After serving as interim chairwoman for the past six months, Vimla Band, Ph.D., has been named chairwoman of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy.
The appointment, which was effective March 1, was announced today by John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Medicine.
“Vimla is one of our star performers,” Dr. Gollan said. “She has all the tools and knows how to get things done. I have complete confidence in her and know she will take the department to new heights.”
Dr. Band expressed her appreciation for Dr. Gollan’s vote of confidence. “I am deeply honored and humbled,” she said. “It is a great responsibility and a wonderful opportunity for me to do things beyond my own investigative career.”
Dr. Band joined UNMC in 2007 as professor in genetics, cell biology and anatomy and as vice chairwoman for research.
She and her husband, Hamid Band, M.D., Ph.D., were recruited to UNMC from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Dr. Hamid Band is a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and associate director for translational research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
Prior to working at Northwestern, Dr. Vimla Band served on the faculty of Tufts University Medical School in Boston.
Her immediate goals for moving the department forward include:
· developing novel ways of educating medical and graduate students;
· continued mentorship of young investigators;
· recruiting outstanding graduate students;
· increasing the size and stature of research faculty;
· increasing UNMC’s expertise in the areas of genomics/bioinformatics and cell biology; and
· increasing extramural research funding by creating synergy between the department’s faculty members and others on campus.
Dr. Band, who was named a UNMC Distinguished Scientist in 2008, has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and reviews. She has served on review panels for the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense Breast Cancer Program, American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Foundation. She is currently a member of the NIH’s Cancer Molecular Pathobiology Study Section.
She serves as a reviewer for a number of scientific journals and is on the editorial boards for Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Research, Cancer Biology and Therapy, Breast Cancer (Basic and Clinical Research) and BMC Cancer.
Her laboratory primarily studies the biology of normal and cancerous breast epithelial cells and is considered one of the top labs in the world in this area.
A native of India, Dr. Band has received two patents and has been continuously funded by the NIH and the Department of Defense since 1991. She is currently a principal investigator or co-P.I. on four NIH grants and a DOD grant.
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.