyond, he has been recognized as the Principal Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year for 2009, officials in Human Resources announced. He and nine other staff members will receive their Exemplary Staff Employee awards Wednesday at the UCSD Faculty Club.

“There are a lot of good people here at UCSD and I’m thrilled that he’s getting recognized,” said Alexander’s supervisor, Ron Ellis, an associate professor of neurosciences at the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center.

As an administrative nurse supervisor, Alexander oversees clinical evaluations on patients and quality assurance in a large international program investigating the impact of HIV on the brain and the nervous system. He also conducts evaluations himself. When he is not as work, he counsels recovering drug addicts and, until recently, took part in a support group for cancer patients.

But Alexander doesn’t just supervise staff and jet across the globe to train others. He has a knack for making everything go smoothly. “He’s one of these people who can go to a foreign country and very quickly gain the trust of someone he’s never met before,” Ellis said.

He is also one of the few registered nurses in the nation certified to perform lumbar puncture spinal taps for research studies. And he volunteered his time to serve on the Human Subjects Research Protections Program and the Medical Center Interdisciplinary Practices Committee for more than five years.

Asked what motivates him in his job, Alexander said he loves what he does and the people he works with.I feel like we’re actually doing something to help,” he said. For example, in the past five years since his first visit to India, he has seen dramatic improvements, he said. When he first went there, the studies he worked with were providing medication for just 14 people. During his second visit, that number had jumped to 140. “In the past five years, there has been a tremendous amount of focus on the HIV community” in India, he said.

Photo of Terry Alexander
Alexander said that seeing poverty on India's streets was one of the
toughest experiences during his travels.

It’s interesting to watch different cultures take different approaches to the disease, he added. But the trips can also take their toll. Watching India’s extreme poverty on the streets was tough, he said. “It’s heartbreaking to know that you can’t make one bit of difference,” he said. “And you walk away and you don’t know how long they have to live.”

Alexander is no stranger to difficult life circumstances. Before coming to UCSD, he faced personal struggles and lost a job in Florida. Being able to overcome these challenges has inspired him to give back, he said.

The only thing that I’ve done is walk through doors that opened,” he said. “My life is unbelievable. But I did not do this on my own.”

The other nine Exemplary Staff Employees of the Year for 2009 are:

Jeffrey Borden
Senior Inspector – Planner – Estimator
Business Affairs: Facilities Management

Sean Crowder
Buyer III
Business Affairs: Business and Financial Services

Trina Limberg
Respiratory Therapist IV
UCSD Medical Center: Pulmonary Division

John Newhart
Respiratory Therapist IV
UCSD Medical Center: Respiratory Therapy

Natalie Powell
Administrative Analyst
Academic Affairs: Mathematics

Richard Rambo
Electrical Technician – Supervisor
UCSD Medical Center: Clinical Engineering Services

Cynthia Rowe
Principal Administrative Analyst - Supervisor
UCSD Medical Center: Workers’ Compensation

Jessica St. Clair
Senior Paralegal Specialist
Student Affairs: Student Policies and Judicial Affairs

Marguerite Wilson
Hospital Laboratory Technician IV – Supervisor
Health Sciences: Ophthalmology

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