UNMC announces Holland Future Scientist winners

Ten undergraduate students from four Nebraska colleges and universities recently received the 2022 Richard Holland Future Scientist Award from Nebraska Cures.

The students received cash awards totaling $5,000 during the virtual INBRE (Institutional Development Award [IDeA] Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence Program) conference held Aug. 7-9.

The awards are named in honor of the late Richard Holland, an Omaha philanthropist and longtime supporter of research. This is the 14th year the Holland Future Scientist Awards have been given.

The students listed below were judged in two categories — oral and poster presentations of the research work they conducted this summer as part of the INBRE program.

The INBRE program is overseen by Paul Sorgen, PhD, a professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UNMC. Dr. Sorgen is the principal investigator of the $16.2 million grant funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

Established in 2001, the INBRE Scholars program was created to expose students to serious biomedical research and build a statewide biomedical research infrastructure between undergraduate and graduate institutions.

The students, referred to as INBRE scholars, enter the program after completing their sophomore year of college upon recommendation of their college professors. It is a two-year comprehensive training program to prepare the students for graduate school.

The award winners are listed below:

Oral  

First place – Olivia Nicholson, Creighton University 

Second place – Sarah Chandler, University of Nebraska at Kearney 

Third place – Madelynn Meredith, Doane University 

Honorable Mention – Grace Jaworski, Creighton University 

Honorable Mention – Abigail Swoboda, University of Nebraska at Omaha 

Poster 

First place – Rhiannon McCracken, Creighton University 

Second place – Demi Brown, Creighton University 

Third place – Maia Bennett, University of Nebraska at Omaha 

Honorable Mention – Connor Eastman, University of Nebraska at Omaha 

Honorable Mention – Molly Dolan, Creighton University