UNMC welcomed representatives of the global health care company Abbott to campus Tuesday, Aug. 19, for a discussion on shared interests and a look at the med center’s latest facilities.
The guests – leaders within Abbott’s diagnostics business – met with UNMC leaders, including Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, and Ken Bayles, PhD, UNMC’s vice chancellor for research.
“It was a great day,” Dr. Bayles said. “We shared with them some of the incredible research going on here at UNMC and explored opportunities for impactful collaboration in a variety of disciplines.”
The Abbott representatives were led by John Frels, PhD, vice president of research and development at Abbott. They also included experts in such areas as infectious disease and global disease surveillance, blood testing, diagnostic biomarkers and traumatic brain injury.
UNMC researchers shared information about UNMC’s overall research priorities, including its capabilities in clinical research and infectious diseases, as well as work in the areas of cardiology and neuroscience and brain health.
The group also toured the Davis Global Center, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and the Innovation Design Unit’s bridge space, where Bethany Lowndes, PhD, led a discussion about the unit that opened earlier this year in University Tower.
Dr. Lowndes is an associate professor in the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences. She also is the scientific director of the unit – which is engaging clinicians and researchers to study different innovative health care designs that could be implemented in Project Health or other future projects.
“We work in a space meant to do things differently than we’ve previously done it,” she said, as she discussed potential hospital room door alignments, video capabilities for care, other digital technology for a hospital room, bathroom layouts and more.
Dr. Frels said Abbott has a long legacy of infectious disease diagnostics and is exploring all kinds of opportunities for future diagnostic innovations, making inroads, for instance, into diagnostics for neurological issues such as brain injury.
“I have been very impressed with the capabilities and the vision of UNMC for thinking ahead about the needs for better diagnostics, better therapeutics, whether it be in infectious disease or other diseases,” Dr. Frels said. “I think there’s some far-reaching vision, and it’s very interesting to explore.”