UNMC for the record, Nov. 3, 2023

Nursing’s Dr. Hetland receives NIH grant for small business

Breanna Hetland, PhD, recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to move forward her small business.

The NIH R41–Small Business Technology Transfer Grant, sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research, is a one-year, $228,000 seed funding to enable a build-out and commercialization of her Family Room program.

The Family Room is point-of-care technology that improves day-to-day family caregiving, facilitates symptom management decisions and incorporates families into the inpatient health care team. Dr. Hetland said the program engages families in patient care during acute illnesses, which helps improve outcomes and reduces health care costs.

Dr. Hetland said the grant will support connecting the Family Room to the electronic health record that will allow family caregiver contributions to patient care be formally communicated to nurses.

The grant complements Dr. Hetland’s involvement in the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship. The fellowship offers training in areas such as human-centered design, tech innovation in research and entrepreneurship. The training, along with the research funding, will help Hetland towards commercially and effectively roll out the Family Room.

“This will result in a robust, user-centered, nurse-led innovation ready for future commercialization,” she said.

Billy Mills documentary available online

The documentary, “Conquering Chronic Disease with Olympian Billy Mills” is available for viewing on the Nebraska Healing webpage.

Visit the website to hear the story of Olympic legend and Native American hero Billy Mills, who proved that no matter how the odds are stacked against someone, all they need are courage and fortitude to win.

Postdoctoral Education Annual Event set for today

Today (Nov. 3), the UNMC Office of Postdoctoral Education will recognize the achievements of the postdocs who play a critical role in the advancement of biomedical research at UNMC. 

The 2023 Annual Event and Awards will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Sorrell Center, Room 1005. Ken Bayles, PhD, vice chancellor for research, will deliver the opening remarks. The keynote address, “Bringing Zen into Your Scientific Life,” will be given by Iqbal Ahmad, PhD, associate dean of postdoctoral education and research.

Two finalists, Sravan Jonnalgadda, PhD, pharmaceutical sciences, and Murali Subramani, PhD, ophthalmology and visual sciences, will be recognized this year for the Excellence in Research Award. The winner will be judged through oral presentations and receive a plaque and cash award following the keynote address. 

Food vendors on campus

Mark your calendars with the schedule of food vendors on the UNMC Omaha campus. Vendors will be located on both the east and west sides of campus, serving from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily. This lineup will be updated as changes are made.

The schedule is as follows:

East end of campus (Sorrell Center, Alumni Commons area unless specified otherwise below):

• Mondays – Southern Spoon
• Tuesdays – Zemogs
• Wednesdays – Pulled BBQ Omaha
• Thursdays – Sgt. Peffers
• Fridays – Tastee Trailer (food trailer south of the Sorrell Center on Emile Street)

West end of campus (Durham Research Center towers)

• Mondays – Zemogs (food trailer located to the east of DRC 1)
• Tuesdays – Streetside (food truck east of Durham Research Center)
• Wednesdays – Tastee Trailer (food trailer east of Durham Research Center)
• Thursdays – Pim’s Thai Catering & Take Out (DRC II, Maurer Commons area)
• Fridays – Let Me Feed You (Maurer Commons area)

Questions? Email Rick Boldt in the UNMC Office of Business and Finance.