The Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures’ tribute luncheon honoring UNMC Chancellor Emeritus Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and his wife, Beverly, on Monday concluded with a surprise: the creation of an annual research award that will bear the Maurers’ names.
The “Dr. Harold M. & Beverly Maurer Scientific Achievement Award” will be given annually by the coalition, beginning next year, to a scientist or clinician who shows special merit or promise in research topics or treatment areas that mirror the coalition’s mission.
“We look forward to recognizing some of the prominent Nebraska workers in this area,” said David Crouse, Ph.D., president of the coalition.
The Maurers were recognized Monday for their advocacy for biomedical research over the past couple of decades.
When Dr. Maurer became chancellor in 1998, UNMC’s annual research funding hovered under $30 million annually.
Jennifer Larsen, M.D., vice chancellor for research at UNMC, credited Dr. Maurer with setting a goal to reach $100 million annually — a goal that many others thought would be impossible to achieve — and then consistently imparting his view that research growth was essential to UNMC becoming a world-class academic medical center.
“This year, it looks like we will be above $100 million in research funding,” Dr. Larsen said.
Lynne Boyer, board secretary for the coalition, said that both Dr. Maurer and “his powerhouse wife Beverly” knew it would take community support to reach their research goals. The couple helped to raise close to $1 billion in philanthropy, and Beverly was a leading driver for formation of Nebraskans for Research, which later joined with business leaders to form the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures.
Without the advocacy organizations, restrictive laws or policy likely would have stopped cutting-edge stem cell research work taking place at UNMC.
“I’ve admired Dr. Maurer and I’ve admired Beverly for a long, long time,” said Dick Holland, chairman of the board for the coalition group. “I don’t think they will ever be forgotten — what they have accomplished is remarkable.”