September - University of Nebraska

Nebraska Center for Transplantation Medicine,
University of Nebraska Medical Center
7-20-2008
1. Purpose and Context of the Nebraska Center for Transplantation Medicine
The mission of the Center will be to facilitate the study of transplant biology among
investigators from various academic and clinical disciplines and thereby promote the
development of innovative clinical therapeutics and translational research leading to
enhanced diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.
The vision in establishing this Center is to provide a platform to facilitate the interactions
among clinical investigators, basic scientists and other allied health care professionals
interested in various aspects of transplantation biology. A pivotal goal of this center proposal
is to enhance the basic research, translational and clinical service activities in transplant
biology, for the purpose of moving the field forward, which will lead to improved
understanding of the diseases and therapeutic outcomes. Obtaining substantial additional
NIH or federal equivalent grant funding as well as the ability to pursue capital campaign
funds will be a natural consequence of the achievements of center members.
The Center will focus primarily on: 1) innovative approaches to treating patients with organ
failure including cellular and organ replacement therapies; 2) the molecular genomics for
transplant immunology phenomena including allograft rejection, graft versus host disease,
post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders; 3) population based-outcomes studies
utilizing our clinical data base, and; 4) our large repository of transplant- related tissues and
other materials will promote and facilitate clinical and basic research.
One of the great challenges in creating a Nebraska Center for Transplantation Medicine will
be the balance between the roles of members of the Center, while at the same time retaining
traditional academic/clinical relationships. The success of any individual will ultimately be
of benefit to both the Transplant Center and his/her academic department.
The central function of the Center will be to provide a fertile environment for academic and
clinical success. It is no longer possible to rely upon casual and informal networks to ensure
that collaboration occurs. The ability to centralize resources, whether they are intellectual,
structural or financial should allow us to be competitive and ultimately successful in our
current academic health care environment. Resources would become available in the areas of
education, research and clinical activities as the various benchmarks or goals that we have set
are met. .
Our ability to remain competitive while existing in a demographically challenged area will
require us to consolidate all of our strengths to function as a single entity. We must continue
to focus on the core principles of quality and innovation to retain our position. The creation
of the Nebraska Center for Transplantation Medicine will provide the necessary structure to
accomplish this. The history of our program positions us for continued growth and progress
during the next generation of transplantation.
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