Two UNMC faculty members and a medical student will be honored next month by the Nebraska Medical Association.
Every year, NMA honors the best of the best in Nebraska’s physician community. These awards recognize those who go above and beyond, embodying excellence in healthcare, advocacy, leadership and humanitarian efforts.
This year’s UNMC recipients included:
- Physician of the Year: Robert Messbarger, MD
- Young Physician of the Year: Daniel Pierce, MD
- Student Advocate of the Year: Amber Gowen, M4
Dr. Messbarger, the inaugural associate dean for the UNMC College of Medicine’s regional medical school campus in Kearney, has been practicing medicine in Nebraska since 1990. He said he was honored to be recognized by the NMA.
“It is an incredible honor and very humbling,” he said. “There are a lot of tremendous physicians in Nebraska, I’m sure many as deserving as me.”
He said his Kearney role may have had an impact in the selection.
“This could be seen as an honor to the entire state, emphasizing how important this regional campus project is to the Greater Nebraska medical community,” he said.
But Dr. Messbarger wears more than one hat. A family practice physician in Kearney, he also currently serves as the medical director of two nursing homes in Kearney, as well as working at Rock County Hospital in Basset, Nebraska, on weekends. He was asked to serve as Kearney’s city physician during the COVID pandemic from 2020 to 2023, and he has served on the governor-appointed Primary Care Investment Council since 2022, chairing the council since January 2024.
Dr. Pierce is an assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and chief of service at Nebraska Medical Center, leading the acute care physiatry consultation service. He also provides clinical care at VA Nebraska–Western Iowa Health Care System and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. He serves on the Nebraska Medicaid Advisory Committee and is the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine’s “Young Physician” delegate to the AMA House of Delegates, among other activities.
“I’m deeply grateful to the Nebraska Medical Association, which does so much to strengthen the community of physicians serving our state,” Dr. Pierce said. “Helping Nebraskans regain function and independence after serious illness or injury is a privilege, and this recognition really belongs to the mentors, colleagues, and rehabilitation teams who make that work possible every day.”
Fourth-year medical student Amber Gowen of Papillion – who wrote an article on physician advocacy for the NMA earlier this year – said that advocacy underscores the most innate and beautiful parts of being human: generosity, kindness, connection and support.
“Advocacy drew me to becoming a physician and inspired my love of pediatrics,” Gowen said. “My receipt of this award is simply a symbol of the generosity, kindness, connection and support that has been poured into me by the people and community I love. It is more meaningful than I can put into words.”
The UNMC and other 2026 winners will be honored at the 2026 Presidential Inauguration and Awards Banquet on Sept. 3 at the Country Club of Lincoln.