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J. Graham Sharp, Ph.D. |
Six faculty members celebrating service milestones of 40 years will be recognized during the annual faculty meeting at 4 p.m. April 24 in the Durham Research Center Auditorium.
Below, three honorees share memorable moments:
J. Graham Sharp, Ph.D., professor of genetics, cell biology & anatomy; radiation oncology; and radiology, reaches back nearly 20 years for his fondest memory.
See sidebar for other honorees
“A pleasant memory was in 1996-1997, when our department was awarded the University-Wide Departmental Teaching Award. We still have a heavy teaching load, to a wide range of students, from high school to M.D. fellows and continuing education. Over the past several years, teaching anatomy to the High School Alliance students with Dr. Binhammer and Dr. Todd has been great fun — three of the oldest faculty members teaching the youngest students. They ask about all sorts of topics, not just “is it on the exam?”
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Irving Zucker, Ph.D. | J. Michael Leibowitz, Ph.D. |
Irving Zucker, Ph.D., chairman of cellular & integrative physiology, and the Theodore F. Hubbard Professor of Cardiovascular Research, actually began his career at UNMC 42 years ago as a post-doc. Here are his memories.
“In my mind, one of the crowning achievements and one which every academic strives for is getting to the full professor level. It validates your work and is the ultimate compliment from your peers. So when I was promoted to professor in 1983, I really felt that I had achieved something special, and I still do.
“Another fond memory is my first NIH grant as a principal investigator in 1978. It was to study the reflex control of the circulation in heart failure, a subject that I am still studying. As with a promotion, it is gratifying to receive validation on your ideas and productivity from a group of your peers. When I received this grant I felt that I was on my way. I had a lot of help from mentors. It’s much harder now for young investigators starting out. Senior people need to give as much help as possible to the new generation of scientists.”
J. Michael Leibowitz, Ph.D., director of Munroe Meyer Institute, said:
“My favorite memory was the first time, as director of MMI, that I went with the leadership team on a trip to greater Nebraska. I “won the award for talking the longest.” It was a wonderful way to get to know the other deans and directors as well as community leaders across the state.”