AHEC Advisory Board holds semi-annual meeting at UNMC

Laurey Steinke, Ph.D., far right, tells Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Advisory Board members, Jim Woodland, Nebraska Department of Education, far left, and Nebraska Sen. Roger Wehrbein, about the Protein Structure Core Facility in the Durham Research Center.

The statewide Area Health Education Center Advisory Board members traveled across Nebraska last week to meet at UNMC a semi-annual meetings. The centers were created through federal grants as a way in which medical schools and community centers can cooperate to recruit and train health care professionals to serve in rural areas.

In addition, members from the Northern Nebraska AHEC (Norfolk) and Central Nebraska AHEC (Grand Island), met with the Nebraska AHEC Program Office staff to share information about UNMC and continued growth and development of the Nebraska AHEC.

Part of the AHEC Advisory Board visit included a tour in the new Durham Research Center.

The 10-level, $77 million Durham Research Center, which opened Nov. 13, was funded almost exclusively with private gifts. The largest gift came from Omaha businessman Chuck Durham. The 289,000 gross square feet center is located on the west side of UNMC.

Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Advisory Board members and staff, as well as UNMC staff, pose in front of the UNMC Durham Research Center. From left to right are: Jim Woodland; Dorothy Anderson; Sue McNeil; Sarah Cunningham; Linda Lofgreen; Deb Cottier; Lana Wenzl; Janice Tompkins, AHEC Advisory (UNMC); Mary Roy; Cindy Paustian; Sen. Roger Wehrbein; and Ruth Koepke. At the far right is Bob Bartee, UNMC executive assistant to the chancellor.

It features 116 research laboratories, a 319-seat auditorium, three classrooms and 12 conference/seminar rooms. About 55 of UNMC’s top researchers, accounting for nearly $55 million in extramural support, work in the building. Less than 10 percent of the building’s space is being left open for research expansion and the recruitment of new, top-level researchers.

Nebraska Sen. Roger Wehrbein, District 2, was one of 12 AHEC Advisory Board members who toured the Durham Research Center. “It’s really a fantastic facility. It’s ultra-modern,” he said.