UNMC for the Record

Denim for Disabilities nets more than $4,000
The 2015 Denim for Disabilities drive raised more than $4,000 to support programs at the Munroe-Meyer Foundation. The three-week event, held in conjunction with the upcoming Walk & Roll for Disabilities on March 1, allowed UNMC staff and faculty to donate $1 a day to wear blue jeans to work when approved by a supervisor. This was the third annual event and the most money collected, according to Walk & Roll organizers.

Dr. Johansson helps honor Nebraska congressman for rural efforts

Patrik Johansson, M.D.

Patrik Johansson, M.D, director of the Rural Health Education Network and secretary of the Nebraska Rural Health Association, was part of a group that honored Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smith, with the National Rural Health Association’s Congressional Champion Award at a ceremony this month held in Washington, D.C. This award recognizes Congressman Smith’s leadership in introducing and advocating for legislation to address rural health challenges. Dr. Johansson, who also holds a master’s of public health degree, is an associate professor of health promotion, social & behavioral health in the College of Public Health.

Dr. Boesen awarded grant from the Lupus Research Institute

Erika Boesen, Ph.D.

Erika Boesen, Ph.D., has received a Novel Research Grant from the Lupus Research Institute (LRI). Grants are awarded to projects that live up to “the strictest definition of novel — wholly original, never-been-done-before,” according to the institute. Dr. Boesen’s project will explore the possibility of reducing iron levels to treat kidney damage, testing for the first time if an abnormal accumulation of iron in the kidney could cause damage and pointing the way for testing existing drugs that reduce iron levels as potential treatments for lupus nephritis.

Retirement reception for Janet Coleman Feb. 27
Janet Coleman is retiring from the UNMC Accounts Payable Department on Feb. 27 after 11 years of service. The UNMC Accounts Payable department will host a retirement reception for her between 2 and 4 p.m. Feb. 27 in the administration center on the third floor.

Speaker set for annual Davis History of Medicine lecture
Judith Leavitt, Ph.D., will be the speaker at the seventh annual Richard B. Davis, M.D., Ph.D. History of Medicine Lecture, to be held in April. Dr. Leavitt is the Rupple Bascom & Ruth Bleier Professor Emerita in the department of medical history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She will speak on “Medical and Social Issues in American Childbirth History.” The lecture is scheduled for noon (with a box lunch available at 11:30 a.m.) on April 23 at the Eppley Science Hall Auditorium.

Nebraska Medicine Guild Board: New name, new fund-raising event
The former Legacy Board, now known as the Nebraska Medicine Guild Board, will host its first fundraiser in April. Called “Fusion,” the event will feature Jeff Lewis, host of television’s “Flipping Out,” and will be at 11 a.m. April 23 at the OMAR Building, 4383 Nicholas St. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased by calling 402-559-4150. The Legacy Board was created in July 2013, when the University Hospital Auxiliary and the Clarkson Service League combined. In keeping with the new joint enterprise at UNMC, the name was changed to the Nebraska Medicine Guild Board in January.

‘Seven Doctors’ coordinator releases book of poetry
Steve Langan, coordinator of the “Seven Doctors Project,” will release his latest book of poetry, “What It Looks Like, How It Flies” in March. Langan’s book and the launch of Gibraltar Editions, a new press, is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. March 7 at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S. 12th St.