Two key administrators at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine — Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, and Michael Huckabee, Ph.D., director of the physician assistant program — will visit Auburn on May 6 to meet with community leaders and medical professionals in the area.
A reception will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Arbor Manor. Remarks by Drs. Britigan and Huckabee will begin at 7 p.m. Attendees will include physicians and physician assistants from the communities of Auburn, Nebraska City, Pawnee City, Falls City, Tecumseh, Beatrice, and Syracuse.
The purpose of the visit is to learn about community needs and health care activities and provide updates on key UNMC initiatives, including its primary care, rural medicine and research programs.
Drs. Britigan and Huckabee also will discuss health care reform, a planned comprehensive cancer center and a 30,000-square-foot facility at the University of Nebraska at Kearney that will provide more space for UNK’s science programs and for expansion of UNMC’s nursing and allied health programs.
The proposed cancer center would:
- provide Nebraskans and the region outstanding treatment for cancer and offer patients new therapies and more clinical trials;
- position UNMC to achieve a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center designation and;
- enhance UNMC’s national and international reputation for cancer care and research.
Dr. Britigan was named dean in 2011. Prior to joining UNMC, he served seven years as Taylor Professor and chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. In addition, he was at the University of Iowa for 17 years, where he served as the director of the division of infectious diseases. He also has a 25-year association with the Department of Veterans Affairs as a staff physician and researcher in Iowa City, Cincinnati and Omaha.
His awards include election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an honor society of nearly 3,000 of the nation’s top physician-scientists who translate findings in the laboratory to the advancement of clinical practice, and the Association of American Physicians (AAP), a select group of nearly 2,000 members dedicated to the advancement of scientific and practical medicine. Dr. Britigan also has served as president of two professional societies, the American Federation for Medical Research and the Central Society for Clinical Research.
A prodigious investigator, Dr. Britigan’s research focuses on bacterial infections of the lung and has been published in more than 110 peer-review journals. His research has been continuously funded during his academic career though numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the American Heart Association.
Dr. Huckabee was named director of the UNMC physician assistant program in 2012. Prior to joining UNMC, Dr. Huckabee served 15 years as a professor and director of the Union College physician assistant program in Lincoln. While at Union College, Dr. Huckabee was instrumental in procuring nearly $2.5 million in federal training grants to support projects that provide health care for underserved populations and nearly half of the college’s PA graduates went on to practice in Nebraska communities.
Dr. Huckabee has 30 years of clinical experience in rural family practice, emergency medicine and pediatrics. He also writes a health column that appears in the Livewell Nebraska website of the Omaha World-Herald.
The visit is hosted by the University of Nebraska Medical Center Alumni Association. Roxanna Jokela, director of UNMC Alumni Relations, also will attend the reception.
UNMC has a presence in 120 locations across the state, including locations where community health professionals provide training sites, training and experience for UNMC students and residents, programs that strive to increase the number of health professionals practicing in Nebraska, and sites where students participate in distance education programs.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.