We can learn a lot from the past.
In fact, lessons learned from past scientists — whose significant discoveries led to new therapies and treatment of disease — can be valuable to those who work to confront modern disease.
This idea is the foundation for the new Richard B. Davis, M.D., Ph.D., History of Medicine Lectureship, which is sponsored by UNMC’s McGoogan Library of Medicine.
Dr. Davis, UNMC professor emeritus of internal medicine, has a long-standing interest in the history of medicine. Throughout his career, he published more than 90 articles on hematology, most recently on contributions to science throughout history.
The annual lectureship was set up to bring national experts to UNMC’s campus to discuss the history of various scientific findings and support the library’s special collections.
"Thanks to Dr. Richard B. Davis, the McGoogan Library has joined a select group of academic health science libraries that is able to commit significant resources to documenting scientific achievement in medicine and advancing this important area of scholarship," said Nancy Woelfl, Ph.D., UNMC professor and director of McGoogan Library of Medicine.
The inaugural speaker for the Davis Lecture will be Gregory Anstead, Ph.D., M.D., associate professor in the department of medicine, division of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The title of his lecture will be, "Syphilis: A 20th Century Social and Therapeutic History."
The medical center campus and community are invited to the Davis Lecture May 21 at 3 p.m. in room 4053 of the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education.
"Some of the most important hypotheses have challenged the prevailing wisdom of their day," Dr. Woelfl said. "The Davis lecture gives our students, faculty and community a forum to study and discuss how unexpected findings set the stage of great progress. We are extremely grateful to Dr. Davis for providing this opportunity."
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 $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,600 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.
###