UNMC researchers to take part in VA event

The Omaha VA and UNMC researchers will participate in an event Wednesday, May 17, to spotlight VA research. It will take place from 1-4 p.m. in Room 1004 of the Durham Research Center.

The event will be highlighted by a presentation by Karen Block, PhD, director of Gulf War research and of the newly developed VA Military Exposures Research Program (MERP). Dr. Block, who also is a senior program officer, VA Office of Research and Development, will speak on “VA Gulf War/Military Exposures Research Program (MERP).”

The Omaha VA Research Service also will present a series of oral clinical and laboratory science research presentations by VA/UNMC funded investigators, including:

  • Carol Casey, PhD, UNMC Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine; 
  • John Davis, PhD, UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; 
  • Bryant England, MD, PhD, UNMC Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine;
  • Apar Kishor Ganti, MD, UNMC Division of Oncology & Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine;
  • Ruxana Sadikot, MD, UNMC Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine.

The event also is available virtually via this link.

Omaha’s VA Hospital, a longtime partner of UNMC, is recognizing “Cutting-Edge Care Through Research” during National VA Research Week this week.

The Omaha VA currently has 131 active research projects, and approximately one half are protocols that directly impact veterans, according to Fredrick Hamel, PhD, VA associate chief of staff of research and professor of internal medicine at UNMC. The total Omaha VA research funding for active projects during the 2022-2023 government fiscal year was $5,794,108. This includes 24 VA-funded projects are being performed by VA investigators affiliated with UNMC.

For more on VA research, recent studies or opportunities for veterans to enroll in research programs, visit this link.