New biomedical technology institute named: UneTecH

The University of Nebraska's new biomedical technology institute, a joint venture led by UNMC and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, now has a new name: UNeTecH, Nebraska's Biomedical Technology Institute. The change was approved Friday by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. The institute will position NU as a leader in key areas of research and development, expanding opportunities for faculty, staff and students to partner with the private sector and commercialize their discoveries. "UNeTecH will provide us an advantage to compete for and develop an emerging, highly skilled workforce that also will assist the state in retaining Nebraska's best and brightest," said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. "We're incredibly excited about the potential this initiative has to advance Nebraska's economic competitiveness and improve health care for people in our state and around the world." UNeTecH will boost UNMC's and UNO's collaborative programs in bioinformatics, robotics, biomechanics, simulation and visualization and other areas, while expanding partnerships with NU's Lincoln and Kearney campuses and other public and private institutions. UNO Chancellor John Christensen said, "Cutting-edge biomedical research is already taking place at UNO, UNMC and across the university. Nebraska is positioned to become a national model in addressing some of the most significant challenges facing health care today – like providing higher-quality care for lower cost, preventing disease, ensuring national security and delivering health services to critical populations, including rural residents, veterans and underserved socio-economic groups as well as those living in major metropolitan areas." The institute was approved last year and established July 1 under the name Nebraska Advanced Biomedical Technology and Discovery Institute. It now has a naming schema consistent with the other NU subsidiaries associated with UNMC and UNO, including UNeMed and UNeHealth. UNeTecH's capital "H" emphasizes its relationship to health applications. Organizers currently are recruiting an executive director and are already working with UNeMed in identifying and facilitating its first projects.