Beth Blackburn, coordinator of UNMC’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), received the Chancellor’s Gold ‘U’ Award for the month of January.
In her role, Blackburn helps facilitate ethically-appropriate and valuable research at UNMC and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
While it’s nice to be recognized with the Gold ‘U,’ Blackburn said, the people who work with her deserve a lot of credit as well.
“I couldn’t do what I do if I wasn’t surrounded by great people serving on the IACUC, dedicated co-workers in the Office of Regulatory Affairs and highly-recognized investigators,” Blackburn said. “Knowing you helped someone get through the burden of regulatory paperwork and succeed in getting approval and funding makes my job rewarding and worthwhile.”
Ernest Prentice, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and a nationally-recognized expert in the ethics and regulations of human and animal research, has been particularly influential, Blackburn said.
“Since I started this position in 1990, his insight, knowledge, support and willingness to educate have been key to my ability to progress and develop a career in this field,” Blackburn said.
Dr. Prentice, for his part, was not short on kind words for Blackburn.
“She very effectively handles the day-to-day operations of the IACUC, as well as meeting the varying needs of researchers throughout UNMC,” Dr. Prentice said. “She embodies a wealth of knowledge and history of the regulatory and university requirements for conducting both animal and human subject research.”
This knowledge of research regulations makes Blackburn an invaluable resource to the IACUC, said committee chairman Jim Turpen, Ph.D.
“Beth Blackburn is the unsung hero of this committee,” Dr. Turpen said. “When I became chairman of the IACUC in January 2006, I was a blank slate in terms of my knowledge of animal welfare regulations. Thus I began working with and relying on Beth to get me through this regulatory maze. I soon learned that Beth Blackburn is an extraordinary individual who goes far beyond what is expected as she provides an essential service to UNMC.”