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From left to right: Frances Blumkin, Louis Blumkin, Howard Gendelman and Steven Jacobson are pose for a picture at a dinner honoring the Blumkins for their support of UNMC. Photo taken by Lisa Spellman, UNMC public affairs |
Howard E. Gendelman, M.D., chair of the department of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience was embarking on a new area of research into a debilitating neurological disease, Parkinson’s.
Ironically, Louis Blumkin had just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and he and Frances were impressed by the vision and promise developed by UNMC scientists and what their research held for the millions of people affected by debilitating neurological diseases.
Since then the Blumkins have quietly supported the ongoing research conduced at UNMC.
On Sept. 28, the Blumkins and other members of the Omaha community were honored at a dinner for their generous support that continues to advance groundbreaking research in the neurosciences by providing UNMC investigators with critical funding.
“Since I began my research career at UNMC we have seen tremendous growth in our research, in spite of the decline in federal funding, all of which is due to the support we have received from the people like Frances and Louis Blumkin and so many others in the Omaha community,” Dr. Gendelman said.
Without the Blumkins, he said, there would not have been a program specifically focused on Parkinson’s research.
“We have been able to elevate the field because of their support,” Dr. Gendelman said, referring to the creation of the new field of research in neuroimmune pharmacology and the newly released “Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology.”
The “Frances and Louis Blumkin Community Pride Distinguished Neuroscience Lecture” was held on Sept. 29 at UNMC and featured guest speaker Steven Jacobson, Ph.D.
His presentation focused on the “Immunopathogenesis of Virus Associated Diseases of the Central Nervous System: Lessons from Multiple Sclerosis and Epilepsy?”
Dr. Jacobson is chief of the viral immunology section in the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He leads a team of researchers whose efforts continue to define the role of human viruses in chronic progressive neurologic diseases.