A top administrator and physician/scientist at Vanderbilt University, Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., has accepted the position of director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The selection of Dr. Mirnics was announced today by UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., and culminates a nationwide search. The appointment, which is effective in July, is pending approval of University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds, Ph.D., and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
Dr. Mirnics will replace J. Michael Leibowitz, Ph.D., who retired in 2015 after serving as MMI director for eight years and holding several key posts at MMI over 41 years there. During the search, Wayne Stuberg, Ph.D., an associate director of MMI, has been serving as interim director.
"The Munroe-Meyer Institute is a very important part of UNMC's mission," Dr. Gold said. "Dr. Mirnics brings an extraordinary degree of experience to this important role, and under his guidance, I am sure we will see MMI expand on its already impressive accomplishments in research, education and clinical care. I am honored to recommend him to President Bounds and the Board of Regents for this prestigious leadership role."
Dr. Mirnics is the James G. Blakemore Professor of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt and vice chair for research, department of psychiatry. He also serves as associate director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development and is a senior fellow of Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE).
A native of Novi Sad, Serbia (the former Yugoslavia), he stayed in his hometown to get his medical degree from the University of Novi Sad School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary.
Dr. Mirnics has a broad background in molecular neurobiology of brain diseases with more than 20 years of experience in the field.
Dr. Mirnics will be joining the UNMC faculty along with his wife, Zeljka Korade-Mirnics, D.V.M., Ph.D., who will serve as professor of pediatrics. Her research is in cholesterol and lipid metabolism in the nervous system, with a particular interest in Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body and is characterized by distinctive facial features, intellectual disability or learning problems, and behavioral problems.
"This is an amazing opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime," Dr. Mirnics said. "MMI and UNMC are building something extraordinary, and Zeljka and I are excited to have the pleasure and privilege of becoming part of it.
"I am looking forward to further developing this already exceptional enterprise and to engaging the broader intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) community statewide," he said. "I strongly believe that with our joint efforts MMI will become the national and worldwide leader of IDD-related patient care, education, outreach and research.”
“We are excited to have such an accomplished leader and researcher taking the helm at MMI," said Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing who led the search committee. “During his visits to UNMC's campus, Dr. Mirnics impressed not only the search committee, but the staff of MMI and the wider campus community with his passion and commitment.”
What others are saying
"I look forward to working with Dr. Mirnics as the Munroe-Meyer Institute continues to lead the way with groundbreaking research, exceptional clinical care, and educating the next generation of researchers and clinicians. Dr. Mirnics will find a staff at MMI that is eager to help him make the institute an even stronger and more effective force, regionally, nationally and internationally, for helping those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families."
– Wayne Stuberg, Ph.D., interim director, Munroe-Meyer Institute
"I was very impressed by Dr. Mirnics, and I think he brings a great deal to MMI. He is a leader who can coordinate the resources of the institute, especially its exemplary staff, to make MMI an even more effective presence in and collaborator with the community representing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, both in Omaha and beyond."
– Ann Bird, president of the Munroe-Meyer board of directors
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