Names changed in two College of Medicine departments







At a glance



The Department of Physiology and Biophysics is now the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology.

The Department of Ophthalmology is now the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.



Two departments in the UNMC College of Medicine have different names today than they did last week. On Saturday, the Board of Regents approved the name changes at its regular meeting.

Under the changes, the former Department of Physiology and Biophysics is now the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, and the former Department of Ophthalmology is now the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

The Department of Physiology and Biophysics was created in 1970 upon the division of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. The name change reflects the changing focus of the department over the past 34 years. The work of the department focuses on using current genetic information to determine physiological function of integrated organ systems.

The Department of Ophthalmology has been part of the organizational structure of the College of Medicine since the 1920s. The name of the department is changing to reflect to the growth, diversity and strength of its research component. Research activities in the department cover various aspects of visual sciences, including retinal development, ocular stem cells, glaucoma, lens biochemistry, ocular drug delivery and many others.