UNMC for the record, April 14, 2023

Paul Trippier, PhD

Paul Trippier, PhD

Campus invited to Kinman Oldfield award presentation

Paul Trippier, PhD, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, will be honored with the Vada Kinman Oldfield Award for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease on April 19 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Wigton Heritage Center Atrium.

It is the first in-person presentation of the award since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the campus is invited to join the celebration.

The event also will honor four students pursuing work in Alzheimer’s research with Reagan Scholarship Awards sponsored by the Kinman Oldfield Family Foundation.

Nearly 3,000 attend AAP/MMI autism acceptance event

Members of MMI’s transition services and arts advocacy programs were at the event.

Nearly 3,000 people were on hand for the Autism Action Partnership and Munroe-Meyer Institute’s World Autism Day celebration, which was held on April 2 at the Gene Leahy Mall at the Riverfront in Omaha.

Face-painting, puppet shows, games, food trucks and informational booths staffed by community partners were among the attractions for the event, which was held at the downtown mall for the first time.

“The impact of hosting this event in a public space and inviting the entire community to join us is so important. It’s not just an event for members of the autism community,’” said Justin Dougherty, executive director of Autism Action Partnership. “When it’s done in a way and a place that all can celebrate, it increases inclusion.”

MMI Community Engagement Director Melonie Welsh attended the event to share information about MMI. Other MMI programs staffed and attended the event, including the MMI Department of Recreational Therapy, which helped attendees create tactile keychains and bracelets, the integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and the UCEDD’s transition and arts advocacy programs.

“This is always a joyful event,” Welsh said. “We work, as does AAP, to increase autism acceptance throughout the year, but this annual collaboration gives us a chance to take our message to the wider community in a way that is welcoming, fun and informative.”

Webinar explores a top-down wellness plan

As part of a webinar series “Incivility & Bullying in the Workplace,” the Nebraska Collaborative is offering the webinar, featuring Jonathan Ripp, MD, is called “Implementing a Systemic Wellness Plan from Top Down” on Wednesday, April 19. from noon-1 p.m. CT.  The webinar will describe the current state of health professional well-being, generate the case for institutional-level commitment to well-being and discuss the role of chief wellness officers as a means to address well-being at the institutional level. 

Register for the webinar.

Dr. Ripp is professor of medicine, medical education and geriatrics and palliative medicine and chief wellness officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. He oversees efforts to assess and provide direction for system-and individual-level interventions designed to improve well-being for all students, residents, fellows, and faculty in the Mount Sanai Health System.  He also is the co-founder and co-director of CHARM, the Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine, an international group of medical educators, academic medical center leaders, experts in burnout research and interventions and learners all working to promote learner and trainee wellness. 

1.0 ANCC contact hour will be provided by UNMC College of Nursing, Continuing interProfessional Development and Innovation (CiPDI).

See more information about the webinar series and register for other presentations.  

Retirements announced

Kim Moeller of the UNMC College of Pharmacy retired April 1, marking the end of a more than 40-year career at UNMC that began on July 1, 1980. Moller is the longest-tenured employee on the list of retirements released this month by the department of human resources.

College colleague Dennis Russell, who retired April 1, is the second-longest-tenured retiree. His start date on March 1, 1993, means he spent more than three decades with UNMC.

Other retirees announced this month by UNMC Human Resources include:

  • Carol McMorris, the Munroe-Meyer Institute, retired April 4 (start date Oct. 1, 1995)
  • Karen Stiles, UNMC College of Medicine, retired April 1 (start date Feb. 16, 2009)