This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers and leaders who will be honored at a ceremony on Nov. 6 for UNMC’s annual research awards – the prestigious Scientist Laureate Award and the Research Leadership, Distinguished Scientist, New Investigator, Career Achievement and Community Service to Research Awards.
Distinguished Scientist
Distinguished Scientist Awards, which are sponsored by the chancellor, recognize researchers who have been among the most productive scientists at UNMC during the past five years.
- Name: Natalia Osna, MD, PhD
- Title: Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, UNMC College of Medicine
- Joined UNMC: 2000
- Hometown: Omaha, but originally from Riga, Latvia
Describe your research focus in three words or less:
Mechanisms by which viral hepatitis is exacerbated by alcohol
Why is research important in the world today?
We should understand the pathomechanisms of diseases to select the correct targets for treatment. In addition, it is challenging to make a border between “true” and “false” if we do not have reproducible results obtained through experimental research approaches.
My research will make a difference because:
I am doing liver research. In my research, we are trying to understand the mechanisms of viral hepatitis progression and the role of such co-morbidities as alcohol-associated liver disease. To minimize liver injury through appropriate treatment, we are focusing on the events that drive the pathology but are not developed as a consequence of it.
The best advice I’ve ever received is:
Prioritize the things you are doing and concentrate first on your own needs and those of your family. Do not do those things for people that you do not want them to do for you.
Three things you may not know about me are:
- I am curious.
- Research is my passion and lifestyle, not just a job.
- I like traveling to see new places.