Since Vimla Band, Ph.D., became the chair of the UNMC Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy (GCBA) nearly eight years ago, she has been instrumental in maintaining the excellence and expanding the teaching mission of the department — excellence that was recognized this year with the department’s second University-wide Departmental Teaching Award (UDTA).
What others are saying
“The genetics, cell biology and anatomy faculty have long provided the highest quality of anatomy instruction for students in the College of Allied Health Professions. We are grateful for their significant contributions toward preparing our students to become outstanding practitioners. It is a testimony to the dedication of the GCBA faculty and the consistent quality of the instruction they provide that this year marked the second time the department has received this recognition.”
-Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., dean, UNMC College of Allied Health Professions
“This is a very special and highly competitive award that could go to any department in the entire university. GCBA plays a critical role in the education of our medical students, as well as those in other health science disciplines. It is unusual that a department like GCBA that excels in research is also at the forefront of the educational mission. GCBA is obviously comprised of a special group of faculty and staff whose accomplishments are also a tribute to Vimla Band’s outstanding leadership as department chair.”
-Brad Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine
“The department is highly engaged in teaching and mentoring activities and their faculty have been leaders in developing a number of innovative educational programs on campus, including the Master’s in Medical Anatomy program and helping to co-lead the launch of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program on Biomedical Sciences,” he said. “They are very worthy recipients of this award.”
-Dele Davies, M.D., senior vice chancellor of academic affairs
GCBA is the only department that has the honor of receiving this university-wide award twice since the award’s inception. The department will be recognized at today’s annual faculty meeting.
Dr. Band has achieved these goals by retaining talented faculty, such as Robert Binhammer, Ph.D., Shantaram Joshi, Ph.D., Graham Sharp, Ph.D., Robert Norgren, Ph.D., Karen Gould, Ph.D. (vice chair of departmental graduate education) and Kim Latacha, Ph.D. (vice chair of departmental medical education).
In addition, she has recruited several new faculty members — Travis McCumber, Ph.D., Samantha Simet-Chadwick, Ph.D., and Keely Cassidy, Ph.D., all of whom are involved in Health Professionals Anatomy teaching — as well as faculty members that participate in graduate teaching, including Kishor Bhakat, Ph.D., Shannon Buckley, Ph.D., Gargi Ghosal, Ph.D, and Andrew Dudley, Ph.D.
The departmental faculty teaches many student populations, including the High School Alliance students, undergraduates, medical and professional students, masters- and doctoral-level graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows as well practicing, professionally-qualified, health care personnel and first responders.
In addition, Dr. Band recruited Babu Guda, Ph.D., professor and director for bioinformatics and system biology program. Dr. Guda has established a highly popular graduate program in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology.
Realizing the nationwide need for more anatomy educators during her Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) training, Dr. Band and Drs. Gould and Joshi developed a one-year Masters in Medical Anatomy program, as well as a comprehensive anatomy teaching track Ph.D. program.
In addition, Drs. Band and Gould participated in the development and implementation of the inter-departmental/inter-disciplinary graduate program working side by side with Dele Davies, M.D., senior vice chancellor for academic affairs.
“The teaching portfolio of the department has expanded in the last eight years,” Dr. Band said. “I am proud of the talent, dedication, and hard work of our departmental faculty, particularly our two leaders Drs. Gould and Latacha, and the administrative staff, especially Crystal Miller and Megan Brown. They work tirelessly to make sure we provide top-level teaching at medical, health professional and graduate levels.”
Not surprisingly, the GCBA department faculty members have received numerus prestigious teaching awards over the past several years, including two Valor in Educational Service Awards (Robert Binhammer, Ph.D., and Alan Richards, M.D.), Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award (Dr. Gould), Inspirational Mentor of Educators Award (Dr. Joshi), Excellence in Basic Science Teaching Award (Dr. Latacha, twice) and the Student Senate Distinguished Teacher Award for 2018 (Dr. Simet-Chadwick, just two years after joining the department).
Kudos to GCBA for winning this award — for the second time!!! How impressive is that!
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