One of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s top researchers, Surinder Batra, Ph.D., has been named chairman of the College of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB).
Dr. Batra, who also serves as senior associate dean for research and development for the College of Medicine, succeeds Judith Christman, Ph.D., who has been chairwoman of the department for 15 years. His appointment is effective Sept. 1. Dr. Christman will continue in her research and student mentoring roles.
A prodigious researcher, Dr. Batra has:
- Secured $7.2 million in active research funding and has several grant applications pending;
- Published in 209 peer-reviewed journals; and
- Served on several National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD) review panels.
Since coming to UNMC, he has brought in more than $9.3 million in total research funding. His current funding includes: three RO1 grants; a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant; an Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) grant from the NIH; and several DOD grants.
His research is focused on identification, characterization and application of novel genes and gene products for cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, which is considered one of the most lethal forms of cancer.
He has big plans for the BMB Department. Some of the goals that he would like to accomplish include:
- Increasing federal research funding through more grants from the NIH, the DOD, the Department of Energy and other agencies;
- More focus on trying to procure program project grants;
- Recruitment of two to three new faculty members;
- Adding to the existing strength of BMB’s solid graduate program through training grants and recruitment of additional graduate students; and
- Encouraging BMB faculty to seek more inter- and intra-departmental collaborations at UNMC as well as collaborations with other institutions.
A native of India, Dr. Batra came to the U.S. in 1983 when he joined the department of biochemistry at North Carolina State University. He returned to India in 1986 to become senior research officer at the National Institute of Immunology and subsequently as biotechnology manager for Cadila Pharmaceutical Company.
In 1988, he returned to the U.S. as a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University Medical Center. In 1991, he was appointed assistant professor in the department of pathology at Duke and held this position until moving to UNMC in 1996 as an associate professor in BMB. He was named professor in 2002 and elevated to vice chairman in 2008.
Dr. Batra also is among UNMC’s most accomplished inventors. Research from his group has led to six U.S. patents and several technologies and reagents, which are being marketed to technology companies. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research skills, including being named one of UNMC’s Distinguished Scientists in 2006.
In addition to his research, Dr. Batra is involved in teaching medical, pharmacy and graduate students and in developing training programs for graduate and summer students at UNMC. Several graduate students and postdocs working in his research group are funded by his various grants.
Dr. Christman, who holds the Stokes-Shackleford Professorship, is the only female basic science department chair in the history of the College of Medicine.
Under her direction, the department realized a number of significant gains. These included:
- Increasing the number of faculty members from eight to 20;
- Increasing annual research funding from less than $14,000 per year in 1993 to more than $3.5 million per year today; and
- Graduating 67 Ph.D.s in biochemistry during the past 15 years with most of the graduates going into careers in research and/or education.
An active researcher, she was a pioneer in studying the effects of DNA methylation on the differentiation of cancer cells. She currently investigates the role of changes in DNA methylation of specific genes in the development of breast cancer and lymphoma with the goal of developing better prognostic markers for these diseases.
Dr. Christman’s studies are currently supported by more than $2.3 million in extramural research funding. Since coming to UNMC in 1994, she has brought in more than $4.4 million in research grants.
Her research has resulted in two patents. She has been published in more than 100 scientific journals, and she co-founded two research organizations — Women in Cancer Research and the DNA Methylation Society.
Prior to coming to UNMC, Dr. Christman served on the biochemistry faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York, from 1974 to 1987 reaching the status of professor. She then was named director of the molecular biology program at the Michigan Cancer Foundation and professor in the cancer biology graduate program at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.
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 $100 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 3,200 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.