UNMC for the record

Below is a list of achievements, activities and happenings involving UNMC staff, faculty and students.

Second-year students Tillara Kruse, left, and Scott Jakopovic show their support of breast cancer research and treatment during “Pink Day” in the College of Pharmacy.

Gary Yee, Pharm.D., sports his pink superhero costume. Dr. Yee was the lucky winner in a contest in which students donated money to have a pharmacy professor don the pink duds on Pink Day.

Omaha area science teachers take part in the recent Science Matters at UNMC program.

College of Pharmacy students raised nearly $500 for the American Cancer Society during Kappa Epsilon’s “Pink Day” on Feb. 2. Each year, the pharmacy fraternity hosts Pink Day to raise money and awareness of breast cancer research. This year the festivities included a “Professor in Pink Superhero” contest, in which students donated money to see a professor dressed as a pink superhero. Professor Gary Yee, Pharm.D., was the year’s lucky winner.

Aura Whitney-Jackson, community outreach specialist in the UNMC College of Public Health, has been selected to receive the Lifetime Hero Award from the American Red Cross Heartland Chapter. Whitney-Jackson is being recognized for her role in creating the South Omaha Community Council and the Heartland Latino Leadership Conference.

Crest Oral-B has selected Trudy Meinberg from the UNMC College of Dentistry Department of Surgical Specialties as the second recipient of its Pros in the Profession Award. Currently a staff hygienist and clinical instructor, Meinberg has distinguished herself through more than 30 years of practice in both private and collegiate practice settings.

Seventy-five Omaha-area science teachers visited campus as part of the Science Matters at UNMC program sponsored by the Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs. The program introduced the teachers to the Sorrell Center, the wide variety of scientific topics studied at UNMC and faculty who are passionate about their work.

Cathleen Piazza, Ph.D., director of the Pediatric Feeding Disorders program at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, was selected as the 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Contribution to Applied Behavioral Research Award for her contributions to the field. As part of the award, she will present an address at the 2011 convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington in August.