Dr. Olivera-Martinez named to Sorrell Chair

When Marco Olivera-Martinez, MD, was named the Michael F. Sorrell Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine in July, he was excited.

But he also felt a sense of responsibility.

Dr. Sorrell, who looms large as a pivotal figure in UNMC history, also is a pivotal figure in Dr. Olivera-Martinez’s career, not only mentoring him when he came to UNMC in 1995 as a hepatology/liver transplantation fellow but reaching out to him even before.

“I first met Dr. Sorrell when I was in my GI fellowship in Mexico,” said Dr. Olivera-Martinez, a Mexico native.

During his third year as an internal medicine resident, his institution had several liver transplants. He found that he was interested in the process, and when he talked to leaders at his institution, the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico, a mentor pointed him to Dr. Sorrell.

He met Dr. Sorrell in person at two national conferences in 1994, impressing him so much that Dr. Sorrell handed him his business card.

“He said, ‘Pass your USMLE test and come do a fellowship with me,’” Dr. Olivera-Martinez remembered.

Dr. Olivera-Martinez came to UNMC in November 1995. Most residents had started in July, so for the next six months, “Dr. Sorrell prepared and readied me – and then from July 1996 to 1998, I did the transplant hepatology fellowship with him.”

When Dr. Olivera-Martinez left UNMC in 1998, it was to the National Institutes of Health in Mexico to start a liver transplant program based on the program he’d been part of at UNMC.

“Recently, that hospital celebrated its 500^th transplant,” he said. “Though I left in 2008 when I was recruited here, some of the people I trained are still in charge of the program – and that program is certainly part of Dr. Sorrell’s legacy.”

Dr. Olivera-Martinez said that being named to the Sorrell chair is humbling.

“These are big shoes to fill, because whoever sees that ‘Sorrell Chair’ behind my name is going to have high expectations, and I want to be up to the task. It is a great honor and a great responsibility.”

To Dr. Sorrell, he said: “Thank you for your friendship and for the honor of sharing this chair with me. I expect to be up to your standards and complete the tasks that are in front of me.”

Debra Romberger, MD, said it is exciting to have Dr. Olivera-Martinez be recognized with the Sorrell Chair.

“Dr. Olivera-Martinez came to UNMC because of the international reputation of the liver program at UNMC under Dr. Sorrell’s leadership, and it is wonderful to see how his career has progressed,” she said. “The endowed position is a recognition of his commitment to excellence in liver disease.”

The UNMC Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine was created in 2013 by Ruth and Bill Scott to honor Dr. Sorrell. Dr. Sorrell held the chair until his retirement in 2021, when, at the Scott’s wishes, the chair became known as the Michael F. Sorrell Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine

Dr. Sorrell said he was pleased that Dr. Olivera-Martinez will be the holder of the chair that now bears his name.

“Marco is a fine man and a fine physician,” Dr. Sorrell said. “As the Sorrell Chair, he will help build on UNMC’s already world-class reputation as a liver transplant institution.”