Rod Markin, M.D., Ph.D., one of the most prolific inventors at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from UNeMed Corporation for his innovations that have transformed the clinical laboratory.
Even as a child growing up in Lincoln, Dr. Markin loved to problem solve. Together, he and his younger brother spent hours building walkie-talkies, oscilloscopes, furniture, car engines – and even a garage.
Later, he took that innovative streak into the clinical laboratory, where he problem solved to automate processes to reduce turnaround time of medical testing and fill gaps created by workforce shortages.
“Dr. Markin adds a fourth leg to the proverbial triad of teaching, research and service,” said James Linder, M.D., chief executive officer of UNeMed Corporation, UNMC’s technology transfer company. “He has shown tremendous leadership as an academic entrepreneur. This is an important role that our faculty can play in economic development for Nebraska.”
Dr. Markin’s patents are licensed to major corporations, including Abbott Laboratories, and they form the basis of modern clinical laboratory automation, Dr. Linder said.
“If you can define the problem, there are 100 smart people who can find the solution,” he said. “Finding and framing the appropriate problem is often the hardest part.”
Dr. Markin’s professional and academic research interests have focused on solid organ transplantation, informatics and clinical laboratory automation, which includes:
· Robotics;
· Information systems;
· Medical utilization management; and
· Outcomes optimization.
During his career, Dr. Markin has:
· Secured 16 U.S. patents;
· Written more than 300 publications; and
· Published nearly 200 abstracts and chapters in books.
In 1993, he founded LAB-InterLink, a spinoff of UNMC that provided products for hospital-based laboratory automation systems. He also developed an automated microbiology platform for U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for use in the clinical laboratory.
“My goal was simply to solve problems for our clinical laboratory, not to build a product,” he said. Obtaining a patent "means you’ve solved a problem no one else has solved," Dr. Markin said. "The time and effort involved is similar to being published in a significant scientific journal."
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its 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 health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 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.
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