News Briefs

Clockwise from top left are Nikki Traynham, Alma Haynes, Jody Berg, Lilia White, Allie Baker, Marcia Wattjes, LaShon Williams and Jessica Hernandez. (The edge of Chris Mangiamelli's glasses can also be seen next to Hernandez.)

UNMC held Spring Spirit Day on its Omaha campus April 1. More than 500 students, faculty and staff stopped by for root beer floats, popcorn and candy. Spirit Day events also will be held at other UNMC campuses in the coming weeks. The fun events show appreciation for all UNMC employees, faculty, and staff. For a photo album from the Omaha event, click here.

Also, in conjunction with UNMC Spirit Day, staffers from The Olson Center for Women's Health won the UNMC Selfie Contest with the most-liked Facebook photo. The group won a $25 gift card to Bruegger's.

Vimla Band, Ph.D., chairperson of genetics, cell biology and anatomy, received an Outstanding Women Scientist Award from the American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research (AAISCR) at the organization's meeting on April 7. The award is given to women whose contributions to research have been outstanding and who have served as a role model for all women in cancer research. At right, Dr. Band, chair of the UNMC Department of Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy, receives the award from Hari Koul, Ph.D., chair of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, LSU Health Sciences Center.

The Family Medicine editing team – Paul Paulman, M.D., Audrey Paulman, M.D., Nate Falk, M.D., Jeff Harrison, M.D., Kimberly Jarzynka, M.D., and Laeth Nasir, M.D., formerly of UNMC and now the chair of family medicine at Creighton – has had another book published, a Spanish-language edition of its latest work, "Taylor's Differential Diagnosis Manual," which was released in English in 2013. The book, the 13th for the team, is available through Amazon.com. With this publication, the UNMC Family Medicine editing team has now been published in English, Mandarin, Turkish, Portuguese and Spanish.

Stephanie Vas has been named director of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) program in the School of Allied Health Professions. A UNMC alumnus, she is a licensed medical radiographer and holds certifications in radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). She's been clinical coordinator for the CT (computed tomography) and MRI programs, and has served in the capacity of interim MRI program director since August 2013.

Gordon Todd, Ph.D., genetics, cell biology and anatomy, was the recipient of the College of Medicine/Class of 1962 Basic Science Outstanding Teacher Award at the College of Medicine's Alpha Omega Alpha Spring Convocation and Faculty Honors Convocation held March 27.

The award was created by the 1962 College of Medicine graduating class, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 1987, to inspire and foster continued excellence in classroom teaching by annually honoring a professor who has contributed greatly to the education of aspiring medical students.

David McMillan, Ph.D., from the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, received the second annual Pioneering Women in Medicine Award.

The UNMC Pioneering Women in Medicine Award was created in 2012 by Carol Swarts, M.D., a 1959 College of Medicine graduate, to recognize the importance of dedicated teaching faculty who enrich the lives of students and shape outstanding health care providers.

The award is given to a basic science teaching faculty in the College of Medicine and may be used as a cash award or to support the recipient's teaching technology, teaching-related research or faculty development.

See who else was honored at the Alpha Omega Alpha Spring Convocation and Faculty Honors Convocation here.

Cynthia Sutton, an administrator in internal medicine – cardiology, has been elected a member-at-large to the Administrators of Internal Medicine (AIM), the national organization of business administrators in departments of internal medicine at medical schools and affiliated teaching hospitals in the United States and Canada.

Grant Turner, a third-year medical student, has been awarded a 2014 Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship from Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. The fellowship will allow Turner to continue his research on the role of IFT88 on ciliogenesis of motile respiratory epithelium and the regulation of ciliary motility.