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From left: Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNMC; L. Dennis Smith, Ph.D., University of Nebraska President Emeritus; and Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research at UNMC; at a Wednesday reception honoring Dr. Smith for teaching a graduate course at the medical center. Dr. Smith, who was NU president from 1994 to 2004, spent the past month on campus teaching the course. |
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L. Dennis Smith, Ph.D., talks with UNMC Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance Don Leuenberger during a reception for Dr. Smith on Wednesday. |
The course, “The Reversibility of the Differentiated State and Stem Cell Formation,” focused on the fundamentals of regulating gene expression in stem cells and certain differentiating cells.
Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor of research, thanked Dr. Smith for taking the time to teach the course.
“It has been an honor for UNMC to have been able to give our students and faculty members access to one of the world’s outstanding developmental biologists, and it was a great pleasure to me personally to be able to watch Dr. Smith in action, in the classroom and around campus,” Dr. Rosenquist said.
Rubens Pamies, M.D.., vice chancellor for academic affairs, echoed Dr. Rosenquist’s comments about Dr. Smith, who wraps up his UNMC stint today.
“It’s hard to quantify what it means for our students and post-docs to have a chance to learn from Dr. Smith,” Dr. Pamies said. “He really is one of the best in the world at what he does and it was wonderful to have our students and post-docs learn from him.”
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Dr. Smith, professor of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, also consulted with stem cell researchers and post-docs who wanted to learn about the future of the field and its available career opportunities.
Dr. Smith, who was president of the University of Nebraska from 1994 to 2004, was a staunch supporter of stem cell research in 1999, when UNMC research in the field came under fire. The research, designed to shed light on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, AIDS dementia and multiple sclerosis, relied on fetal tissue.
A bill was introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to ban the use of such tissue and state policymakers and religious leaders warned against using public funds for this research.
In response, Dr. Smith outlined the critical need for the research. The request to cease the research, Dr. Smith wrote, “strikes at the very heart of academic freedom.”
The Board of Regents subsequently voted unanimously to support the research. Dr. Smith continues to champion the right of scientists to pursue new knowledge in a responsible manner, and in a climate of academic openness.