The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Eppley Cancer Center announced
today a breast cancer training program for graduate students and post-doctoral
fellows. The new program, set to begin in the fall, is being funded by
a four-year, $850,000 Department of Defense Breast Cancer Training Grant
from the United States Army.
Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center and the principal investigator on the grant, said the program will
allow students and fellows to train with the faculty who make up the breast
cancer research and treatment programs at the cancer center.
“We have an excellent program in breast cancer research, including fundamental
basic research in breast cancer biology and genetics and a strong breast
cancer treatment program,” Dr. Cowan. said. “Through this training program
we hope to bring breast cancer researchers together to train new scientists
in the problems that face breast cancer researchers today.”
Dr. Cowan said the program would ultimately result in enhanced breast
cancer research that could be translated into better treatment for patients.
“We believe this new program will result in the development of an integrated,
multi-disciplinary effort, allowing basic researchers to interact with
clinical researchers,” he said. “This will result in a more collaborative
breast cancer research program and new therapeutic strategies to treat
or prevent breast cancer.”
The Army grant will fund up to three graduate students and two post-doctorate
fellows, Dr. Cowan said, with the potential for the program to become much
larger. Students and fellows receiving support from the grant will be identified
by an advisory committee, which will conduct interviews with the
students, evaluate their grades, scores on entrance exams, Graduate Record
Examination scores, letters of recommendation and prior research experience.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a partnership between UNMC and the Nebraska
Health System (NHS), is a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center
— a distinction held by only 59 centers in the country. Of the nearly
$31 million in competitive, external research grants and contracts awarded
to UNMC in 1998-99, cancer-related research accounted for about one-half
of that amount.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
During the past year, UNMC’s funding from the National Institutes of Health
increased by 28 percent, going from $16.2 million to $20.7 million. UNMC’s
educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
NHS is one of the region’s premier health systems serving more than
25 percent of the Omaha-area market with its 687-bed facility. NHS is comprised
of the former Clarkson Hospital, the first hospital in Nebraska, and the
former University Hospital, the primary teaching facility for the University
of Nebraska Medical Center. The regional health system has a world class
reputation for excellence and innovation especially in the areas of solid
organ transplantation, burn care, wound care, geriatrics, bone marrow (stem
cell) transplantation and other cancer treatments. In 1999 NHS was named
“Best Hospital” for cancer and rheumatology care by U.S. News & World
Report Magazine. NHS is constantly improving the standard of care in the
communities it serves. The health system physicians operate more than 300
outpatient clinics in 100 communities in four states and recently developed
an affiliation with Shenandoah Memorial Hospital in southwest Iowa. The
NHS Clarkson West facility provides the only 24-hour emergency service
in west Omaha.