UNMC Scientist, Dr. Howard Gendelman, Receives Prestigious
Fulbright Award
Howard Gendelman, M.D., David T. Purtilo Distinguished Professor of
Pathology and Microbiology and director of the Center for Neurovirology
and Neurodegenerative Diseases (CNND) at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center, has been named a J. William Fulbright Research Scholar, the most
presitgious honor bestowed by the Fulbright Program.
As a Fulbright Research Scholar, Dr. Gendelman will serve as a scientific
ambassador for the United States, leaving later this year to study nerve
regeneration for eight months at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
The Weizmann Institute is considered one of the leading centers in the
world in neurosciences research especially investigation into how nerve
cell damage in the spinal cord and brain can be regenerated.
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946, at the end of World War
II, by Sen. Fulbright of Arkansas. The purpose of the program is to increase
mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries through the exchange
of persons, knowledge and skills. Participants, who are chosen for their
leadership potential, exchange ideas and embark on joint ventures of importance
to the general welfare of the world’s inhabitants. The U.S. Department
of State is the principal administrator of the program.
Dr. Gendelman is the first UNMC faculty member to be selected as a Fulbright
Research Scholar since John Connolly, M.D., former chairman of the orthopedic
surgery department, went to Australia for seven months of study in 1982.
Dr. Gendelman joined the UNMC faculty in 1993 and has focused his research
on neurodegenerative brain diseases. He has made important contributions
to understanding how inflammatory brain responses lead to neurodegeneration
and dementia. A group of UNMC scientists under Dr. Gendelman’s direction
discovered the means to reverse AIDS-related dementia. The disease previously
led to certain death within weeks to months after the onset of neurological
symptoms.
“It’s truly a great honor for Dr. Gendelman to be selected as a Fulbright
Research Scholar, and it’s likewise a very positive reflection on UNMC.
This is one of the most competitive awards in science. It’s a recognition
that goes to only the best and brightest of individuals,” said Harold M.
Maurer, M.D., UNMC chancellor. “This is certainly another strong validation
of the outstanding research being done by Dr. Gendelman and his colleagues.
We’re confident that he’ll be able to apply his learning at the Weizmann
Institute and bring technology back to benefit all Nebraskans.”
“Being selected a Fulbright Research Scholar is a humbling experience,”
Dr. Gendelman said. “It may be an individual honor, but there is no way
I would have gotten it without the support of the 29 researchers and two
administrators in the CNND. I also want to express my sincere appreciation
to the many University of Nebraska faculty, administrators and students
who have stood behind me and been so supportive of my research.”
The CNND’s research is considered to be among the world’s best in neuroimmunology,
said two of Dr. Gendelman’s nominators for the Fulbright Award. The research
seeks to understand how brain cells are damaged and to find ways to regenerate
these damaged brain cells in neurodestructive diseases such as Alzheimer’s
disease, Parkinson’ disease, multiple sclerosis and AIDS-related dementia.
A small portion of Dr. Gendelman’s research involves the use of fetal
brain cells from elective abortions and has been the center of a major
controversy in the state since last November.
To qualify as a Fulbright Research Scholar, individuals must be nominated
by two leading experts from institutions other than their own. Dr. Gendelman
was nominated by William C. Mobley, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman
of the Stanford University Medical Center Department of Neurology and Neurological
Sciences, and Peter G. E. Kennedy, M.D., professor and head of the University
of Glasgow Department of Neurology.
In his nomination, Dr. Mobley wrote: “In Dr. Gendelman and his staff,
UNMC has a genuine champion for discovering both the biological basis for
Alzheimer’s disease and its treatment. I know of no other group in the
United States that has such a clear view of the role that brain immune
function may play in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.”
In going to Israel, Dr. Gendelman will be collaborating with Michal
Schwartz, M.D., of the Weizmann Institute, who is recognized as a world
authority on spinal cord regeneration. Dr. Schwartz has been able to use
immune cells from the spinal cord and brain to allow an adult rat with
a severed spinal cord to regain partial motor function. Dr. Gendelman is
using these same cells in his research.
In his nomination, Dr. Kennedy wrote: “I believe it is very clear that
Dr. Gendelman’s considerable expertise in macrophage biology and pathology
would be of great value to Dr. Schwartz’s research program and this combination
of talent may well lead to innovative and productive results.”
A prodigious researcher, Dr. Gendelman has had more than 160 articles
published in scientific journals, edited three books and served on the
editorial board or as editor of six biomedical research journals. He has
been an invited lecturer for more than 200 scientific seminars and symposia.
A 1979 graduate of Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, he
was honored in 1999 as a Pennsylvania State University Distinguished Alumni.
“The Fulbright recognition is truly an incredible opportunity,” Dr.
Gendelman said. “The concepts for brain regeneration are the same as for
spinal cord regeneration. I’m going to the Mecca for spinal cord regeneration
and studying with the best in the business. Dr. Schwartz and I are trying
to come up with some answers for diseases of the brain and the spine with
no cures that leave people in nursing homes and wheelchairs. Hopefully,
Nebraska will be a better place because of the ideas and technology I will
bring back.”
Sen. Fulbright, who died in 1995 at the age of 89, was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives in 1942 and to the U.S. Senate in 1944. He
served five terms in the Senate from 1944 to 1974.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
During the past year, nearly $31 million in research grants and contracts
were awarded to UNMC scientists, and UNMC’s funding from the National Institutes
of Health increased by 28 percent, going from $16.2 million to $20.7 million.
UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.