 |
Harold M. Maurer, M.D. |
 |
Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D. |
 |
Mark Bowen |
 |
Paula Turpen, Ph.D. |
Most of the UNMC-related earmarks came from agencies other than the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — the usual source of biomedical funding.
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., said the credit for the medical center’s success in securing funding from non-traditional sources deserves to be spread out but he made special mention of the work done by Nebraska’s congressional delegation.
“It was a long year for Congress as they worked well into December on the budget,” Dr. Maurer said. “Our delegation and their staffs deserve a lot of credit for the work they put in on behalf of UNMC.”
Dr. Maurer particularly noted the efforts of U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and his staff for what they were able to accomplish within the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Nelson is a member.
“Sen. Nelson’s dedication to UNMC was very apparent during this past session,” Dr. Maurer said. “We’re very grateful for his support and efforts on our behalf.”
UNMC investigators had significant success acquiring Department of Defense
funding as $9.1 million in defense dollars were allocated to be used for research at the medical center.
The recently-secured UNMC DoD funds breakdown as such:
- $4 million to help Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., develop a new vaccine to fight respiratory infections as part of a joint project with investigators from Iowa State University;
- $3.5 million to help UNMC’s Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., and Shane Farritor, Ph.D., of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, continue work on miniature robots to be used for telesurgery in combat; and
- $1.6 million to support Ben Boedeker, M.D., improve an on-the-battlefield video laryngoscope — a device used to look down a patient’s throat when health professionals insert a breathing tube.
UNMC received almost $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to let Yuri Lyubchenko, Ph.D., D.Sc., advance his research into early screening and better treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease using nanotechnology.
UNMC did secure about $885,000 in earmarked funds from the HHS department in 2008, including:
- $693,666 to help with construction of one floor of the Research Center of Excellence II, which will be used by the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center;
- $95,305 to help construct a floor of a new state-of-the-art College of Nursing facility in Lincoln; and
- $95,305 to support the NEED-IT statewide lung cancer screening program.
|
|
Vice Chancellor for Research Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., said UNMC’s preparation of proposals to congressional staffers is a team effort among the scientists, research resources and government relations staffs.
“Our ability to prepare successfully funded projects that are loaded with powerful, state-of-the-art sciences is a very positive reflection upon the team spirit that pervades and characterizes the UNMC research enterprise,” Dr. Rosenquist said. “The UNMC team working as a whole is essential to this process.”
Mark Bowen, UNMC’s director of government relations, said the past congressional session demonstrated that funding for biomedical research is available, but investigators may have to examine options they haven’t considered in the past.
Bowen recognized the work of UNMC Public Affairs Director Renee Fry, who was director of government relations until last September, and UNMC Government Relations Specialist Sara Cizek Going for developing the earmark requests with UNMC Director of Research Resources Paula Turpen, Ph.D., and medical center researchers.
“UNMC scientists did well in receiving funding from the defense budget and other avenues that they may not have explored in the past,” Bowen said. “We must be constantly looking for new funding opportunities and I urge our scientists to broaden their scopes when considering sources of research funding. UNMC research has many different applications and we must consider all those who benefit from the research when pursuing funding.”
Dr. Turpen echoed Bowen’s comments.
“There is a demand for our researchers’ talents but it will be up to the scientists themselves to keep their minds open to new funding sources,” Dr. Turpen said.