A familiar face on Omaha television, Jo Giles, has joined the University of Nebraska Medical Center public affairs team as communications specialist.
For the past 3½ years, Giles worked as a reporter/anchor at KPTM Fox 42. She covered everything from presidential visits to the two-year metro school boundary battle to American Idol. In 2005, she received an Associated Press award for a story on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to Nebraska.
One of Giles’ primary responsibilities in her new position will be to cover UNMC’s various diversity initiatives. She succeeds Walter Brooks, who retired earlier this year after seven years in public affairs.
"We’re delighted to add Jo to our team," said Tom O’Connor, senior associate director, public affairs. "She understands how the media works and will bring great new ideas and energy to our communications efforts."
A Tampa, Fla. native, Giles came to Nebraska from Columbus, Ga., where she worked as a reporter/fill-in anchor at WTVM-TV (ABC affiliate). During her stint there, she was the city government/politics beat reporter. She also covered education and crime/courts.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis in psychology and African-American studies and her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now nearly $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes more than 460 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.