Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D. Named Director of Research Development for UNMC

Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., has been appointed to the newly-created position

of director of research development for the University of Nebraska Medical

Center. In addition to this new responsibility, Dr. Rosenquist will continue

to serve as chairman and professor of the Cell Biology and Anatomy Department,

the position he has held since joining UNMC in 1992.

“I’m delighted that Dr. Rosenquist has agreed to serve in this new position,”

said Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNMC chancellor. AWe are committed to doubling

the amount of research on our campus over the next five years and tripling

it over the next 10 years. To accomplish this, it’s going to take a campus-wide

effort. Dr. Rosenquist played a key role in the development and implementation

of the Research and Education Advisory Panel (REAP) and has long been an

advocate of research development on campus, making him an ideal candidate

for this position. He’s a researcher who has been funded by the National

Institutes of Health. He has the moxie and the experience to move us forward

in this critical initiative.”

Dr. Rosenquist will report directly to the chancellor. In addition to

increasing research dollars, which exceeded $34 million in 1997-98, Dr.

Rosenquist’s other accountabilities will include:


* identifying and facilitating new research initiatives and affinity

group formation;


* leading the research strategic agenda;


* developing a faculty incentive program for research excellence;


* identifying available space and helping plan new research space;


* identifying and facilitating research programs for community support;


* raising awareness of UneMed Corp., the company responsible for identifying

discoveries made by UNMC/Nebraska Health System faculty, staff and students

and moving them into the marketplace;


* working with unit research coordinators to meet interdisciplinary

needs and facilitating joint research program planning;


* developing joint research programs with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

and the University of Nebraska at Omaha;


* aiding in faculty recruitment, retention and research infrastructure

development;


* assessing core facilities and eliminating unnecessary duplications;


* and determining how best to invest REAP funds in developing research.

“I look forward with great pleasure to the possibility of having a part

in the growth of research at UNMC,” Dr. Rosenquist said. “(University of

Nebraska) President (L. Dennis) Smith and Chancellor Maurer both are scientists

with international reputations, and they know what it takes to move us

ahead in the research arena. I look forward as well to the prospects of

interacting with UNMC’s outstanding group of investigators, as we move

our Medical Center into the 21st century.”

Dr. Rosenquist, who earlier this year was named to the Von Housen Professorship,

joined UNMC after 22 years of prior experience in academic medicine, including

four years at the University of Southern California School of Medicine

and 18 years at the Medical College of Georgia. Under his leadership, the

UNMC Cell Biology and Anatomy Department was honored with the University-wide

Departmental Teaching Award in 1997. The $25,000 award recognized the department

for its strong commitment to the education of students and for its contribution

to teaching excellence in the University of Nebraska System.

The department was recognized for several areas of excellence, including

having a large number of outstanding teaching award recipients; exceptional

performance by students in national standardized examinations; faculty

participation in innovative curricula; and the success of graduates in

the graduate training program.

An outstanding researcher, Dr. Rosenquist attracted national and international

attention in 1998 when he headed a research study which determined that

the key ingredient in non-prescription cough medicine can produce a variety

of birth defects and fetal death in an animal model, thus suggesting that

pregnant women might want to avoid using cough medicine.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Dubuque in

1964, his master’s degree in 1967 from New Mexico Highlands State University,

and his doctorate from Louisiana State University in 1969. As a developmental

biologist, his research has focused primarily on arterial problems and

neural tube defects.

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 and solid organ transplantation. In addition,

UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals

practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.