{"id":47254,"date":"1999-01-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1999-01-08T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/1999\/01\/08\/texas-am-scientist-named-director-of-unmcs-newcenter-for-molecular-genetics\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:59:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:59:25","slug":"texas-am-scientist-named-director-of-unmcs-newcenter-for-molecular-genetics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/1999\/01\/08\/texas-am-scientist-named-director-of-unmcs-newcenter-for-molecular-genetics\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&M Scientist Named Director of UNMC’s New\n\nCenter for Molecular Genetics"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/FONT><\/B><\/p>\n

A leading scientist at Texas A&M University, Richard Finnell, Ph.D.,<\/p>\n

has been named director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s<\/p>\n

new Center for Molecular Genetics and professor of cell biology and anatomy.<\/p>\n

Dr. Finnell, 44, has been with the Texas College of Veterinary Medicine<\/p>\n

at Texas A&M University in College Station since 1991, serving as acting<\/p>\n

associate dean for research since 1997. He also held the post of professor<\/p>\n

of genetics, toxicology and neuroscience.<\/p>\n

Prior to joining Texas A&M, Dr. Finnell spent nine years on the<\/p>\n

faculty of Washington State University in Pullman. His background also<\/p>\n

includes a stint as a visiting professor in pharmacology at the University<\/p>\n

of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and at the Freie Universitat<\/p>\n

Berlin in Berlin, Germany.<\/p>\n

Dr. Finnell earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon<\/p>\n

in Eugene, his master’s degree from the University of British Columbia<\/p>\n

in Vancouver, and his doctorate from the University of Oregon Health Sciences<\/p>\n

Center in Portland.<\/p>\n

In 1997, he received the Texas A&M University Distinguished Achievement<\/p>\n

Award in Research. He serves as chairman of the Scientific Advisory Commission<\/p>\n

overseeing functions of the Texas Birth Defects Monitoring Division, a<\/p>\n

collaborating investigator participating in the National Birth Defects<\/p>\n

Centers of Excellence Program. Dr. Finnell has written 15 textbook chapters<\/p>\n

and more than 70 journal articles and holds several grants through the<\/p>\n

National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

While at Texas A&M, Dr. Finnell focused on problems related to the<\/p>\n

high incidence of spina bifida in the Hispanic population living on the<\/p>\n

Texas-Mexico border. Specifically, he worked on the genes that transport<\/p>\n

B vitamin folic acid into cells. Folic acid supplementation in the early<\/p>\n

stages of pregnancy is effective in reducing the risk of neural tube defects<\/p>\n

such as spina bifida, as well as certain heart and craniofacial defects<\/p>\n

by as much as 50 to 70 percent.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Hispanic population does not appear to obtain the<\/p>\n

same benefit from folic acid in early pregnancy as do other populations,<\/p>\n

prompting Dr. Finnell’s interest in finding the genetic basis for this<\/p>\n

problem in order to develop alternative means of providing protection against<\/p>\n

these serious birth defects.<\/p>\n

UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., said Dr. Finnell’s appointment<\/p>\n

is significant. “This is a totally new position that will bring together<\/p>\n

existing strengths in genetics and build new programs that will not only<\/p>\n

enhance services to the region, but also enhance our research activities<\/p>\n

as a world-class medical center. We also look forward to Dr. Finnell building<\/p>\n

research strengths in the area of cancer genetics.”<\/p>\n

“Molecular genetics is an important new part of prevention and treatment<\/p>\n

of disease,” said Bruce Buehler, M.D., director of the Munroe Meyer Institute<\/p>\n

for Rehabilitation and Genetics at UNMC. “There are outstanding researchers<\/p>\n

throughout the UNMC community who work in human genetics. We hope to bring<\/p>\n

these people together and see if we can merge our interests and create<\/p>\n

an exciting research environment.”<\/p>\n

The molecular genetics program will be housed in 30,000 square feet<\/p>\n

of research space on one and a half floors of the recently opened addition<\/p>\n

to the Munroe Meyer Institute.<\/p>\n

One of Dr. Finnell’s researchers at Texas A&M, Janée VanWaes,<\/p>\n

Ph.D., D.V.M., also will join the UNMC faculty as assistant professor of<\/p>\n

cell biology and anatomy. Four additional genetic researchers will be recruited<\/p>\n

to the program, Dr. Buehler said.<\/p>\n

UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.<\/p>\n

Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has<\/p>\n

established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research<\/p>\n

and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than $34 million in<\/p>\n

research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually.<\/p>\n

In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more<\/p>\n

health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.<\/p>\n


 <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A leading scientist at Texas A&M University, Richard Finnell, Ph.D., has been named director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s new Center for Molecular Genetics and professor of cell biology and anatomy. Dr. Finnell, 44, has been with the Texas College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University in College Station since 1991, serving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nTexas A&M Scientist Named Director of UNMC's New Center for Molecular Genetics<\/title>\n<meta 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