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UNMC
SPRING 2015
UNMC’s 2014 Scientist Laureate
seeks new drug delivery
systems on the nano scale
UNMC WILL LEAD IN RESEARCH
U
have launched a new mission that
improve how we work together to solve
states we “will lead the world in
complex problems, which may, more and
transforming lives to create a healthy future
more, require teams that include new or
for all individuals and communities through
special expertise, such as mathematical
premier educational programs, innovative
modeling, engineering and material science.
NMC and Nebraska Medicine
research and extraordinary patient care.”
As UNMC makes its impact on
Our research community continues to
Key members of those teams will
include health care providers and public
innovative research, this issue highlights
health practitioners who can bridge the
the increasing range of research initiatives
research gap and work with those who
UNMC has with partners near and far.
know more about patient care or public
These articles span bench research,
from DNA mutations to biomedical
health improvement. In the end, the goal
is to make a difference in people’s lives.
informatics that link different kinds of
data to the best therapeutic strategy
for a person’s cancer.
We have translational investigators,
like our Scientist Laureate Tatiana Bronich,
Jennifer Larsen, M.D.
Ph.D., who seek to use nanomedicine
UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research
approaches to improve therapies so they
are more effective, easier to take or better
target the disease, wherever it might be.
Our patient-centered research evaluates
new ways to address disease on a patientby-patient basis. Research teams work
to improve care of those with diseased
blood vessels located outside the heart,
to advance treatment in communities by
harnessing the best ideas of groups of
primary care practitioners with a research
network, and make a difference in global
settings, such as Africa.
UNMC Discover is published twice a year by the
Vice Chancellor for Research and the Department
of Public Relations at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center. The magazine is supported by the
UNMC chancellor.
Issues of the magazine can be found at
www.unmc.edu/discover. Permission is granted
to reprint any written materials herein, provided
proper credit is given. Direct all requests to
[email protected]. Subscriptions to UNMC
Discover are free. For a printed or email
subscription, go to unmc.edu/discover.
We are Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. Our
mission is to lead the world in transforming
lives to create a healthy future for all individuals
and communities through premier educational
programs, innovative research and extraordinary
patient care.
UNMC is accredited by The Higher Learning
Commission of the North Central Association
of Colleges and Schools (HLC-NCA) and
enjoys full accreditation of all its professional
academic programs.
UNMC does not discriminate in its academic,
employment or admissions programs and abides
by all federal regulations pertaining to same.
Because our mailing list comes from multiple
databases, some readers may receive duplicate
copies. Please share extra copies with someone
else, or send us the address panels from all
the copies you receive and we will be glad to
eliminate the duplication. Send to: UNMC Public
Relations, 985230 Nebraska Medical Center,
Omaha, NE 68198-5230, or call 402.559.4353.
Director of Public Relations:
Bill O’Neill
Senior Associate Director:
Karen Burbach
Publications Editor:
Elizabeth Kumru
Design:
DAAKE
Photography:
Peggy Cain
David Hussey
Brandon McKenna
Public Relations staff
Research Resource Board:
Jennifer Larsen, M.D. • Ken Bayles, Ph.D.
Chris Kratochvil, M.D. • Laura Bilek, Ph.D.
Bradley Britigan, M.D. • Marlene Cohen, Ph.D.
Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D. • Dele Davies, M.D.
Michael Dixon, Ph.D. • Anna Dunaevsky, Ph.D.
Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D. • Howard Fox, M.D., Ph.D.
Janet Guthmiller, D.D.S., Ph.D. • Ali S. Khan, M.D., M.P.H.
Mike Leibowitz, M.D., Ph.D. • Ram Mahato, Ph.D.
Kyle Meyer, Ph.D. • Amarnath Natarajan, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Payne, D.D.S. • Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D.
Mohammad Siahpush, Ph.D. • Paula Turpen, Ph.D.
Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D.
discover
UNMC
SPRING 2015
CONTENTS:
ON THE COVER:
Tatiana Bronich, Ph.D., is named
the 2014 Scientist Laureate,
the highest honor given to a
UNMC researcher.
FE ATURES:
6
10
A nanopioneer seeks novel
drug delivery systems
UNMC’s ninth Scientist Laureate is
hooked on innovation.
WANTED: Stents that
work well for peripheral
artery disease
23
A $3.5 million grant will help researchers
understand why stents don’t work well for
treating peripheral artery disease.
12
Designer peptides to
fight superbugs
Engineered peptides may soon be the
therapy of choice against nasty
web bacterial
extra
and viral infections and even cancer.
web
extra
14
unmc.edu/connect
20
Computers help
physicians determine
best treatment plan
The genesis of cancer
mutations
New prototypes designed
for interventional radiology
Overexposure to radiation leads one
radiologist to invent protective devices.
web
extra
IBM Watson searches millions of data
points to improve care for cancer patients.
16
18
Study to help HIV-infected
women live normal lives
Some antiretroviral therapies used in
sub-Saharan Africa are found to not
work well with contraceptives.
22
DEPARTMENTS:
2 Vice Chancellor Message
4 UNMC News
8 Distinguished Scientists
Honored
web
23 Under the Microscope
extra
web
extra
What? No magic way to
lose weight?
Family practice physicians get together
to help motivate patients to lose weight.
unmc.edu/connect
web
extra
web
extra
unmc.edu/discover
web
extra
web
extra
web
extra
The vicious cycle of DNA mutation is
revealed.
web
extra
web
extra
unmc.edu/connect
web
extra
FOLLOW US:
facebook.com/unmcedu
twitter.com/unmc
youtube.com/unmcedu
pinterest.com/unmc
unmc.edu/connect
news
UNMC
Center for Substance Abuse Research approved
“Substance abuse leading to addiction is
often accompanied with mental illness and
currently being done by the Buch laboratory.
continues to be one of the most devastating
This center is a natural next step in its
problems facing communities throughout
evolution,” said Howard Gendelman, M.D.,
the world,” said Shilpa Buch, Ph.D., center
chairman of pharmacology and experimental
director and professor of pharmacology and
neuroscience. “The impact to our university
experimental neuroscience in the College
and its mission is boundless.”
of Medicine.
The mission of the center is to bring the
“The interdisciplinary capabilities and
approaches that will come together in
power of science and research to bear on
the center will make UNMC a leader in
drug abuse and addiction, thereby improving
combatting the plague of substance abuse
the quality of life of the affected individuals,
that brings pain and suffering to so many,”
while reducing the health care costs in
said Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the
the state of Nebraska through innovative
UNMC College of Medicine.
collaborative basic and clinical research,
The center builds on existing and planned
premier education programs, and outreach to
collaborations with other institutions and
those suffering from addiction.
universities, including the VA Medical Center,
The Nebraska Center for Substance
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton
Abuse Research, approved by the University
University, Kansas University Medical Center,
of Nebraska Board of Regents in April, brings
University of Minnesota, Emory University,
together scientists from multiple Colleges
as well as Nanjing University in China and
he new Nebraska Center for Substance
at UNMC as well as from the University of
two institutes in India -- the Brain Research
Abuse Research at UNMC will promote
Nebraska at Omaha and the University of
Institute, Manesar and Jawaharlal Nehru
Nebraska-Lincoln.
Institute of Advanced Study.
Shilpa Buch, Ph.D.
T
an extension of all the outstanding work
and facilitate research in understanding
consequences and prevention of drug abuse
and neurodegenerative diseases.
“The mechanisms, the treatment
and prevention of substance abuse is
Postdocs teach, mentor as part of new partnership
A
new partnership as formed
between UNMC and Metropolitan
Community College.
UNMC’s post doctoral education office
The partnership grew out of a seminar
what they’re getting into,” Dr. Ahmad said.
series on professional opportunities for
“At the same time, they can put it on their
postdocs, said Iqbal Ahmad, Ph.D., associate
resume, and that experience in teaching will
dean and director of postdoctoral education.
make them much more marketable.”
MCC was a good fit, he said, because
and MCC’s department of mathematics
One seminar on careers away from the
and natural science will work together to
bench was about teaching, and among the
it has many classes on the weekend and
provide teaching opportunities for UNMC
speakers were educators from MCC.
in the evenings, so postdocs would find it
post-docs and mentorship opportunities for
MCC students.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if our
postdocs can get an opportunity to teach,
so they have the experience and they know
4
SPRING 2015
easier to fit into their bench work schedules.
Study to compare
gout treatments
A
gout epidemic is
sweeping the U.S.
Four percent of the
Study shows vitamin D protects
bones in mice exposed to
agricultural dust; may have
implications for ag workers
U.S. population has gout,
Though they did find a slight effect
and the number is going
on reducing inflammation in the
up rapidly. It has become
lungs of mice, they found a
the most common form
statistically significant effect on
of inflammatory arthritis in
James O’Dell, M.D.
protecting the bones.
adults. It also is associated
“We found if we gave vitamin D,
with significant morbidity
the mice didn’t get bone loss,” said
and mortality in older men and magnified in patients with
chronic kidney disease.
Jill Poole, M.D., associate professor
Jill Poole, M.D.
James O’Dell, M.D., Bruce professor and chief of
the UNMC Division of Rheumatology and Immunology,
is the principal investigator on a four-year, $23 million VA
Cooperative Study titled “Comparative Effectiveness in
Gout: Allopurinol vs. Febuxostat.”
The study will include 950 patients from contracted
sites around the country, including UNMC, various
Veterans Administration Medical Center sites and various
Rheumatoid Arthritis Investigational Network sites.
Because gout is common in the demographic of the VA
patient population, this study could lead to significantly
improved patient outcomes.
Documentation shows gout is the most mismanaged
chronic disease there is, Dr. O’Dell said. Ninety percent
of patients with gout have problems with chronic gout.
This number should be less than 10 percent if properly
managed. “The prevalence of gout in patients with renal
failure is upwards of 30 percent,” Dr. O’Dell said. “Our study
will be the first time that a substantial number of patients
with kidney disease, who have gout, will be studied.”
According to the proposal, two drugs have been
endorsed as first-line treatment for gout, allopurinol
and febuxostat. Both drugs are effective and generally
well tolerated, but febuxostat costs considerably more.
However, according to a previous survey of 179 VA
practitioners, febuxostat appears to be the drug of choice.
The reasoning seems to be the perception that febuxostat
provided superior efficacy and tolerability.
A
in the UNMC Department of Internal
Medicine and principal investigator of
small animal study led by
the study published in the scientific
UNMC, the first model linking
journal, Immunology Research.
inhalant agriculture organic dusts to
“There was some benefit of
causing systemic bone deterioration,
reducing inflammation in their
found evidence that may contribute
lungs, but it completely protected
to the growing knowledge of benefits
their bones. This is important
of vitamin D.
because emerging data in humans
Researchers found that mice
suggests that generalized chronic
exposed to hog barn dust over three
lung inflammation is a risk factor for
weeks had a statistically significant
osteoporosis and fractures.”
bone loss – 5 percent to 20 percent.
Dr. Poole encourages those who
But they had no bone loss if they
work in agricultural dust environments
received a high dose supplementation
to wear protective respiratory
of vitamin D.
equipment and take vitamin D. It’s well known that agriculture
“As a bone protective strategy,
workers have high rates of airway
people particularly with underlying
inflammatory diseases including
respiratory disorders and symptoms,
asthma-like disorders and chronic
might want to consider taking over-
bronchitis and high rates of
the-counter supplemental vitamin
musculoskeletal diseases, including
D3 – 2,000 to 4,000 IUs daily as long
bone fractures.
as they don’t have any other health
One of the study goals was to
problems,” she said. “If they do have
see if high dose supplementation of
health problems, they should first
vitamin D would help protect against
talk to their doctor before taking
the adverse outcomes due to inhaling
the vitamin.”
dusts in the agricultural environment.
This study will compare the two therapies for
5
lowering uric acid levels to see which is the most
clinically and economically effective, Dr. O’Dell said.
UNMC discover
Tatiana Bronich, Ph.D.,
professor of pharmaceutical
sciences in the College of
Pharmacy, co-director of the
Center for Drug Delivery and
Nanomedicine, and recently
named UNMC’s ninth Scientist
Laureate, credits those who
came before her.
Foremost, her mother. “Professor Galina
Sirtsova,” Dr. Bronich said, “a wonderful
person, scientist and educator, who has
been one of the leaders in the development
of chemical sciences and chemical education
in Moldova.”
Dr. Sirtsova is noted in a book celebrating
that nation’s outstanding women, Dr.
Bronich said.
By age 11, Dr. Bronich was helping
her mother grade exams. She received
a first-hand view of a scientist’s life.
Her mother, a department chair, was a
tremendous role model.
It could be exciting. It could be
frustrating. “She was very, very devoted,”
Dr. Bronich said.
In watching her mother, Dr. Bronich
knew what she wanted to do.
“My memories of her have always
carried me through many moments of doubt
and hopeless situations,” she said.
A nanopioneer
seeks novel drug
delivery systems
6
by Kalani Simpson
SPRING 2015
Dr. Bronich became fascinated by
chemistry. Her mentor in Russia was the
father of 2009 UNMC Scientist Laureate
Sasha Kabanov, Ph.D. Dr. Kabanov, now at the University of North
“Sometimes the view of the problem might be different,”
Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, eventually helped recruit
Dr. Bronich said. “And that’s where the breakthrough ideas and
Dr. Bronich to UNMC.
decisions can come.”
“He helped me take the first steps, not only in biomedical
research, but also here, in America,” Dr. Bronich said.
In Russia, Dr. Bronich had been an expert in synthetic polymers.
But at UNMC, she stepped into a new world, in trying to help find an
application for them in biology and medicine.
“This was of course very new, very exciting,” Dr. Bronich said.
But it was also very tough to find a niche, to make that bridge.
“When you start to do something new, it’s not very easy.
There is no one who did it before that you can follow. You’ve got
to explore the field, learn a lot of new stuff. And plus, you’ve just
come to a new country.”
It was 20 years ago, in 1995, that Dr. Bronich came to the
United States.
But in the 20 years since, she’s learned a lot of new stuff, found a
home in this new country. She holds joint citizenship – she will always
be Russian. But now she is American, too.
And she’s found her niche. Loves her job. She is part of a group
working to design polymers to interact with therapeutic-friendly
molecules as a drug-delivery vehicle, even targeting specific sites
through nanomedicine.
To explain further, there are drugs that would work … but don’t
have good properties for delivery.
“That’s why they are out of the scope,” Dr. Bronich said. “We try
to rescue them, make them safer, and eventually move these drugs
into clinical application.”
Much of this work is applicable to cancer. They work to not only
better target the bad stuff, but leave good tissue unharmed.
“We try to make such systems ‘smart’ in a way that they can
switch on and off certain properties, depending on the physiological
It’s that type of thinking that drives Dr. Bronich’s most wideranging project. She is program director and principal investigator of
a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (CoBRE) grant in the
Nebraska Center for Nanomedicine.
It’s a cross-academic center, featuring six projects and funded by
$11.2 million over six years.
“Whatever we achieve,” she said, “whatever our achievements
are, they are not because of one individual. Usually the achievements
are done by a group of people, through very close collaboration.”
Dr. Bronich said she was surprised to have been named Scientist
Laureate, and lauded her lab’s graduate students, postdocs and
technicians for their hard work and dedication.
She also thanked her dean, Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D., and
department chair, Ram Mahato, Ph.D.
And her emeritus dean and chair, Clarence Ueda, Pharm.D.,Ph.D.
and Dennis Robinson, Ph.D.
Pharmaceutical science staff Chris Allmon and Keith Sutton
were cited too.
The atmosphere at UNMC, she said, is a collective thing.
It comes from everyone.
“The collaborative atmosphere here is so great,” she said.
“The people are very friendly and very open. They always share their
time, their efforts with you, if you need help, if you need their advice.”
Now, as a senior scientist, she is doing the same.
Twenty years ago there had been no trail to follow in
nanomedicine. And Dr. Bronich said, “We’re not there yet. But that’s
what science is about.
“It’s a long series of the small steps, which every day, every hour,
we are making to reach the goal.”
surrounding, to maximize the clinical benefits of the treatment.”
It’s the kind of thing that happens at a place like UNMC, where
people from different disciplines come together to solve problems.
Someone with a different area of expertise might see something you
hadn’t known to look for.
7
UNMC discover
DISTINGUISHED SCIENTISTS HONORED
by Elizabeth Kumru
E
ach year, when UNMC’s emerging
and top researchers are recognized,
it is clear that the depth and breadth of
their work continues to expand.
UNMC researchers discover new cells
and genes. They investigate how new
compounds and genes work inside cells
and in animals that have been specially
developed to model human diseases.
They work to understand if the
processes and markers found in those
cells or animals are relevant to people.
Then they consider whether medications
or other interventions that block or
stimulate those processes can prevent
or change the course of disease.
Scientists are not limited to bench
research. They also look at large groups
of population data to find new patterns
or trends and create new interventions
to change the health of communities.
Increasingly, science requires
interprofessional teams. Information that
is found in one setting can often prove
to be more important to a completely
different system or disease.
Sometimes new discoveries happen
rapidly and sometimes it takes years to
achieve a goal.
The 2014 roster of Distinguished
Scientists, New Investigators, Research
Leadership and Community Service to
Research Award recipients represents
the largest number to be recognized in
the nine years of the award’s history.
They represent the UNMC Colleges of
Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy,
Public Health, the Munroe-Meyer
Institute and the Eppley Institute for
Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases.
Ten Distinguished Scientists were
honored for their outstanding research
programs, published research results
in journals of the highest quality
8
and the ability to attract and retain
extramural funding.
The Scientist Laureate must meet
all the criteria for Distinguished Scientist
and conduct research at UNMC for
a minimum of five years prior to the
award year. The 2014 recipient is
Tatiana Bronich, Ph.D., professor of
pharmaceutical sciences in the College
of Pharmacy. She was first recognized in
2007 as a New Investigator and then in
2011 as a Distinguished Scientist.
Nine New Investigator awards went
to outstanding UNMC scientists who, in
the past one to three years, secured their
first funding from federal sources. New
Investigators also demonstrated scholarly
activity in published research and
presentations at national conventions.
Scientists who are leaders are
particularly valuable. This year, five
scientists who have proven to be leaders
over the years were given the Research
Leadership Award. All had been
previously recognized as Distinguished
Scientists, have maintained a
longstanding research funding history
and serve as research leaders and
mentors on campus.
The Community Service to Research
Award went to Jane Rips in recognition
of her significant contributions to
research as a tireless volunteer who has
a long history of actively supporting and
advocating for cancer research at the
Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Said Dr. Larsen: “As always, it is the
researchers that lead us forward…and
it is their work and their achievements
we celebrate.”
web
extra
unmc.edu/discover
View photos from
the Distinguished
Scientists Award
ceremony.
Read profiles of
award winners.
SPRING 2015
2014 Scientist Laureate
Tatiana Bronich, Ph.D.*
College of Pharmacy
Drug delivery and nanomedicine
2014 Research
Leadership Award Winners
Joseph Sisson, M.D.*
College of Medicine
Lung diseases
Keith Johnson, Ph.D.*
College of Dentistry
Cell adhesion metastasis
Kay-Uwe Wagner, Ph.D.*
Eppley Institute
Breast and
pancreatic cancer
Hamid Band, M.D., Ph.D.*
Eppley Institute
Molecular brakes
in cancer
Michael Brattain, Ph.D.*
Eppley Institute
Colon cancer metastases
2014
Distinguished
Scientist Award
Winners
Philip Smith, M.D.
College of Medicine
Ebola virus disease
Santhi Gorantla, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Translational mouse
models
Jill A. Poole, M.D.*
College of Medicine
Agricultural-related
respiratory disease
Kaustubh Datta, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Metastatic progression
of cancer
Chittibabu Guda, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Genomics, bioinformatics
and personalized medicine
Cyrus DeSouza, M.B.B.S.
College of Medicine
Diabetes complications
Yazen Alnouti, Ph.D.
College of Pharmacy
Drug metabolism and
pharmacokinetics
David Oupicky, Ph.D.
College of Pharmacy
Nanomedicine and
drug delivery
Pankaj Singh, Ph.D.*
Eppley Institute
Pancreatic cancer
metabolism
Jing (Jenny) Wang, Ph.D.*
Eppley Institute
Colon cancer metastasis
Paras Mishra, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Diabetic heart failure
Natalia Osna, M.D., Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Hepatitis C, alcohol,
innate immunity
Kishor Bhakat, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Lung cancer
Erika Boesen, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Kidney function and injury
MelissaTeoh-Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
College of Medicine
Breast cancer research
Jixin Dong, Ph.D.
Eppley Institute
Hippo pathway in cancer
Max Kurz, Ph.D.
Munroe-Meyer Institute
Neurorehabilitation
Monirul Islam, M.D., Ph.D. LufeiYoung, Ph.D.
College of Public Health
College of Nursing
Outcomes research in
Rural health
cancer and Infectious
diseases
New
Investigators
Community
Service to
Research
* Denotes previous
Distinguished
Scientist awardee
9
Jane Rips
Cancer research advocate
UNMC discover
WANTED
STENTS THAT WORK WELL FOR
PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE
by Vicky Cerino
R
esearchers at UNMC have received
a five-year, $3.5 million grant funded
by the National Institutes of Health to
find out why stents don’t work as well for
peripheral arterial disease (PAD) as they
do for other arteries outside of the legs.
It’s a big problem – the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
estimates about 8 million people in the
U.S. have PAD, including 12 percent to 20
percent of individuals older than age 60.
Not to mention the problems PAD
causes for those who suffer – it reduces
or completely cuts off blood flow in the
leg arteries which results in pain and
numbness of the feet, inability to walk,
wounds that won’t heal, and, in worse
case scenarios, amputation of the toes,
feet or legs. The risk factors include
diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, obesity and aging.
Jason MacTaggart, M.D., a vascular
surgeon, and Alexey Kamenskiy, Ph.D.,
a biomedical engineer, both assistant
professors in the UNMC Department of
Surgery, are co-principal investigators
of the research study.
“There are several ways to treat PAD
and all of them leave significant room
for improvement,” Dr. MacTaggart said.
“It’s frustrating for doctors and patients.
Everybody is trying to build a better
mouse trap, but nobody has. With the
support of the surgery department and
our team of collaborators, we are taking
a rational approach to figuring out why
stents don’t work so well in the legs.”
In the past decade, there’s been an
explosion of PAD treatment with stents –
a less invasive procedure than traditional
surgical bypass in which the patient is
10
Stents of different designs used in peripheral artery disease are under study at UNMC.
SPRING 2015
Part of the research team at work, from left:
Paul Deegan, research associate and mechanical
engineer, Alexey Kamenskiy, Ph.D., and Jason
MacTaggart, M.D.
awake and usually leaves the hospital the
next day. Vascular surgeons place stents
to help relieve the blockage.
Stents, small tubular metal devices
that doctors put in diseased arteries
to keep them open, work well in the
heart, but often fail miserably in the leg
arteries. Stent failure requires almost half
of treated PAD patients to have repeat
procedures after only one or two years,
Dr. MacTaggart said. One national study
estimated the cost of PAD treatment
at $21 billion a year, much of which is
attributed to repeat procedures.
The research team will approach
the problem similar to how Boeing
designs airplanes or Ford makes cars
– with engineering. Using computer
models, engineers will work with the
medical research team to determine
how the artery functions in the leg
and then determine how stents work
with the artery.
“There’s a lot of work being done
in the coronary and carotid arteries
but significantly less in the peripheral
arteries,” Dr. Kamenskiy said. “The
reason why there are so few studies is
that leg arteries are difficult to study –
the lesions are long, the arteries aren’t as
easily accessible and it’s difficult to get
donor human tissues to study.”
Researchers will study donor cadavers
and arteries of various ages and stages
of disease to gain accurate information
to design computer models that will be
used to determine which stent is best to
use in individual patients. The computer
predictions will be verified in PAD patients
receiving stents at Nebraska Medicine,
UNMC’s primary hospital partner, and the
Omaha VA Medical Center.
Dr. Kamenskiy said the goal is
to improve stents and to personalize
PAD interventions.
“We analyze how these stents go
into the artery, how they interact with
the arterial wall as we walk, and how to
make this interaction more favorable,”
he said. “Right now there’s a lot of art to
using stents in PAD. We are trying to do
less art and more science.”
For more information,
contact Karen Taylor at UNMC at
402.559.3935 or Holly DeSpiegelaere
at the VA, 402.995.4171.
The reconstruction shows how the peripheral
artery (in red) contorts when joints bend.
Issue underscores
importance of
organ, tissue donors
Jason MacTaggart, M.D., a vascular
surgeon, and Alexey Kamenskiy, Ph.D.,
a biomedical engineer, said they are able
to approach the problem in a unique
way because of those who’ve donated
their bodies to science and organ donors
who’ve said yes to tissue donation.
“We are grateful to donors and their
families and to the Nebraska Organ
Recovery System,” Dr. MacTaggart said.
“If someone donates their heart or
liver, they help one person. If someone
donates their arteries to research, they
are potentially helping millions of people.
“There is no replacement for human
tissues in science. If we don’t have
human tissues to study, we’re severely
hampered in advancing discoveries in
medicine and surgery.”
11
UNMC discover
DESIGNER
PEPTIDES
TO FIGHT
SUPERBUGS
by Elizabeth Kumru
12
SPRING 2015
Guangshun (Gus) Wang, Ph.D. starts with this structural template when he
designs potent compounds against superbugs. The magenta-colored area
is where positively charged amino acids are located for optimal bacterial
recognition. The green area is where oil-like amino acids are situated to
catch or grasp and stick to the superbug surface.
A
new paradigm of peptide intervention is dawning where
engineered peptides may soon be the therapy of choice against
nasty bacterial and viral infections, as well as cancer and HIV.
“This is an exciting time especially since the pipeline for novel
therapeutics to treat drug-resistant infections is dry. Database-guided
design is a novel way to approach this problem,” Dr. Wang said.
Peptides are naturally occurring tiny proteins that present a vast
His work began to be noticed in 2004 when he went live with
improvement over traditional antibiotic medications in that bacteria are
his massive peptide database, which now contains more than 2,500
far less likely to develop resistance to peptide treatment.
peptides from a wide variety of sources, ranging from bacteria,
Guangshun (Gus) Wang, Ph.D., associate professor, pathology/
microbiology, received a five-year, $1.88 million grant from the National
protists, fungi, and plants, to animals including humans.
The Antimicrobial Peptide Database facilitates naming,
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes
classification, statistical analysis, search, prediction and design of
of Health, to extract the most critical parameters for designing and
novel antimicrobials with desired properties. It is the most popular and
optimizing potent antimicrobial peptides, basically, templates for a new
comprehensive in the world, has received more than two million web
generation of antimicrobials.
hits and has been cited in more than 700 journal articles and patents.
He’s going after the life-threatening “superbugs” that have the
With this NIAID grant, Dr. Wang has expanded his laboratory
ability to escape the killing power of traditional antibiotics. The ESKAPE
capabilities and is designing new compounds for cancers and other
pathogens are Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus,
human diseases.
Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa and the Enterobacter species.
web
extra
unmc.edu/discover
Find out more about the Antimicrobial
Peptide Database.
Read Dr. Wang’s latest book chapter on the
Improved Methods for Classifcation, Prediction
and Design of Antimicrobial Peptides.
13
Guangshun (Gus) Wang, Ph.D.
UNMC discover
COMPUTERS
HELP PHYSICIANS
DETERMINE BEST
TREATMENT PLAN
by John Keenan
Babu Guda, Ph.D.
T
he promised era of precision medicine gets a boost from the
Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center through its partnership
with IBM’s Watson Genomic Analytics program.
It takes only 10 minutes for the IBM program to identify
relevant mutations and potential drugs that may be considered
in a treatment regime – all based on the patient’s genomic profile
and the specific mutations.
It’s been described as a cognitive system, one that mimics some,
but not all capabilities of the human mind. The capabilities it does
have include ingesting large volumes of information, identifying the
information that’s relevant and then learning from the results of its use.
The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at UNMC and Nebraska
Medicine is one of 14 leading cancer institutes to partner on the
project, which is part of IBM’s broader Watson Health initiative to
advance patient-centered care and improve health while building
on IBM research advancements. We spoke to Babu Guda, Ph.D.,
associate professor of genetics, cell biology and anatomy, and
director of the Bioinformatics Systems Biology Core Facility at
UNMC, about the collaboration.
14
SPRING 2015
Why is the Watson Genome Project an exciting
partnership?
This is the first time there is a product like this, which can mine
through large data points and extract the information in an efficient
way. Previously, we had been doing this manually. Each database is
different, and we had to go through different types of databases. Each
database carries a type of information, but there is no connection
between them. And we had to make those connections ourselves,
whereas this IBM Watson analytics program can do the same thing
and get the information out quickly.
What does UNMC’s inclusion in this process say about
UNMC’s status in the field?
It means that we are one of the leaders in the field in terms of
applying the knowledge toward personalized medicine. We are really
privileged to have access to this.
You are collaborating with Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D.,
director of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center,
and you will be analyzing cancer genomes. Can you tell
me a little more about the work you are doing and the
potential application of the work?
Right now, it’s only a research project. But eventually, if we are
As a researcher, how exciting is this opportunity?
It’s definitely exciting. To use an example, think about the days
when we didn’t have computers, and we had to log all the information
manually. And then, if someone needed to review that information,
they’d have to go there manually, open the book and go line by line.
satisfied and convinced these products really work, we can apply the
Now, we have a tremendous edge over people who don’t have
same thing for clinical applications. At this point, there is a project
access to this program.
initiated with Dr. Cowan that is called the Thousand Breast Cancer
Genomes Project. All of the patients are registered at UNMC or at
UNMC-affiliated hospitals, and then when the cancer patients visit, we
take the samples of breast tumor and also the adjacent normal breast
tissue or blood samples from the same patient. We extract DNA and
then sequence the DNA of the tumor and normal samples separately.
During data analysis, the DNA sequence of the normal tissue samples
act as the baseline for the tumor DNA because they’re both from the
same patient. We can identify the mutations present in the tumor
tissue that are not in the normal tissue of the same patient.
That is the information that we feed into IBM Watson, which
compares it to millions and millions of data points in its own
database, and then identifies the most dangerous mutations. The
result is a personalized profile report. It also tells you, because this
person has this mutation, this is the most useful treatment strategy
So what do you see in the future for this?
IBM has been spinning off multiple products, and all of them have
the same kind of underlying technology. What we are using is Watson
Genomics, but there’s also another product called Watson Oncology.
IBM’s collaboration with other universities and cancer centers is
producing customized products for those universities based on the
data supplied that is proprietary to those hospital systems. In the long
run, it requires a lot of collaboration between the researchers and
the physicians to integrate the clinical data present in the electronic
health records (EHR) with the genomic data. Right now, we’re only
feeding the mutation data, nothing else. Eventually, it has to be
a comprehensive program that links the genotype to phenotype
by integrating the phenotype in the EHR data with genomic and
pharmacogenomics profiles of patients. Such a program would
that physicians can use.
create a robust clinical decision support system for physician use.
What kind of patients will benefit from this information?
using all the pieces of the puzzle.
The ultimate goal is to develop efficient precision medicine strategies
Some patients are at a higher risk for breast cancer due to
specific gene mutations that they inherit from their parents. But most
breast cancer patients have “sporadic” disease, which means the
mutations need not have a hereditary basis. Once a genetic mutation
profile is obtained, this information can be used to make treatment
decisions for all types of patients.
15
UNMC discover
The genesis of
cancer mutations
by Elizabeth Kumru
E
very great publication, like this one,
has a strict proofreader who catches
mistakes before the story goes out. Still,
genes that disrupt the fidelity mechanisms.
misatkes are made. (Oops!)
How exactly they do this is unclear.
Cells in our body work the same
way. Each time a cell divides, the
DNA is replicated in an exceptionally
Eppley Institute, has studied the
flawless process with the help of an
mechanisms of mutagenesis associated
exonucleolytic proofreader that works
with DNA polymerase infidelity. She uses
with DNA mismatch repair (MMR)
a yeast model to create the same DNA
machinery to correct the mistakes.
polymerase mutations seen in humans and
repaired, but bits and pieces of its
In collaboration with colleagues from
sequences also are perpetually changed,
misplaced and swapped – a process
published a paper in PNAS that describes
that produces mutations. Still, only one
a “previously unappreciated pathway”
mutation gets through for every one billion
triggered by a colon cancer-associated DNA
nucleotides. Basically, every time a cell
polymerase mutation.
body. That’s normal.
In contrast, the rate of mutation in cancer
SPRING 2015
decipher the mechanism of their action.
Umeå University, Sweden, she recently
divides, one mutation occurs in the human
16
For the past 25 years, Polina
Shcherbakova, Ph.D., associate professor,
DNA is repeatedly replicated and
Polina Shcherbakova, Ph.D.
These hyper-mutated tumors carry
mutations in the replicative DNA polymerase
Dr. Shcherbakova found that the
erroneous DNA synthesis by the polymerase
variant, or proofreader, induces checkpoint-
cells is much higher. The most hyper-mutated
dependent expansion of pools of DNA
colorectal and endometrial tumors in humans
precursors. This increase, in turn, causes
can carry as many as 250,000 mutations.
further dramatic reduction in the fidelity of
the polymerase, resulting in more errors
DNA polymerase genes accumulate, and
and continuous activation of the signaling
brain or other cancers develop.
cascade that keeps the precursor pools
Back in 1974, Lawrence Loeb,
Mutations in our DNA also occur
because of environmental influences, like
the sun. Dr. Shcherbakova’s other research
M.D., Ph.D., professor of biochemistry,
focuses on exposure-induced damage,
University of Washington School of
for which she has a five-year, $1.1 million
into the processes shaping the genomes
Medicine, Seattle, introduced the concept
grant from the National Institutes of Health
of hypermutated human cancers,” Dr.
that cancers express a mutator phenotype,
that is now in its second round. She also
Shcherbakova said.
which accounts for the disparity between
receives funding from LB506, the Cancer
low mutation rates in normal cells and the
and Smoking Disease Research Fund
3 percent of colorectal cancer and 8 percent
large rate of mutations present in many
administered by the Nebraska Department
of endometrial cancer, the research has
human tumors.
of Health and Human Services.
expanded. It becomes a vicious circle.
“This phenomenon may provide insight
While these mutations are only seen in
broad significance, Dr. Shcherbakova said.
“These numbers represent 10,000 cases
a year,” she said.
In 2013, a new cancer syndrome
also was described in which people who
were born with mutations in their DNA
polymerase genes begin to develop cancer
“The discovery of replicative DNA
“Nucleotide pools determine the level
polymerase mutations in cancers is a
of mutagenesis, so we need to know more
beautiful confirmation of these ideas,”
about the mechanism in order to design
Dr. Shcherbakova said.
therapeutics in the future.”
The next challenge is to stop the
mutations from happening in the first place.
“Mutator polymerases are very
by their 20s. Somatic DNA polymerase
sensitive to nucleotide levels. If they don’t
mutations also are seen in other cancers
have enough, they don’t make mutations.
– gastric, breast and childhood cancers,
If they have too much, the cells die due
especially brain tumors in children who are
to excessive levels of mutagenesis,” she
born with defects in DNA mismatch repair.
said. “Normal cells are not as sensitive to
After a few years, somatic mutations in
varying levels of nucleotides.”
web
extra
unmc.edu/discover
Read Dr. Shcherbakova’s
article in PNAS.
Read the commentary
on Dr. Shcherbakova’s
article in PNAS.
17
UNMC discover
NEW PROTOTYPES
DESIGNED FOR
INTERVENTIONAL
RADIOLOGY
by Elizabeth Kumru & Tyler Mueller
Early tests show that the Lock-Block can
reduce radiation exposure by 50 percent.
G
reg Gordon, M.D., looks like a radiologist on fire with the flaming
“I sometimes get home and I can’t walk. I can’t move.”
apron he wears at work at the Omaha VA Medical Center.
Fortunately, Dr. Gordon, research associate professor, UNMC
Dr. Gordon’s garment doesn’t make him hot, but the 30 pounds
of lead lining does weigh him down. The lead that shields him from
continuous X-ray radiation exposure literally causes pain in his back.
As an interventional radiologist, he uses fluoroscopy X-rays, CT,
Internal Medicine, is a clever man who has designed two devices that
he hopes will cure his pains, and the pains others like him endure.
Body stress, strain and injuries are common issues. Up to 75
percent of interventional cardiologists complain about spinal problems,
ultrasound, MRI and other minimally invasive image-guided procedures
according to a 1997 study conducted by the American College of
to diagnose and treat diseases in nearly every organ system.
Cardiology. Similar results have been replicated in a recent Society
“Basically, I’m a surgeon who doesn’t cut anyone open. I look
of Interventional Radiology study from 2015. These injuries are
through people using X-ray movies to open blood clots, put in stents.
caused by the leaded protection IR physicians wear while standing in
We’re vascular plumbers and carpenters,” Dr. Gordon said.
awkward positions and angles.
He is proud to be part of the exciting field of interventional
radiology (IR). For the past 30 years, interventional radiologists have
been responsible for much of the medical innovation and development
of such minimally invasive procedures as angioplasty and catheterdelivered stents that are commonplace today.
Dr. Gordon has had two hip procedures to fix the damage caused
by the lead apron and will need another within the year.
“My skill sets go down because of the pain and stress,” he said.
“It is difficult to maintain the steady hand that I need.”
Besides bodily stress, cancers and tumors are another risk from
His pains come from the apron, but also from the X-rays he has
IR procedures. Working closely with X-ray radiation for extended
continuously used to inject dyes and clear arterial blockages in patients
periods cumulatively increases the chance of developing health
for the past 20 years. It’s not uncommon for him to wear the vest for
problems such as cataracts, premature vascular disease, lymphoma,
up to 12 hours each day while leaning over multiple patients daily –
breast cancer and central nervous system tumors, even when
2,000 a year – with his hands and the left side of his body exposed
wearing protective garments.
to radiation.
18
SPRING 2015
According to a recent study from Israel, interventionalists
(radiology, cardiology and vascular surgery) are three times more
likely to die from left-sided versus right-sided brain cancers. Additional
cumulative data suggest continuous low dose radiation risk may have
an additional risk between 1 and 2.5 percent risk of cancer for the
average interventionalist versus physicians who do not use radiation.
Three years ago when he was just 46, Dr. Gordon himself was
diagnosed with the early formation of cataracts.
Current radiation safety standards are based on 1950s data with
minimal revisions since, and the Radiation Protection guidelines
(ALARA: As Low As Reasonably Achievable) were first adopted in the
1990s. In the interval, European guidelines have become much more
stringent with a decrease in whole body exposure by 60 percent and
a significant decrease in eye exposure. U.S. guidelines are due to
follow soon and more stringent guidelines can mean loss of physician
privileges in the interventional suite.
There are three rules when dealing with radiation safety – time,
distance and shielding. There have been few improvements in the
health and safety for IR employees despite the risks, Dr. Gordon said.
Attention is growing, however, and monthly position statements
discuss the need for improved working environments.
So, necessity was the mother of Dr. Gordon’s inventions, which
were built around his 2012 start-up company, Radux Devices.
UNeMed, the technology transfer office for UNMC, helped him license
six patents and launch
Radux. A recent $250,000
proof-of-concept grant from
the university’s Nebraska
Research Initiative has given
him the chance to develop
and test working prototypes
of his flexible sheath and
radiation shield.
The Lock-Block is
a portable shield that
allows the physician to
work close to the patient,
when need requires, while
simultaneously decreasing
his exposure by 50 to
85 percent. The portable
radiation shield, about the
size of a steno notebook,
blocks X-ray radiation from
Lock-Block protects physicians from
radiation during procedures that require
continuous X-ray imaging and the R2Flex
provides distance, support and operator
comfort while guiding diagnostic and
therapeutic devices into the patient’s
blood vessels.
the physician’s hands
and body. It also helps
the IR gain control of the
surgical area, and allows
the physician to stand in a
more ergonomically friendly
Greg Gordon, M.D. patented the Lock-Block shield that is designed to better
protect physicians from radiation.
The shield weighs six ounces and is made of a plastic polyethylene
and barium sulfate polymer that blocks and absorbs “scatter” radiation
that escapes between the patient and the machine. It is disposable
and costs around $60, but Dr. Gordon says his long-term “green” plan
is to manufacture shields in different sizes that can be sterilized, with
only the pads being disposable.
The R2Flex is an attachable extension support sheath that is
designed to work alone or with the Lock-Block. The 8-inch long, Teflon
coated plastic polymer sheath, reinforced with a stainless steel coil,
attaches to a standard vascular access sheath which is secured to the
patient with a clip. This allows the IR to work farther away from the
radiation field – decreasing the radiation dose by 50 percent.
The R2Flex simultaneously allows improvement in guiding
diagnostic and therapeutic devices into the patient’s blood vessels
with less muscle fatigue demonstrated in proof of concept studies.
It is universal in design and can adapt to most sheaths on the market.
The two devices, which can be used together or separately,
redirect the workflow back to the IR and add stability to the sheath
and improve access site management, where wires can sometimes
be up to 10 feet long. The final results from ergonomic studies are
pending, but less muscle fatigue has been noted, Dr. Gordon said.
Before the devices can go on the medical market, they need
FDA approval and studies proving their effectiveness. Dr. Gordon said
animal studies have found a 50 percent reduction in radiation for one
shield and an 85 percent reduction if two shields are used at the same
time. Next will be human trials.
Building a company from the ground up has been an incredible
learning experience. “I was so naïve,” Dr. Gordon said. To counter his
lack of knowledge, he is surrounding himself with people who know
how to take an invention to the marketplace.
He recently signed on former Nebraskan Richard Ganz, now
executive-in-residence at the University of Chicago Office of
Technology and Intellectual Property, as CEO, and Laura Classen,
executive director of Nebraska Angels, as CFO.
The prototypes are now made in Utah, but Dr. Gordon said it
would be ideal if they were manufactured in Nebraska.
19
position versus standard
portable shielding.
UNMC discover
STUDY TO HELP HIV-INFECTED
WOMEN LIVE NORMAL LIVES
by Kalani Simpson
HIV has gone from being a death
sentence to something you treat
with pills. Today, those with HIV
can, by and large, live normal lives.
“I believe that part of HIV becoming a long-term chronic illness
is allowing families affected by HIV to have the opportunity to have
children and to raise children,” said Kim Scarsi, Pharm.D., associate
professor of pharmacy practice.
20
Kim Scarsi, Pharm.D., left, with her team in Uganda.
SPRING 2015
In sub-Saharan Africa, that can prove complicated. Resourcelimited settings, Dr. Scarsi said, have much higher levels of maternal
and infant mortality and morbidity.
But research indicates women in these settings tend to have
healthier families when they can plan for them and have some control
over their lives and health.
Dr. Scarsi is principal investigator of a National Institutes of Healthfunded team working to improve the lives of women in sub-Saharan
Africa, where resources tend to be less plentiful than they often are in
the U.S., and where HIV infection is a reality for many.
But the same antiretroviral therapies that keep HIV at bay – and
They found that the hormone concentrations were not reduced
can effectively prevent HIV transmission from mother to child – may
in one of the anti-HIV drugs. But with the other, the hormone
or may not interact well with hormone contraceptives, for those who
concentrations were approximately 50 percent lower and three
choose to use them. That’s where clinical pharmacology comes in.
of the women in that group had an unintended pregnancy
while receiving the HIV therapy plus the contraceptive implant.
Dr. Scarsi’s collaborators include colleagues from Makarere
University and the Infectious Diseases Institute, both in Kampala,
Unfortunately, the latter is the preferred anti-HIV medication,
Uganda. They studied three groups of HIV-infected women who
which is recommended by the World Health Organization as
choose to use contraceptive implants – those on two types of
the first therapy for all HIV-infected patients.
So, the preferred anti-HIV drug does not work as well with
antiretroviral treatments, and a third group who were not on
hormone contraceptives.
antiretroviral meds.
(In some countries, not every HIV patient goes immediately to
The next step is to try to find a way for the preferred HIV drug
antiretroviral meds; instead, levels are monitored until medication is
to work with the implant, to help these women have family planning
deemed necessary based on national guidelines.)
options, in addition to highly effective HIV therapy.
Dr. Scarsi recently presented the team’s research findings at HIV
Therapy in Glasgow and the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and
Opportunistic Infections in Seattle.
But the thing that impresses current Metro
Credit Union members the most, is the level
of service we provide.
Find out for yourself. Visit any Metro Credit
Union office and discover how much fun
banking can actually be.
Maybe the bank you’re looking for, isnt’ a bank at all.
Source: Depositaccounts.com Sept., 2014
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UNMC discover
21
WHAT?
NO MAGIC
WAY TO LOSE
WEIGHT?
Family practice physicians collaborate on weight loss strategies
by Lisa Spellman
Milo Anderson, M.D.
THERE’S NO MAGIC PILL.
The project also is focused on measuring
Yet, most people still think there are
This team of primary care practitioners
tricks and shortcuts that will make it simple
from four rural towns, Bellevue and Omaha is
patient activation and its role in weight
to lose all the weight they want and more.
learning how to work together, as a primary
management, a tool Lani Zimmerman,
Milo Anderson, M.D., College of
care practice-based research network, to
Ph.D., a professor in the College of Nursing,
Medicine Class of 1978, surveyed nearly
develop projects that will bring providers
brought forward as an idea she has used in
1,000 patients earlier this year and found
together to discuss their challenges and
some of her research.
that’s exactly what they think.
collaborate on finding solutions together.
Dr. Anderson, one of six physicians
“These doctors are on the front lines
Patient activation is a way of measuring
how much an individual feels they can
practicing at 23rd Family Med in Fremont,
of primary care in Nebraska,” said Jennifer
make a difference in their own health and
Neb., joined physicians at seven other family
Larsen, M.D., vice chancellor for research at
health care, said Robert Schwab, M.D., an
practice clinics in rural and urban Nebraska,
UNMC. “As health care reform continues to
assistant professor in the department of
as well as faculty from UNMC, to launch
impact all of us, we are looking for projects
internal medicine.
a project aimed at identifying strategies to
that will help us identify new ways to attack
better address weight concerns in primary
complex problems or build new teams
our patients, without being condemning, on
care clinics.
that can enhance individual practices and
weight management issues and help them
improve the health of Nebraskans.”
see the potential positive long-term impact
The research project is aimed at
understanding factors that lead to
One way to do that is to build and test
obesity, strategies to reverse it and ways
solutions that work and make sense for
to get patients motivated to become their
Nebraska, she said.
own health advocates. It is supported by
their involvement will have on their own
health,” Dr. Anderson said.
In collaboration with a number of UNMC
two grants totaling $150,000 from the
faculty members, the group decided to
Rural Futures Institute and the Nebraska
focus on weight management because it is
Medical Association with plans to apply
a critical issue for their communities and has
for national funding.
such a broad impact on patient health.
Participating
sites:
“Our next step is to begin to educate
Bellevue: Life Care Family Medicine - Brian Finley, M.D., Jacqueline Wells, M.D., Jeff Kasselman,
M.D., Cassie Krause, APRN, Connie Daniel, APRN; Nebraska Medicine-Bellevue - Toby Free, M.D.
Crete: Crete Area Medical Center - Jason Hesser, M.D., Kate Hesser, M.D., Russell Ebke, M.D.,
Troy Miller, M.D., Tammy Schroeder, APRN, Kurt Schmeckpepper, PA-C, Kim McMillan, PA-C
David City: Butler County Clinic - Gerald Luckey, M.D., Mark Carlson, M.D., Victor Thoendel, M.D.,
Matthew Summers, M.D., Leah Hays, PA-C
Fremont: 23rd Family Med - Milo Anderson, M.D., Monty Sellon, M.D., Paul Glowacki, M.D.,
Andrew Opp, M.D., Bryce Exstrom, PA-C, Katy Stenger, MPA-C, Lisa Stenvers, PA-C,
Cheri Mues, APRN
Geneva: Fillmore County Medical Center - Jason Bespalec, M.D., Jeff Hollis, M.D., Aaron Lanik,
M.D., Alanna Beckman, M.D., Michelle Dorsey, PA-C, Marirose Fox, PA-C, Russ Coasch, PA-C,
Keri Miller, PA-C, Dani Jaeger, PA-C
22
Omaha: Nebraska Medicine-Oak View - Doug Inciarte, M.D.; Nebraska Medicine-Eagle Run Jason Patera, M.D.
SPRING 2015
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
by John Keenan
YOUNG STUDENTS STOKED
ABOUT SCIENCE
Speaking to a crowd of approximately
50 middle school students, Greg Karst, Ph.D.,
never missed a step.
“It’s fun to be here,” the College of
Allied Health Professions’ assistant dean for
academic affairs told the crowd of fifth- through
eighth-graders.
As part of UNMC’s 2015 Nebraska Science
Festival outreach events earlier this year, Dr. Karst –
a professor of physical therapy – was one of three
UNMC professionals who spoke at area schools.
(Kevin McGuire, a laboratory coordinator in the
College of Allied Health Professions, and Laurey
Math and science teacher Mary Jo Holdcroft
Steinke, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry
said she appreciated Dr. Karst’s presentation. Her
and molecular biology, also visited area schools).
class was among those that attended NESciFest
Dr. Karst visited St. Matthew’s Catholic
School in Bellevue, Neb., to speak about health
events at the Durham Museum in April.
The Nebraska Science Festival is designed to
care careers, including nursing, surgery, family
make science accessible, interactive, relevant and
medicine, physical therapy and other professions,
fun for kids and adults alike. Presented by UNMC,
including work in research.
NESciFest drew approximately 12,000 people
“Much of what people in the health care field do
is solve puzzles,” he told his audience.
The children wanted answers to two questions
to 30 venues in such cities as Omaha, Lincoln,
Ashland, Kearney and Wayne this year.
Dr. Karst said he enjoyed talking to the
– how long would it take to become a health
students about science and health fields and
care professional, and how much money would
seeing their interest.
they make. One young man only looked more
“We still need good candidates for all our
determined when Dr. Karst told him that, from
schools,” Dr. Karst said. “I liked their questions
eighth grade, he had about 18 more years of school
being all over the place.”
and training ahead to become a brain surgeon.
The students seemed to enjoy Dr. Karst’s
presentation.
“It was awesome,” said sixth-grader Claire
Von Osterheldt, who wants to be a midwife or a
pediatric surgeon. “I learned a lot of things.”
Sixth-grader Matthew Adkins was interested to
Greg Karst, Ph.D., was
one of three UNMC
professionals who spoke at
area schools to promote the
Nebraska Science Festival.
Stoking the interest of young students is part
of the reason NESciFest is so important, he said,
and part of the reason that he felt it was important
to take part in the outreach event. Next year’s
Science Festival is set for April 15 - 23.
“We need to get more kids excited
about science and provide more opportunities
learn how doctors and researchers cured diseases
to learn about careers in science and health care,”
at UNMC, while fifth-grader Mackenzie Cook was
Dr. Karst said.
excited to learn about all the different professions.
“I want to work in the neonatal intensive care
unit (NICU),” said Mackenzie, adding that her aunt
is a NICU nurse.
web
extra
unmc.edu/discover
Watch the NESciFest video.
23
See a slideshow of this
year’s event.
UNMC discover
discover
UNMC
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Omaha, Nebraska 68198-5230
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world starts
in Nebraska.
The world may know UNMC for our expertise dealing with the Ebola virus.
But from Falls City to Scottsbluff, the people of Nebraska know us as the
champion of a healthy state. From addressing the state’s nursing shortage
to training nearly half of Nebraska’s health professionals to – along with our
clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine – pumping billions of dollars into the
state’s economy each year, UNMC never stops working to make our great
state even stronger. UNMC. Breakthroughs for life.®
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