University of Nebraska Medical Center - News

[Coyote]

2,000th Liver Transplant Marks a Milestone

OMAHA, Neb. The Nebraska Medical Center and its partner, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), have reached a milestone shared by only five other transplant centers in the country by performing more than 2,000 liver transplants.

   Its an extraordinary milestone, said Alan Langnas, D.O., chief of transplantation at The Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC professor of surgery. It means so much to all of the people who began the program and those who have worked tirelessly, investing so much time and energy into making this program possible.

   I think the same spirit of enthusiasm for getting the thing started has helped sustain it, said Byers Shaw, Jr. chief of surgery at The Nebraska Medical Center and professor and chairman of the UNMC department of surgery. Dr. Shaw was instrumental in bringing the program to Omaha nearly 20 years ago. I remember sitting on the plane after a visit thinking, this would be a place where you couldnt go wrong in terms of starting something new like this, when so many people are really enthusiastic and are invested in making this work, he said.

    Its an incredible thing to think all of the wonderful and heroic patients over the years who have inspired us to keep doing what were doing and, of course, try to do it better all of the time, Dr. Langnas added.

    Patients like 2-year-old Cameron Brecka of Staplehurst, Neb. The once healthy toddler was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare type of liver cancer, one day before his second birthday.

All I could say was Oh my! said Casey Brecka, Camerons mother. We realized that we were dealing with something pretty awful.

Cameron started on chemotherapy, which didnt prove effective against the tumor; and it couldnt be removed surgically because the tumor had grown into the blood vessels of the liver. That left Cameron and the Brecka family in the hands of the liver transplant team.

Its hard to watch a stranger take your child down a long hallway to the operating room for a liver transplant, Casey said. But it was easier knowing that a hand-picked, well-trained and experienced transplant surgeon was waiting for him.

That surgeon, Debra Sudan, M.D., knew when she went in to the O.R. that the 2,000th liver transplant would be performed that night. She didnt know which of the three patients it would be.

It turned out to be Cameron and I was happy for him. He is a very nice little boy and his family is wonderfully supportive and just a pleasure to care for, said Dr. Sudan. To be No. 2000 is nice for the family. For our program, I think it shows that we have a lot of experience and when it comes to transplantation you cant have too much experience, Dr. Sudan added.

That experience can be traced back nearly 20 years to the programs first liver transplant, patient Frank Wood. His wife, Hazel, remembers the medical team fondly.

I am extremely grateful to those who took care of Frank. They allowed us many more happy years together, Hazel said. Frank Wood, transplanted in 1985, passed away from Alzheimers disease in October 2002 at the age of 71.

I know Frank would have been very pleased to hear about the 2,000th transplant. Hed be pleased to know how far theyve come, said Hazel.

Only five other transplant centers have reached 2,000 liver transplants. They are: UCLA, Pittsburgh, Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Baylor, and Mt. Sinai in New York.

   Laurie Williams, R.N., helped care for Frank after he was transplanted. She continues her work with the transplant team and says even after 2,000 patients nothing is routine.

   We may have been a bit more nervous for the first transplant and how everything would fit together and we might now be a bit more adept at anticipating problems and finding solutions, but every patient and family situation is unique and challenging, Williams said. Its

having the ability, knowledge and skill to help preserve life and the caring and thoughtfulness to form unforgettable relationships that keeps us all coming back day after day.

The impact of the transplant teams emotional investment is immeasurable. The economic impact, however, tops a half billion dollars. Since the program first began in July 1985, liver transplantation has brought approximately $578.6 million into the state of Nebraska, including the Omaha metropolitan area.

   Most importantly, having done 2000 transplants is a tribute to the many donor families that have given the gift of life in their time of tragedy, said Dr. Sudan. The recipients have no way to repay this gift, but are very grateful that there are so many generous people here in our country.

I am forever indebted to these people, said Casey Brecka. I dont even have the words to express how grateful I am. They saved my sons life.

   We are lucky to have brilliant surgeons, extraordinary caseworkers, nurses, psychologists and child specialists who grab on to the challenge of transplant, said Dr. Langnas. When you really get down to it, its because were in Nebraska. Special people live here. I think that its the Nebraskans and the Nebraskan approach to the world that has allowed us to become what we are a world-class transplant center committed to serious medicine and extraordinary care.





With a history dating back to 1869, The Nebraska Medical Center, known for excellence, innovation and quality patient care is listed as one of Americas Top Hospitals by US NEWS & WORLD REPORT. As the teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this 735 licensed bed facility has an international reputation for providing solid organ and bone marrow transplantation services and is well known nationally and regionally for its oncology, neurology and cardiology programs. The Nebraska Medical Center can be found online at http://www.nebraskamed.com UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC has established itself as one of the country's leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology, opthalmology and arthritis. UNMCs research funding from external sources is now more than $68 million annually.

[Coyote]

UNMC Marks Record Year For Research Grants

OMAHA, Neb. -- University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers have set a record with $68 million in new research grants for fiscal 2003-04.


The NU system's medical teaching and research campus in Omaha brought in more than $17.5 million in federal research grants during the fourth quarter alone.

Vice Chancellor for Research Thomas Rosenquist called it "an extraordinary year for research at UNMC."

UNMC said the funding has helped it establish itself as one of the country's leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and arthritis. It also notes it has become one of the nation's leading dental schools.

[Coyote]

Nearly $17 million NIH grant is UNMC’s largest ever

The University of Nebraska Medical Center has received a five-year grant totaling almost $17 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further its goal of building a statewide biomedical research infrastructure among undergraduate and graduate institutions. This is the largest grant in history received by UNMC.

“With the support of this grant we will be able to establish a platform of scientists for the development of a 21st century biomedical technology industry in Nebraska,” said Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNMC chancellor. “This speaks volumes about our researchers and their talents and the collaborative relationships they have built with the state’s undergraduate institutions. I applaud their efforts.”

Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research, said: “We are extremely pleased to have landed the largest NIH grant in Nebraska history. This comes on the heels of UNMC setting a record of more than $68 million in research grants during the past year, and it keeps us on track to reach our goal of $100 million by the end of 2005.”

James Turpen, Ph.D., professor in the UNMC department of genetics, cell biology and anatomy, is the principal investigator on the grant, which is through the Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). The grant, which totals $16.9 million, comes from the National Center for Research Resources, which is a division of the NIH.

“The whole idea is to expose students to serious biomedical research,” Dr. Turpen said. “This is a statewide effort, with UNMC as the lead institution, that will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students and serve as a pipeline for those students to continue in graduate research.”

Dr. Turpen said another major goal of the INBRE grant is to enhance the science and technology knowledge of the state’s workforce, which will hopefully attract more biotech industry to the state. It also will provide support for core facilities in bioinformatics, proteomics and microarray technology for biomedical research.

“Dr. Turpen is an outstanding scientist who has become a national leader in the design and implementation of these kinds of programs,” said Dr. Rosenquist. “We’ve been told that our grant application has become the new standard by which other similar grant applications will be measured in the future.”

This is the second NIH grant to support this effort. In 2001, UNMC received nearly $8 million in funding over three years to create the Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN). The goal of the BRIN program is to strengthen an organization’s infrastructure and increase its capacity to conduct cutting-edge biomedical and behavioral research.

The number of undergraduate students participating in the BRIN program has increased each year, Dr. Turpen said, with 15 students participating the first year, 24 students the second year and 26 students the third year.

The students, who enter the BRIN program after they complete their sophomore year of college, are recommended for the BRIN program by their college professors. They come from 10 different undergraduate and community college programs – the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Creighton University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Doane College, Chadron State College, Wayne State College, Priest Tribal College and Western Nebraska Community College.

Each undergraduate school nominates approximately three students each year for the program, Dr. Turpen said. Once in the BRIN program, the students are given two-year scholarships worth $11,000. The scholarship provides students with $2,500 during each of their next two undergraduate years and $3,000 during each of their next two summers. During the school year, the students conduct research on their home campuses. During the summers, the students have the option of staying on their home campus or coming to UNMC, UNL or Creighton and conducting research.

For graduate students, the BRIN program can provide $20,000 in funding for one year for up to 10 students per year. BRIN scholar, Kay Crabtree, said she would not have been able to pursue her interest in a research career if not for the support provided by the grant. Crabtree, who received the $20,000 graduate stipend, is a graduate research assistant working with Charles Wood, Ph.D., director of the Nebraska Center for Virology and the Lehr/3M Professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“The biggest benefit of this grant is that it increases awareness about opportunities to do biomedical research in Nebraska among the state’s undergraduates,” said Crabtree, who applied for a BRIN scholarship when she was studying biology as a graduate student at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

A BRIN conference, showcasing the research work of undergraduate students who are current BRIN scholars, will be held Aug. 11 and 12 in Grand Island.

[Coyote]

Zimmer to Develop Institute at University of Nebraska

WARSAW, Ind., Dec. 9 -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SWX: ZMH) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to establish a Zimmer Institute location at the school to collaborate on advancement of Minimally Invasive Solutions(TM) (MIS(TM)) Procedures and Technologies.

The University of Nebraska location is under the direction of Kevin Garvin, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. Under terms of the agreement, Todd Sekundiak, M.D., assistant professor of orthopaedics, will train orthopaedic surgeons to use Zimmer's minimally invasive technologies and participate in MIS product refinement. The university will function as a Zimmer Institute teaching facility and will become a Center of Excellence for MIS patient care.

"We are pleased to be partnering with an outstanding group of orthopaedic surgeons and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and look forward to working with them to make the patient benefits of MIS procedures more widely available," said Zimmer Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Elliott. "Minimally invasive joint replacement is getting people back to work or to their hobbies more quickly, but the patient benefits and the expected savings to the overall health care system will only be realized when the procedures are widely available. As a respected training institution, the UNMC will play a key role in realizing the promise of MIS procedures."

"We are excited about the prospect of combining what we have learned about minimally invasive orthopaedics with the experience of Zimmer and the other members of the Zimmer Institute network," said Dr. Garvin. "As an internationally known teaching institution, we believe this opportunity to expand surgeon education is very consistent with our mission and our expertise."

One focus of activity at the UNMC location will be development of Computer-Assisted Solutions(TM) (CAS(TM)) technologies for surgical navigation in MIS procedures. Zimmer has worked closely with Dr. Sekundiak on development of next-generation CAS systems that would employ electromagnetics in MIS Quad-Sparing(TM) Total Knee Arthroplasty. In addition to his involvement in MIS programs, Dr. Sekundiak and Dr. Garvin will be working with Zimmer to develop training courses related to revision joint replacement. "The number of revision procedures, as a percentage of all joint replacements, is growing as people live longer and expect to maintain an active lifestyle later in life," said Dr. Sekundiak. "I look forward to working with Zimmer to help a greater number of orthopaedic surgeons become more comfortable with these complex revision procedures." Another UNMC faculty member, Matthew Mormino, M.D., will conduct training courses related to orthopaedic trauma.

Zimmer opened the first location of the Zimmer Institute at the company's headquarters in Warsaw, Indiana, in 2003. Since then, it has established partnerships with Johns Hopkins University and the Tucson Orthopaedic Institute in the United States, and with several international partners. The company says this network of Zimmer Institute locations will contribute to a common pool of data and best practices, enabling each partner to benefit from the experience and developments of the others. The company expects to provide training for more than 1,400 surgeons during 2004 at all Institute locations.

About the University of Nebraska Medical Center

The University of Nebraska Medical Center, located in Omaha, Nebraska, is a nationally respected institution with a staff of more than 1,000 faculty physicians and scientists, 1,550 nurses, and more than 3,000 therapists, technicians, and other highly trained professionals delivering comprehensive and innovative medical treatment. The University's orthopaedic surgery department is well known for the quality of its faculty and alumni and the innovative research it conducts.

About Zimmer

Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. In October 2003, the Company finalized its acquisition of Centerpulse AG, a Switzerland-based orthopaedics company and the leader in the European reconstructive market. The new Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 80 countries. As a result of the acquisition of Centerpulse, reported 2003 sales were $1.9 billion. Full-year 2003 pro forma worldwide sales of Zimmer and Centerpulse were approximately $2.6 billion. The new Zimmer is supported by the efforts of more than 6,500 employees.

Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at http://www.zimmer.com

Source: Zimmer Holdings Inc.

[eomaha]

NU eyes tax credit idea

LINCOLN - The University of Nebraska could partner with the state's economic developers to promote a research tax incentive proposal in the 2005 legislative session.

The idea is to provide a 15 percent tax credit to encourage businesses to invest in research at state institutions.

"It makes sense to provide encouragement for the university to conduct research important to the private sector," NU President J.B. Milliken said, "and for the private sector to invest in research at the state university."

Barry Kennedy, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber might propose the initiative to improve Nebraska's economic development appeal.

"A number of states, as well as other countries, are providing tax credits for research," Kennedy said. "We have nothing drafted yet."

Milliken said the tax credit idea is not yet part of the 2005 legislative agenda planned by NU. The Legislature will set the state's budget for the next two fiscal years in the coming session.

The NU agenda does include a request for a 5.7 percent increase in state funding to continue current operations and to improve ongoing NU programs for 2005-06 and a 4.5 percent increase for 2006-07.

The increases would raise the state's annual funding for the university from the current level of $396.5 million to $419.2 million in 2005-06 and then to $438 million in 2006-07.

Milliken said the budget request includes necessary spending increases for such items as rising health insurance and utility costs.

It also would hike spending on three ongoing university initiatives.

Spending for programs of excellence, designed to funnel extra funding to the strongest programs, would go from $9 million a year to $12 million.

"This program is one of the best things that has happened to the University of Nebraska in recent years," Milliken said.

The budget also would raise annual spending to enhance NU's efforts to improve diversity in faculty and staff from $4 million to $5 million and raise aid to needy students by an additional $1 million to $8.2 million per year.

The budget as proposed does not include additional costs for salary increases or additional revenue from tuition increases, neither of which will be decided until next year.

State Sen. Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said it is too early to know whether the NU budget request will fit within legislative plans.

"We'll sort through it and try to be fair and, hopefully, be balanced," Wehrbein said.

The university's main budget request, approved by the Board of Regents in June, was submitted to the governor's budget staff in September. The governor will present his budget proposal to the Legislature in January.

In addition to increases in its main budget request, the university will seek $3 million a year for a Nebraska Distinguished Professorship program and $10 million a year to continue a building renovation program.

Under the professorship proposal, state funds would be used to match private donations for contributions. For example, a $250,000 private contribution and the matching state funds would create a $500,000 endowment. Proceeds would supplement the salary of a top faculty position.

Under the renovation proposal, the state would commit a total of $176.2 million over the next 15 years to help pay off bonds to refurbish old buildings on all four NU campuses.

The renovation proposal would extend and expand a 1998 program initiated by the Legislature. Under that $79 million plan, 14 buildings were renovated.

[Coyote]

Nebraska lauded for bioterrorism preparedness


Nebraska ranks among the top six states for bioterrorism preparedness, according to a new report, and state officials say they have zeroed in on the problems that have kept the state from pulling a perfect score.

A report released Tuesday by the nonprofit Trust for America's Health graded states on whether they met 10 criteria, such as how federal aid was spent in the state and whether the state had the work force needed to test for anthrax and plague.

No state scored a perfect 10. Nebraska was knocked down to eight because of an aging public health force and an insufficient number of level-three bioterrorism laboratories.

Nebraska was among 23 states and the District of Columbia to have more than 25 percent of its public health workers eligible to retire within the next five years. State Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Raymond said one recent survey put that percentage for Nebraska at 47 percent.

"It's a concern, and there's just no way to get around it. If 47 percent of your state public health work force is going to be at retirement age in five years you've got a problem looming," Raymond said.

But Nebraska is working hard to reduce the number of gray hairs among its medical staff by expanding education opportunities in the state, said Dr. Steven Hinrichs, director of the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory at University of Nebraska Medical Center.

"Most professionals go into practice near to where they are trained. That is the number one most effective way of retaining or obtaining health professionals, and that is to train them locally," Hinrichs said.

The state was solidly in the majority of those below par for bioterrorism labs - the report found only 16 states have enough. However, Nebraska has either opened in the last year or is about to open three more bioterrorism labs in Lincoln and Omaha.

That is up from only one initial level-three bioterrorism lab when Trust for America's Health likely conducted its survey, Hinrichs said.

The state has also worked for the past three years to increase the biosecurity capabilities at local labs throughout the state.

"We started this way back. We got our first grant for laboratory preparedness for bioterrorism actually before Sept. 11," Raymond said.

The success of Nebraska's bioterrorism preparedness can be attributed to the remarkable ability of both public and private health organizations in the state to coordinate their efforts, said Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman, the state's homeland security director.

"We're trying to do what's right for the state, and we've not engaged in what I'll call 'turf battles,' which has been a problem with other states," Heineman said.

That teamwork has enabled the state to focus on a task and get it done, he said.

"Our homeland security team, in my opinion, is one of the best in country because we know we have a job to do and we get in there and do our part," Heineman said.

[adam186]

CNN just did a report on funding terrorism. They said Omaha, Nebraska got $5 million in funding and Orlando got none. They also said this was based on population and Omaha has more than double the population of Orlando.

However, Orlando gets over 42 million visitors in a year. So I believe Orlando should get more money than us.

[DMRyan]

The Orlando metro smaller that Omaha? I don't think so. Maybe the City of Orlando proper, the other O-town has well over a million in the metro and is growing rapidly.

[adam186]

You are right! However, the gov. said they were looking at the official size of the population within the legal boundaries of the city. Not the areas near it or anything else.

Anyway, CNN did show some cool shots of Omaha.

[almighty_tuna]

The Orlando metro smaller that Omaha? I don't think so. Maybe the City of Orlando proper, the other O-town has well over a million in the metro and is growing rapidly.

I think you mis-interpreted! They said in the report that Omaha, proper, is twice as large as Orlando, proper. It continued to say the Orlando metro was twice as big as Omaha's metro.

That's right, avanzee, they had some good complimentary shots of Omaha, and really didn't follow the usual Nebraska/Midwest rural media stereotypes - which was refreshing.

Personally I'm not surprised that Nebraska is among the top 6 states. While I don't know who else is in the top 6, compared to states like California, Illinois, Texas, etc we have a lot less to get prepared.

[Omaha Cowboy]

From the Monday evening W-H:

'Med Center unveils biocontainment unit

BY NICHOLE AKSAMIT



WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was among the first to tour a new biocontainment unit at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.


Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Gov. Dave Heineman on Monday tour one room of the nation's first 10-bed Biocontainment Unit at the Nebraska Medical Center.

"I am impressed," Dr. Julie Gerberding said Monday as Gov. Dave Heineman and hospital and university officials unveiled the unit, billed as the first of its kind in the United States. "What we're looking at today is just one of many, many successes."

The new unit, on the seventh floor of University Tower in space that once housed pediatric transplant patients, has five rooms and 10 beds. It is designed to treat patients with contagious and deadly diseases such as smallpox and avian flu while preventing the spread of infection.

The unit features a negative air-flow system that sucks potentially contaminated air from patient rooms and hallways, pulling it away from the rest of the hospital and pushing it through special filters and UV rays before sending it outside.

John Sibley, Kiewit Construction's manager on the project, said the air in patient rooms changes completely about 15 times every hour.

The unit also has double interlocking doors, walk-through showers to disinfect staff and special sanitation equipment for sterilizing the outsides of specimen containers that need to leave the unit for analysis.

With capacity for up to 10 patients, the unit is believed to be the largest such facility in the country - and the only one intended for public patients.

Gerberding said no other states are developing such facilities, and the only others that exist are two-bed units for military researchers at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick, Md., and for CDC personnel at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

While many hospitals have isolation rooms for tuberculosis patients, she said, none has entire isolation units such as the one in Omaha.

Gerberding praised the planning and passion of the people involved, called the project a "national treasure" and the people who will staff it "health protection heroes." She said the unit could serve as a model for others across the country and may help the government gauge how many facilities ultimately are needed.

Pat Lenaghan, the nurse who helped design and now runs the unit, said it cost about $1 million to construct and a few hundred thousand dollars for special training. The bulk of the money came from federal public health and homeland security grants.

Lenaghan said 15 registered nurses and 14 respiratory therapists and technicians volunteered to staff the unit. They work in other areas of the hospital and are on call around the clock.

They have received special training on 11 major diseases and bioagents: anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fevers (such as ebola virus), severe acute respiratory syndrome (or SARS), monkeypox, avian influenza, and drug-resistant strains of staphylococcus aureus and tuberculosis. '..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[Coyote]

Nebraska gets its very own organism

Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center are feeling a little like Lewis and Clark these days.

While trying to pinpoint the cause of a lung infection in local cancer patients, they discovered a previously unknown micro-organism. And they've named it "mycobacterium nebraskense," after the Cornhusker state.

"It's not as exciting as discovering a new planet," said Dr. Steve Hinrichs, a UNMC microbiologist who was part of the discovery team. "But it's one of the small joys of biology, and it doesn't happen very often."

The organism is part of the mycobacterium (MY-ko-bak-TIER-ee-um) family, which includes diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy. The slow-growing nebraskense species (pronounced neh-brah-SKEN-see) is found in soil and water and is now known to cause chronic lung infections in people with suppressed immune systems.

Hinrichs, director of the Nebraska Medical Center's microbiology and virology laboratories, said the quest to identify the species started with a request from Dr. Stefano Tarantolo. The Omaha oncologist asked UNMC scientists for help after four cancer patients in five years had the same sort of lung infection. The lab results he got back on patient specimens were the same for all: "Mycobacterium unspecified."

Hinrichs said UNMC microbiologists and lab scientists extracted the organism's DNA from lab specimens, amplified it and isolated the part that seemed different from other forms of mycobacteria. Then, using software developed at the Peter Kiewit Institute, they checked the DNA sequence against a database of known organisms.

When they found no match, they submitted it to American and European data repositories as a new mycobacterium called "Nebraskensis" (the Latin term found on the University of Nebraska seal). It was approved as "nebraskense" instead.

Putting a name to the organism is important, Hinrichs said, because it will allow quicker diagnosis and more specific treatment of the illness in other immuno-suppressed patients.

The researchers have patented a test kit that public health labs elsewhere can use to diagnose it in a matter of two or three days instead of the four to six weeks it usually takes to grow the organism in the lab. Hinrichs said Omaha scientists also have identified which antibiotics are most successful at killing the bug.

Hinrichs said newly discovered organisms usually are named for who identified them, where they were found or their color. Researchers went with Nebraska because the discovery was a team effort - and because there's a mycobacterium already named for Kansas.

An image of mycobacterium nebraskense, found in soil and water
and known to cause chronic lung infections in people with suppressed
immune systems.

[DTO Luv]

An image of mycobacterium nebraskense, found in soil and water
and known to cause chronic lung infections in people with suppressed
immune systems.

Eww. Another reason not to like Nebraska.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

Stupidest name ever.....

[almighty_tuna]

I wholly disagree, any of these would be 1,000 times worse.

"Mycobacterium Huskerense"
"Mycobacterium Bigredite"
"Mycobacterium Osbornium"
"Mycobacterium Unicameral"....well, that may be wholly appropriate

[Brad]

Its very strange they named something "bad" after the state.

[eomaha]

UNMC, NU Law move up in national rankings

LINCOLN - The University of Nebraska Medical Center has gained ground among the nation's top medical schools, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report magazine.

UNMC moved from 20th to a five-way tie for 17th in educating students for primary health care, one of two major categories in the medical area.

The medical center also improved in specialty categories, moving from 13th to 10th with its rural health care program and ranking for the first time in family medicine, at 21st.

Other NU campuses also had success in the rankings.

The University of Nebraska College of Law was in a six-way tie for 77th, up from 89th a year ago.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha's criminology program was ranked for the first time, placing ninth among 33 doctoral programs nationwide.

Creighton University's law school was grouped, as it was last year, with law schools that just missed the top 100.

The rankings are included in U.S. News & World Report's annual "America's Best Graduate Schools" edition, which is scheduled to hit newsstands on Monday.

The special edition includes new rankings for graduate schools of business, education, engineering, medicine, law and numerous specialty programs. It also republishes specialty program rankings that are updated only every three years.

Rubens Pamies, vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNMC, said the magazine's rankings validate the medical center's constant efforts to improve.

"When you have everyone coming together under one common goal - to be world-class - you can achieve a lot," Pamies said.

The magazine bases its rankings on the opinions of experts in various fields and a variety of statistical indicators.

[Omaha Cowboy]

It's nice to see the Univ of N get some national props..Especially the Omaha campus and the Med Center..The Med Center is becoming an elite teaching hospital..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[DTO Luv]

And I can say I was born there.

[Coyote]

Museum of nursing opens

The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing History Museum traces the nursing program's history from the time the school opened as the University of Nebraska School for Nurses in 1917 through today.

[Coyote]

Heart transplant recipient feels 'fantastic'

The surgery marked the revival of a heart transplant program that had been dormant since 1999. The hospital and the University of Nebraska Medical Center began reviving the program last year with the recruitment of widely known heart specialist Dr. Deepak Gangahar.

Heart Transplant Journey Will Take Patient Home to Heal


Heart Transplant Fact Sheet

• First heart transplant since 1999
• Heart Transplant Program went inactive in 1999 when Tim Galbraith, M.D. left
• The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) recertified the program in 2004 under the then leadership of Deepak Gangahar, M.D.
• Dr. Gangahar left in 2005 - the program remained open but did not list patients
• Kim Duncan, M.D. came on board as the Chief of Cardio-Thoracic surgery in April 2005
• First patient listed for heart transplant on Aug. 21, 2005. That patient received a left ventricular assisted device or LVAD and temporarily moved down the transplant list.
• Mark Maeder listed for transplant on Aug. 31, 2005
• Mark Maeder transplanted on Sept. 30, 2005
• Mark Maeder nears discharge from hospital two weeks after transplant

[Uffda]

I teach with Mark Maeder's wife and it has been a long summer since he first starting feeling ill in July. He went rapidly downhill in August and was moved quicly to the top of the transplant list. His wife has taken at least 6 weeks off and I know that they have both been very happy that they were able to do the transplant here in Omaha.

[the1wags]

One of Yahoo's top AP stories today, development of small surgical robots at UNMC. Good national pub for the Big O.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_ ... c_surgeons

[almighty_tuna]

Beat me by 5min, Wags! This is really great stuff they're developing. This news made Drudgereport as well.

[edsas]

Whoa! Cutting edge. Seems like this might end up a pretty ubiquitous technology.

[Omaha Cowboy]

From the piece:

'OMAHA, Neb. - Small robots designed by University of Nebraska researchers may allow doctors on Earth to help perform surgery on patients in space.

The tiny, wheeled robots, which are about 3 inches tall and as wide as a lipstick case, can be slipped into small incisions and computer-controlled by surgeons in different locations.

Some robots are equipped with cameras and lights and can send back images to surgeons. Others have surgical tools attached that can be controlled remotely.

"We think this is going to replace open surgery," Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov said..'..

Nice article!..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[StreetsOfOmaha]

OMAHA, Neb. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Coyote]

UNMC tool aids research on monkeys

UNMC is getting quite a bit of national converage for this!

University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers have helped to develop a new tool - based on the genes of a monkey - that could accelerate the work of researchers studying AIDS, brain diseases and fertility. The tool is a gene chip, a kind of genetic decoder ring that can help researchers more quickly and efficiently decipher when and where genes are expressed, or turned on, in the rhesus macaque.

[MTO]

I’m quite proud of our little med-school to say the least. This seams quite technical and its very impressive. I didn’t know UNMC had the resources to develop something like this. I hope in the future PKI and UNMC will work together on even more ambitious projects.

[Coyote]

UNMC's Article:

UNMC researcher active in developing new gene chip

Did you know...
The UNMC DNA Microarray Core Facility, located in the Munroe-Meyer Institute, is used by about 50 research teams at UNMC and other research institutions in Nebraska, including UNL, UNO, UNK, Creighton University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Doane College, Wayne State College and the Boys Town National Research Hospital. James Eudy, Ph.D., is director of the core facility.

[MTO]

I’m kind of thinking it’s about time UNMC gets a supercomputer. Preferably something using the new cell-chip.

[Brad]

The new signs are up

[UNMCStudent]

Just a heads up - CNN was at the med center filming recently - i'm not exactly sure what the piece is going to be about - but I hear it'll air on the 19th. Ill post if I find out anything more.

[eomaha]

Hopefully something other than the bio-terror center... I think people are tired of hearing about that stuff (not that it's not fulfilling an important role).

And aren't those new signs purty!

[jcitta]

Im quite proud of my current training facility.
Just a heads up, they are doing tons of dirtwork for the new academic building. I was also at a lunch the other day where the chancellor was talking about the future of UNMC. If they work out that deal where they can "move" saddle creek expect some significant mid level high rises to be built in that area. They are already in the final planning stages of
DRC II (durham research center). Pretty exciting stuff.

[eomaha]

[Coyote]

UNMC rises in U.S. News ranking

UNMC tied for 11th place with the University of Iowa and Baylor College of Medicine in educating students for primary health care, one of two major categories in the medical area. UNMC ranked 17th last year. UNMC's rural health medicine program also moved up, from 10th to ninth.

Top Medical Schools-Primary Care

1. University of Washington
2. University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
3. Oregon Health and Science University
4. Mich. State U. Coll. of Osteopathic Medicine
4. University of Massachusetts–Worcester
6. Duke University (NC)
6. East Carolina University (Brody) (NC)
6. University of Colorado–Denver and Health Sciences Center
6. University of Wisconsin–Madison
10. University of California–San Francisco
11. Baylor College of Medicine (TX)
11. University of Iowa (Carver)
11. University of Nebraska College of Medicine
14. Michigan State University
14. University of Vermont

[eomaha]

Nice! Let's celebrate with a new Saddlecreek corridor.

[Coyote]

I can't wait to post that news! Saddle Creek Lake.

[MTO]

It’s a win win for everyone they should start it ASAP.