MMI Monthly 

The electronic newsletter of the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center

Dec. 12, 2017
Remembering true gifts
                            
As we rejoice in the magic of the holiday season , we are grateful for the individuals and families we serve at the Munroe-Meyer Institute.

Your trust in us is an honor; the
opportunity to work with you, a blessing. And when we see that our partnership with families, educators, and agencies have had a positive impact on the lives of the people and families that come to us for help, that is the most wondrous gift of all.
 
As we celebrate the holiday season, let's remember the true gifts -- the people we love, our families, friends and co lleagues . At MMI, our clients are part of our MMI family -- and that being said , we wish you abundance, happiness, and peace in a new year filled with hope , and our thanks for letting us be a part of your lives.

Melonie Welsh
Director of Community Engagement
The Munroe-Meyer Institute
A demonstration of how the app works in a clinical setting. (Courtesy of FDNA, Inc.)

App recognizes fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

With a smartphone and an app, qualified health care professionals can now diagnose fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in their office thanks to a suggestion from Omar Rahman, M.D., director of the MMI Department of Genetic Medicine.  Read more here.  

Brad Corr, D.P.T.

Dr. Corr's mandate: Reach out, expand adult PT services

When Brad Corr, D.P.T., returned to MMI earlier this year, he did so with a mandate: Grow and strengthen adult physical therapy services provided by the institute.  Read more here.   

Mike Lentz

Project SEARCH graduate has big imact on med center

Earlier this month, co-workers and members of the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine Project SEARCH program came together to celebrate Mike Lentz, one of the earliest and most successful graduates of the program, who is now facing a battle with cancer.  Read more here.  

Ann Kruger

MMI's Ann Kruger wins UNMC Gold U Award

Ann Kruger sees her Gold U, awarded in November, as an award for the Munroe-Meyer Institute as a whole.  Read more here.  

Zeljka Korade, D.V.M., Ph.D.,left, and MMI Director Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D.

Drs. Korade, Mirnics collaborate on recently published study

Researchers at UNMC and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., have found that two commonly used medications for treatment of mental illness might cause a health risk to a subset of individuals based on their genetic makeup.  Read more here.  
MMI standouts' with Dr. Mirnics at center, are (from left): Maggy Gutierrez, Jes Niemeier, Renee Payton and Holly Dunning.

MMI Standouts program seeks nominations

November's MMI Standouts are  Renee Payton, occupational therapy; Maggy Gutierrez, developmental medicine; Holly Dunning, UNMC Sponsored Programs; Jes Niemeier, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (CASD) early intervention; and Amber Godsey, CASD.

Nominations are being accepted for future monthly Standout Awards. Awardees will be  invited to lunch with Dr. Mirnics, receive a coffee mug or water bottle and have their picture featured in MMI Monthly.

Anyone in the MMI community may be nominated, and anyone on the UNMC campus or in the greater Omaha community may nominate. Anyone who works or volunteers at MMI is eligible, and up to five individuals will be selected monthly for this honor.

Nominations are due by 8 a.m. on the 15th of each month for the next cycle of Standouts. These nominations may be submitted online or e-mailed to  Sandy Willett for consideration .

Woo-Yang Kim, Ph.D.

Study may impact autism, developmental disability treatment

A breakthrough in finding the mechanism and a possible therapeutic fix for autism and intellectual disability has been made by Woo-Yang Kim, Ph.D., and his team at MMI. Read more here.
News in brief

Dr. Huh's research is published in national journals
Sung-Ho Huh, Ph.D., assistant professor In the MMI Department of Developmental Neuroscience, has collaborated on two new publications:
Dr. Dunaevsky's lab presents posters at Society for  Neuroscience national meeting 
Anna Dunaevsky, Ph.D., and her lab presented two posters at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C., in November. This is the premier international neuroscience meeting, with more than 30,000 attendees. The first poster was "Altered HDAC4 localization in a mouse model of maternal immune activation" (Coiro, P., Bergdolt, L., Jung, Y., Dunaevsky, A), which looks at infections during pregnancy, a major cause of autism. Pierluca Coiro was a postdoctoral fellow, Lara Bergdolt is a graduate student, and Yoosun Jung is a technologist in the Dunaevsky lab. The second poster is an MMI interdisciplinary study, "In vivo Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes in awake behaving mice," by Padmashri Ragunathan, an instructor in the department, Max Kurz, Ph.D., of physical therapy, and Dr. Dunaevsky.


Notes:
  • Jennifer Sanmann , Ph.D., director of the Human Genetics Laboratory, moderated a session titled, "Utah Genome Project; Genetic Discovery Powered by Utah's Large Families and Population Database" at the Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP) annual meeting in Salt Lake City.
  • Bhavana Dave , Ph.D., professor and laboratory associate director, presented an invited seminar titled "Trends and implications of genetic testing in hematological malignancies" at Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of Southern Alabama. She also delivered a talk on "Translational and functional significance of basic research in lymphoma" in the department of basic science at Mitchell Cancer Institute.
Upcoming Events
 
Upcoming events of interest to the MMI community:

  • Dec. 13: 3-9 p.m., Meyer Foundation for Disabilities (MFD) fundraiser at Don & Millie's, 4430 Farnam St. location only. 20 percent of every dollar spent on food and drinks will go back to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.
  • Jan. 13: 3-9 p.m., Meyer Foundation for Disabilities (MFD) fundraiser at Don & Millie's, 4430 Farnam St. location only. 20 percent of every dollar spent on food and drinks will go back to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.
  • Jan. 19: 4:30-7 p.m., MMI Celebration of Excellence. UNMC Truhlsen Events Center, 42nd and Emile streets.
  • Feb. 8: 1-3 p.m., Disability Legislative Advocacy Day at the State Capitol, sponsored by People First of Nebraska, Inc. Disability advocates and allies will visit state senators to share stories and discuss issues that are important to Nebraskans with disabilities. Meet at the Nebraska State Capitol, 1445 K St., north entrance on the first floor. 
Links of the month
 
News from around the internet of interest to the MMI community.

Omar Rahman, M.D., director of the MMI Department of Genetic Medicine, was featured in November on the KETV feature "Ask UNMC." A s part of the popular feature, Dr. Rahman addressed the question:  I have a cousin with cystic fibrosis. What are the chances of my kid getting it?

Send your news to MMI Monthly
 
Is there something exciting going on in your department? Send your news to MMI Monthly to share with your colleagues at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. MMI Monthly will be published during the first week of each month. 

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