Debra Romberger, M.D., has been selected as the Henry J. Lehnhoff Professor of Internal Medicine and chair for the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Internal Medicine.
The appointment, which followed an extensive national search, was announced by Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine. Pending approval of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, Dr. Romberger’s appointment will be effective April 1.
Dr. Romberger has been a UNMC faculty member since 1990 and has been serving as interim chair of the department since July 2014.
"The department of internal medicine is recognized nationally for its excellence in education, research and clinical care," Dr. Britigan said. "Among several impressive candidates, Dr. Romberger was clearly the person who stood out as the ideal person to lead this department.
"Her vision, well-developed leadership skills, and intimate knowledge of the department will enable her to build on the department's proven strengths and lead its outstanding faculty to even greater levels of accomplishment."
UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., said he was pleased that Dr. Romberger had accepted the position.
"Dr. Romberger has extensive leadership knowledge and skills as well as significant experience in leadership roles in our community. As we continue to grow in our education, research and clinical missions, her leadership of the department of internal medicine will be even more critical," he said.
Dr. Romberger said she was honored by the appointment.
"The department’s greatest asset is its people – faculty, trainees and staff who are very talented and work hard to provide high quality care to our patients and education to our students and trainees, while also seeking to answer important questions with our research programs," she said.
"The department has a rich tradition of leadership and growth, and I am privileged to be a part of leading us into our next steps of even further growth and national recognition."
The hire also was hailed by Bill Dinsmoor, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, UNMC’s primary clinical partner.
"I am looking forward to working closely with Dr. Romberger as she leads the department during this exciting opportunity we all have to transform and improve education, research and clinical care through the partnership between Nebraska Medicine and UNMC."
The department of internal medicine is the largest department in the College of Medicine. The department has more than 180 physicians and scientists and is organized by disease specialty into 10 divisions.
Dr. Romberger was born and raised in rural Kansas, earning her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University and her medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). She completed residency in internal medicine and fellowship in pulmonary/critical care at KUMC before coming to UNMC in 1988 for a two-year pulmonary research fellowship.
She joined the UNMC faculty in 1990 as assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1998 and professor in 2005. She is a graduate of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program.
In addition to her position as professor in the division of pulmonary, critical care, sleep and allergy medicine, since 2000, Dr. Romberger has served as vice chair of research for the department. In addition, for the past eight years, she also has held the post of associate chief of staff for research for the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. Since January 2014 she has been a member of the advisory board that oversees Nebraska Medicine.
A highly accomplished and internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Romberger has been the recipient of 35 research grants and is an author of 130 scientific articles and 17 book chapters and reviews. Her research focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of environment-induced inflammatory airway disease.
Dr. Romberger also is very active in the Omaha community. She received the Spirit of Community Service Award at the UNMC annual faculty meeting in 2014 and currently volunteers at the TB clinic for One World Health Clinic in Omaha. She also serves on the board for the Josie Harper Hospice House and is a past board member of Ted E. Bear Hollow, Omaha’s grief center for children and teens.
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