{"id":118690,"date":"2025-01-16T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=118690"},"modified":"2025-01-17T11:49:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:49:31","slug":"chancellors-forum-highlights-munroe-meyer-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/01\/16\/chancellors-forum-highlights-munroe-meyer-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Chancellor’s forum highlights Munroe-Meyer Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The first all-campus forum for 2025, held at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, highlighted both MMI and UNMC\u2019s commitment to community engagement, while also offering updates on MMI\u2019s research and clinical activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, began by expressing gratitude to faculty, staff and students for an extraordinary 2024. Record enrollments, increased research funding and expanding clinical programs marked a year of significant milestones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical center employees can see a recording of the forum here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Davies said he continues to meet with community leaders in Omaha and rural Nebraska, most recently OneWorld Community Health Center in South Omaha, to look at opportunities to expand partnerships within rural and underserved communities for student and resident training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe continue to look at our communities across the state, especially as we grow our student populations in rural Nebraska,\u201d Dr. Davies said. \u201cWe\u2019re particularly interested in making sure that our students have the best possible accommodations and facilities where they can actually feel at home during training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forum’s spotlight then turned to Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD, director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute, who shared insights into the institute’s transformative work in supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. MMI\u2019s new 220,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, opened in 2021, has quickly become a hub of care and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mirnics described the institute\u2019s accomplishments, including the Autism Care for Toddlers Clinic Network, which aims to establish 10 clinics across Nebraska within a decade. This initiative, he said, addresses the urgent need for localized care, reducing the burden on families in rural communities. Most recently, MMI opened its third clinic in Fremont, Nebraska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur vision is not just about buildings; it’s about creating networks of care that truly transform lives,\u201d Dr. Mirnics said. \u201cThe vision is 10 in 10 \u2013 10 clinics across the state in 10 years \u2013 which would provide the much-needed care for autism in all our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MMI\u2019s goals extend beyond clinical care and include plans to further develop in the areas of education, research and community engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans are underway to develop a comprehensive educational pathway, including certificates, master\u2019s programs and doctoral opportunities in developmental disabilities. These programs will equip future health care professionals with the skills to serve a diverse population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery health care worker, from nurses to ultrasound technicians, should have foundational knowledge of developmental disabilities,\u201d Dr. Mirnics said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MMI\u2019s research portfolio is growing tremendously, with a lot of young emerging scientists, and Dr. Mirnics said an end goal is applying for membership in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, a network of 15 of the nation\u2019s top universities and children\u2019s hospitals that are committed to advancing knowledge, prevention and treatment of intellectual and developmental disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mirnics addressed the importance of fundraising in support of MMI\u2019s goals, saying the need is endless and resources are limited. \u201cWe want to recruit and retain the best and the brightest,\u201d he said. \u201cThe highest achievement in academia is an endowed professorship or an endowed chair, and we want to raise funds for that as well as scholarships and the overall program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Davies thanked Dr. Mirnics and the staff, faculty and trainees at MMI, saying, \u201cUNMC is very proud to have this institute as part of our portfolio of services along with the research and clinical work that we provide to the communities we serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThousands, maybe millions, of family members of persons who have disabilities, whose voices cannot be heard, are truly grateful for the work that’s done here at MMI and by similar organizations across the country.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mirnics closed by saying, \u201cIf (people with) developmental disabilities were considered a minority, they would be the biggest minority in the United States.” He said one-third to one-quarter of all families have a member with a developmental disability, adding \u201cThat is a staggering number.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In other areas, Dr. Davies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n