Next University of Nebraska Kearney Science Café focuses on clinical trials in rural Nebraska

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - The University of Nebraska Kearney will be hosting another Science Café special presentation, called “Partnering for success: Conducting clinical trials in rural Nebraska”.

Clinical trials deliver new treatments and technology that transform health care, yet rural communities are traditionally underrepresented in them. This seminar will cover some of the barriers to conducting clinical trials in rural settings and give examples of research successes conducting clinical trials in rural Nebraska.

The presenter, Dr. Russell McCulloh is a nationally recognized leader in clinical research who currently serves as assistant dean for clinical research for the College of Medicine and director for clinical and translational research operations at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. He also became vice president for research at Nebraska Medicine and will continue in a research operation director’s role at Children’s.

As associate vice chancellor for clinical research, McCulloh provides vision for clinical research, identifies research initiatives and incentives to foster research excellence, expand translational research teams and increase the number and success of large grant applications. He also facilitates joint research program planning, including identifying areas for strategic recruitment of nationally recognized, extramurally funded investigators. He serves as the liaison between the UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research Office and the research community concerning clinical research support and shared resources, strategic planning initiatives, policies and new initiatives.

McCulloh joined UNMC in 2018, in part to direct the NIH-funded Nebraska Pediatric Clinical Trials Unit, which focuses on conducting high-quality clinical trials engaging children and families and increasing the capacity to conduct clinical studies at UNMC.

He completed medical school at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and residency in internal medicine-pediatrics at University of Missouri Health Care. He completed fellowship in combined pediatric and adult infectious diseases at Brown University in 2013.

The presentation is Monday, March 6 at 5:30pm, and takes place at The Loft, Cunningham’s Journal, 15 W. 23rd St., Kearney. For more information, contact Allen Thomas, UNK associate professor of chemistry, at (308) 865-8452, or email thomasaa@unk.edu.