Annual lectureship named after Jennifer Larsen, MD

A new annual lectureship was announced Thursday honoring Jennifer Larsen, MD, vice chancellor for research at UNMC.

UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, announced the creation of the "Jennifer Larsen, MD Distinguished Lecture for Research Excellence" at the annual faculty meeting Thursday.

The lectureship will support the annual invitation of a preeminent speaker to visit UNMC to engage and inspire researchers, scientists and other members of the UNMC community and to continue to advance UNMC’s research mission.

"Under Dr. Larsen’s leadership, the research enterprise has grown to unprecedented heights," Dr. Gold said. "In fiscal year 2021, sponsored program awards, including research, equaled $228.5 million, a campus record. This lectureship honors her accomplishments in more than a decade of leading UNMC’s research efforts, as well as her more than 35 years of contributions to research at UNMC.

Dr. Gold said that Dr. Larsen continues to be an incredible leader of the UNMC research enterprise at a time when bioscience research has undergone significant changes.

 "Over her decade of leadership, there has been incredible growth in the size and scope of our research enterprise here at UNMC," he said.

Dr. Larsen, the Louise and Morton Degen Professor of Internal Medicine, has announced that she is stepping down from her leadership role. She will remain at UNMC to complete some strategic projects and will continue to teach, mentor and participate in strategic planning.

The UNMC Faculty Senate also honored Dr. Larsen at the event with a resolution enumerating her accomplishments and honoring her lasting impact on research at UNMC.

"Dr. Larsen provided responsive and innovative leadership through a decade when academic research in university-based medical centers has undergone significant changes, including decreased NIH funding budgets and the COVID-19 pandemic," the resolution said. It also lauded Dr. Larsen’s accomplishment in "increasing UNMC’s extramural funding dramatically in the past decade and supporting both COVID research and the general research proceedings of UNMC — both clinical and basic science based — through the first two years of the pandemic."

Donors to the endowed lectureship fund include:

• Robin and Jeffrey Gold, MDs
• Gail Walling Yanney, MD, and Mike Yanney
• Otis Glebe Medical Research Foundation
• Debra Romberger, MD
• George Krauss
• Karen and James Linder, MD
• Suzanne and Ward Chambers, MD

Support the lectureship in Dr. Larsen’s honor.