Howard Gendelman, M.D., was named “Innovator of the Year” and Keshore Bidasee, Ph.D., was recognized for the Most Promising New Invention as UNeMed wrapped up Innovation Week on Thursday.
Dr. Gendelman, the Margaret R. Larson Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and chair of the pharmacology and experimental neuroscience department, was recognized for his work against neurodegenerative and neuroinfectious diseases.
Dr. Bidasee, associate professor in the department of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, identified a viral construct that improves the functions of the heart, kidneys and brain, three areas impacted by diabetes.
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From left, UNeMed CEO Michael Dixon, Keshore Bidasee, Ph.D., and Jennifer Larsen, M.D., UNMC vice chancellor for research |
Companies that were formed around recent technology developed at UNMC demonstrated their innovations and discoveries — inventions displayed spanned a wide array of biomedical development that ranged from surgical devices and nanoparticles to next generation antibiotics and innovative research tools.
“It was great to see that the majority of the crowd was from the local community,” UNeMed President and CEO Michael Dixon said after. “There was great representation from the local venture capital and biotech community.”
Dixon said during Thursday’s awards presentation that there were 525 new inventions at UNMC over the past seven years.
“That’s 525 new ideas that didn’t exist, 525 new solutions,” he said. “Keep that in the back of your mind tonight, because it’s not about the one or two, it’s about the whole that we’re here to honor.”
After the ceremony, Gendelman said awards are not important to him or most other scientists.
“We embrace, love, cherish the journey. It’s like climbing a mountain. The sport isn’t getting to the top, the sport is in the climb.”