University of Nebraska Medical Center faculty members, James Armitage, M.D., and M.A. Tony Hollingsworth, Ph.D., received the first Carol Bell Distinguished Scientist Awards recently.
Carol Bell, a longtime Omaha volunteer who died from cancer in 1997, was the wife of Bob Bell, vice president for community relations development for UNeMed Corporation, UNMC’s technology transfer organization. Bell and his family created the Carol Bell Lectureship, the forerunner of the Carol Bell Distinguished Scientist Award.
The UNMC Eppley Institute presented the awards for their outstanding contributions and nationally recognized research programs, as well as their strong leadership roles in the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
They received the awards during a recent campus reception hosted in the UNMC Durham Research Center by Gail and Mike Yanney.
Dr. Armitage, the Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine, and world-renowned expert in lymphoma, was Carol Bell’s physician when she was diagnosed with cancer. He said Bell, who was the kind of patient that inspires physicians, was always smiling and upbeat.
“As a physician, it was humbling to see how much courage she showed in the face of a disease that’s fatal. It would have been very easy to be pretty bitter. It’s a great honor to have an award that’s in her name. It means a lot. This award is special to me. Bob (Bell) has become a very good friends over the years.”
In accepting his award, Dr. Hollingsworth, a professor at UNMC Eppley Institute and international leader in pancreatic cancer research, told the audience about the influence Carol Bell has on him daily.
A Carol Bell Memorial Lectureship bronze plaque with an engraved picture of Carol Bell hangs on the wall in the Eppley Science Hall.
“I look at it every day and it reminds me every day of her contributions and your contributions. It’s truly an honor to be awarded this. It represents the efforts of my lab over the years. Anything I’ve been able to accomplish is reflective of my crew’s effort.”
He also praised the students and post docs he works with. “I was at Duke (University) for 10 years and I can tell you the students and post docs here are equal or better than any of the students we had a Duke.”