Department Profile: Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy

Chairperson:  Vimla Band, Ph.D.

No. of personnel in the department (faculty/staff): 

Faculty – 23

Post docs – 1

Staff – 18

Graduate students – 30

Master’s medical anatomy – 15

Total personnel- 87

New faculty: 

Tenure Track Faculty:                            

  • Shannon Buckley, Ph.D., assistant professor. Dr. Buckley’s research focus is on the role of posttranslational modifications by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) in hematopoietic lineage specification and malignant transformation.
  • Kishor Bhakat, Ph.D., associate professor.  Dr. Bhakat’s research interests include mitotic gene bookmarking and epigenetic memory in cancer.

 Non-Tenure Track Faculty:

  • Sameer Mirza, Ph.D., instructor. Dr Mirza’s research involves investigation of a mechanistic link between human papilloma viruses and the protein ecdysoneless.
  • Peng Xiao, Ph.D., assistant professor.  Dr. Xiao assumed the role of operational director for the bioinformatics core. 

New programs:

  • Teaching faculty have been developing and enhancing a group of e-Learning modules designed for enhancement of the medical curriculum
  • Babu Guda, Ph.D., in collaboration is piloting early versions of Watson Genomic analytics solution from IBM.
  • Babu Guda, Ph.D.,/Howard Fox, M.D., Ph.D. – data coordinating center
  • First-year completion of new teaching track in Ph.D. program
  • First-year completion of Master’s in Anatomy program

Significant research grants/publications:

Grants:

  • The roll of calcium signaling in ErbB2-driven oncogenesis through a novel link between ecdysoneless and SPCA2 – Vimla Band, PI, U.S. Army/CMDRP, $375,000
  • Exome screening and directed breeding of rhesus for human genetic disease models – Robert Norgren, PI – R21 – DHHS/NIH/Office of the Director – $406,398
  • Nebraska Research Network in Functional Genomics – James Turpen – P20 – DHHS/NIH/NIGMS – $16,094,950

Significant Collaborative Projects:

  • NTTC Data Coordinating Center – PI – Howard Fox, GCBA collaborating faculty – Babu Guda – DHHS/NIH/NIMH, U24, $4,417,142.
  • Optimal stent selection for the femoropopliteal artery – PI – Alexey Kamenskiy, GCBA collaborating faculty – Carol Lomneth, DHHS/NIH/NHLBI, R01, $3,568,587

Publications Highlights:

Other highlights:

  • Vimla Band, Ph.D. completed the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women.
  • Sarah Keim, Ph.D. completed the 2015 Interprofessional Leadership for Excellence and Academic Development (iLEAD).
  • 16 students completed Master’s in Medical Anatomy Program that was established last year.
  • 12 students applied to professional or graduate school – 5 were admitted to medical school, 3 were admitted to PT school, 1 was admitted to Ph.D. program and 3 are on the wait list for D.O. school.  Four remaining students will apply to professional schools next year.
  • One student completed teaching track Ph.D. program and was moved on to a teaching assistant professor position.

Awards:

  • Dr. Babu Guda – Distinguished Scientist Award from UNMC – 2014
  • Dr. Runqing Lu – ASH Bridge  Award from American Society of Hematology – 2014
  • Dr. Kishor Bhakat – Distinguished Scientist Award from UNMC – 2014
  • Dr. Karen Gould – Graduate Student Association’s Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award – 2014