Four honored by College of Dentistry at alumni reunion
Four individuals were recognized at the UNMC College of Dentistry Alumni Reunion on Sept. 15. They were honored for their distinguished service to the college and to the dental profession.
Honors included:
2017 Honorary Life Membership Alumni Award:
Jillian Wallen, B.D.S., assistant professor and chair, Department of Growth and Development
2017 Alumni Achievement Award:
Scott Morrison, D.D.S., Dental Class of 1985
2017 Distinguished Service Award:
Roger Jurgens, D.D.S., Dental Class of 1964
2017 College of Dentistry Alumni Association Outstanding Educator Award:
Larry Crouch, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Oral Biology
Dr. Van Hook receives grant from BrightFocus Foundation
Matthew Van Hook, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the Truhlsen Eye Institute at UNMC, has been award a $150,000 grant award from the BrightFocus Foundation for his research on glaucoma. Maryland-based BrightFocus is a leading source of funding and support for scientific research to defeat Alzheimer’s, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.
House officers, medical students gather for ‘Grapes, Greetings & Grub’
More than 150 house officers, medical students and their significant others recently gathered to discover their inner Van Gogh. The wellness and social networking opportunity, titled “Grapes, Greetings & Grub,” was sponsored by the Graduate Medical Education Office and the College of Medicine. Attendees learned painting techniques and created watercolor greeting cards, while socializing with their peers.
The next wellness event for house officers and medical students is “Sustaining Your Call to Medicine” on Nov. 30 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the Storz Pavilion. Faculty, house officers and students will discuss strategies to maintain their joy for medicine while also achieving a balance between work and personal life.
Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network funding opportunities
Deadlines are approaching for two funding opportunities through the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network, a collaborative effort between nine institutions in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Kansas to reach medically underserved populations and transform health delivery and outcomes in the Great Plains region:
- The application deadline is Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. for a grant that will raise awareness of clinical and translational research by promising scholars who are developing innovative tools and methods for medical research. The winning investigator/team will receive a pilot grant award to catalyze cutting-edge research that may translate to a sustainable product or a larger federal grant. The winner will receive up to $20,000 for one year, and access to resources of the GP IDeA-CTR to support these research efforts. Read complete details online.
- The required letter of inquiry application deadline is Oct. 17 for the IDeA-CTR Pilot Grant Program, which is administered through a National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) grant titled “Great Plains IDeA-CTR.” The goal of the program is to provide a mechanism to test the most promising and novel clinical and translational projects, and help investigators obtain preliminary data necessary for successful investigator-initiated extramural grants. Successful applicants will receive up to $50,000 annually, as well as access to resources of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR to support these research efforts. Read complete details online.
I send CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Matthew Van Hook for his Bright Focus Research Award. Well done. Dr. Van Hook also recently received a $100,000 direct cost pilot grant from Dr. Shelley Smith's COBRE grant, The Molecular Biology of Neurosensory Systems.