Sen. Nelson honored for support of UNMC

From left, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and his wife, Diane, with Beverly Maurer and UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., during an event on Tuesday night honoring the senator for his advovacy for the medical center.

In recognition of his advocacy of UNMC and service to his state and country, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson was honored Tuesday night with a dinner hosted by Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and his wife Beverly.

For the past six years, Nelson’s ardent support of UNMC has helped to secure $18.6 million in earmarks, an amount that has spurred medical innovations and created hundreds of new and sustainable jobs.

“We owe Sen. Nelson a deep debt of gratitude for the support he has given the medical center,” Dr. Maurer said.

Recent earmarks Nelson has helped secure for UNMC include:

• $2.25 million to further refine the development of miniature, mobile, wireless robots; that can provide diagnostic, imaging, and surgical capabilities to a surgeon;
  
• $1.8 million to conduct research and development related to personal protection masks that protect against exposure to infectious diseases;
  
• $2 million to develop non-invasive diagnostics for the early detection of cancer; and
  
• $1 million to study the feasibility of realigning Saddle Creek Road.

“For fiscal year 2008, there are $9.2 million in earmarks pending to support research of cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, and nursing education. This is a major commitment to UNMC,” Dr. Maurer said. “Sen. Nelson is a true champion for the state of Nebraska and I thank you for all you’ve done.”

Plaudits continued from Michael Yanney, chairman of America First Companies, who said that Nelson has provided service to Nebraska that is above and beyond the call of duty.

“With Sen. Nelson in office and Dr. Maurer providing vision, it’s no wonder that UNMC has emerged as a national and international powerhouse in health care education,” he said.

From left, UNMC Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Bob Bartee, Dr. Harold M. Maurer, Sen. Ben Nelson, Mike Yanney and Dr. Alexander Kabanov.

Yanney pointed out that Nelson is committed to developing sound public policy, that he unites people on important issues and has a vision of the future that has helped to attract the best and the brightest from around the world to UNMC.

One UNMC scientist whose research has benefited from federal earmark funds is Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Parke-Davis Chair in Pharmaceutics and director of the Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine (CDDN) at UNMC.

“Because of your support of UNMC, we’ve become internationally known for our work in nanotechnology,” Dr. Kabanov said. “But more importantly, the federal money we’ve received has helped us to do something new, to expand our research into the area of cancer treatment and diagnosis to improve outcomes. It also has helped us to attract millions in federal grants.”

Competition in nanotechnology breakthroughs is becoming tougher as countries around the world pour billions of dollars into research, Dr. Kabanov said.

“It’s imperative for the United States to commit resources to new technology and to develop new resources away from the east and west coasts. I predict that the Midwest will become the center of economic security for this country in the future,” he said.

Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs at UNMC, noted that for all his work at the federal level, Nelson has become a national treasure.

“He and his staff have worked hard to find resources for Nebraska. They have done a tremendous job of showcasing UNMC’s expertise to federal officials,” he said.

Nelson and his staff have tirelessly advocated for public policy that provides access to quality health care, improvements in veteran’s benefits, funding for the state’s small rural hospitals and increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health grant program.

“With all the jobs created at UNMC and at other campuses through these earmarks, Nelson has become a ‘wealth creator,'” Bartee said.

He quoted a Chinese proverb: One generation plants trees, and the next enjoys the shade.

“Sen. Nelson, thank you for planting the trees so our children and grandchildren can sit in the shade,” Bartee said.

Taking the podium, Nelson said that the successes over the years have been due to the excellent partnership with UNMC and the dedicated work of his staff. The relationship has been fruitful, he said.

“People in D.C. are beginning to pay attention to UNMC because of the quality of its programs. Dr. Maurer and his staff make it easy for us to present these programs to colleagues and funding agencies,” Nelson said. “New challenges lay ahead to do more good for the nation, the state and for UNMC.”