Daniel Flaherty of Holdrege, Neb., a pharmaceutical sciences graduate student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, recently became the fourth recipient of the Nancy and Ronald Reagan Alzheimer’s Scholarship Fund Award for his research into potential pharmaceutical therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease.
A 2001 graduate of Holdrege High School, Flaherty is the son of Lynn and Linda Flaherty of Holdrege. Lynn Flaherty works for Burlington Northern Railroad, while Linda Flaherty works in the superintendent’s office for Holdrege Public Schools.
Flaherty earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry in 2005 from Central College in Pella, Iowa. He is currently in the third year of graduate school at UNMC, where he hopes to earn his Ph.D. within a couple more years.
The Kinman-Oldfield Family Foundation established the Reagan Award to honor the late president, who battled Alzheimer’s for 10 years. Oldfield met Reagan in 1939 and later became his publicist. The award recognizes scientists for promising research into Alzheimer’s disease and comes with a $5,000 stipend.
In his research, Flaherty investigates compounds that may battle against and regulate peptides that contribute to Alzheimer’s progression.
Flaherty works in the laboratory of Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences in UNMC’s College of Pharmacy.
Flaherty is deserving of the award and — even as a graduate student — he’s already shown potential to be a great researcher, Dr. Vennerstrom said.
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 now exceeds $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 513 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.