March 1, 2020     

John-Martin Lowe, PhD, leads a team in developing a UV system for decontaminating personal protective equipment (PPE) for re-use due to the global supply shortage.

March 25, 2020     

M. Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD, DTM&H, director of the Emerging Pathogens Laboratory, and her team work with the CDC to develop better and faster COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing.

April 1, 2020     

Joshua Santarpia, PhD, publishes the first reports on the airborne droplet nature of COVID-19 in April 2020.

April 1, 2020     

UNMC McGoogan Health Sciences Library starts collecting objects, stories, photographs, and more to document the history of the pandemic’s impact on Nebraskans. This collection is ongoing.

April 7, 2020     

As the number of cases grow across the country, Nebraska Medicine prepares inflatable surge tents to care for the predicted overflow of COVID-19 patients.

April 13, 2020     

The University of Nebraska launches the 1-Check COVID App that helps people screen themselves for the coronavirus.  

May 14, 2020     

To combat isolation in nursing homes, UNMC physician assistant students paint murals on the windows at St. Joseph’s Villa in Omaha.  

May 20, 2020     

Andre Kalil, MD, MPH, leads a team at Nebraska Medicine in enrolling some of the first COVID-19 patients in a National Institute of Health clinical trial that started in February to study Remdesivir as a therapeutic treatment for the virus.

May 21, 2020     

Due to the global shortage, Jennifer Foster, PharmD, and Gary Cochran, PharmD, work with UNMC College of Pharmacy students to produce hand sanitizer for the campus and local community.

August 13, 2020     

UNMC Facilities Management prepares for the safe return of students and non-essential personnel to campus with various low-density and social distancing markers.

October 13, 2020     

Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center officially opens as the home to iEXCEL and the National Quarantine Unit.

November 19, 2020     

Chancellor Gold and college representatives record their remarks in preparation for the second virtual commencement ceremony to be held on December 18^th.  

December 1, 2020     

UNMC/Nebraska Medicine use the first doses they receive of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to vaccinate frontline health care workers in December 2020.

January 7, 2021     

Diana Florescu, MD, leads UNMC/Nebraska Medicine’s involvement in the national Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trial.

January 11, 2021     

A team at iEXCEL develops the ONPACE model which helps improve the skills of those performing nasopharyngeal swabs.  

January 13, 2021     

UNMC pharmacy students volunteer to be a part of the Community Pharmacy Services' "Project HUG," an effort to immunize residents and patients at more than 140 skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent living facilities across Nebraska and Iowa.

January 22, 2021     

Jasmine Marcelin, MD, Nada Fadul, MD, and Kelly Cawcutt, MD, are among 181 individuals elected as fellows of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (ISDA).

January 29, 2021     

UNMC and the Global Center for Health Security are recognized by the community for COVID-19 efforts.

February 8, 2021     

Jingwei Xie, PhD, leads a team of UNMC researchers in developing a new nanofiber swab for COVID-19 testing.

February 18, 2021     

Nebraska Public Health Laboratory works with a tech company to utilize new technology to discover and track SARS-CoV-2 mutations in the state.

February 22, 2021     

UNMC establishes the state-of-the-art Clinical Research Unit (CRU) at the Global Center for Health Security.

February 26, 2021     

An NU team of researchers receives an honorable mention as one of the top 10 teams in a global competition to develop AI-driven models to advise policymakers on how best to respond to the pandemic.

March 1, 2021     

Kari Simonsen, MD, and Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD, lead vaccine trials through the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) for pregnant women and children.

March 4, 2021     

The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) is established so researchers across the U.S. can collaborate on COVID-19 research.

March 8, 2021     

Angela Hewlett, MD, is named the George W. Orr, MD, and Linda Orr Chair in Health Security.

March 24, 2021     

Christopher Kratochvil, MD, is named the Distinguished Chair of the Global Center for Health Security.

March 25, 2021     

Nebraska Medicine opens a multidisciplinary clinical study for patients who need to be seen for on-going symptoms following COVID-19 illnesses.

March 30, 2021     

Joshua Santarpia, PhD, leads a team in studying air particles in the Holland Performing Arts Center, helping the Omaha Symphony evaluate a safe return to performance.

April 5, 2021     

The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) helps develop a nationwide pandemic plan known as the National Special Pathogen System of Care.

April 9, 2021     

The Center for Sustainment of Trauma Readiness Skills (C-STARS) Omaha conducts its first Principles of Biocontainment Care course.

April 19, 2021     

The UNMC College of Dentistry is recognized as a leader in the field for its response to the pandemic.

April 21, 2021     

Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD, leads a UNMC team in partnership with Omaha Public Schools on a study known as the OPS PROTECTS Program to evaluate COVID-19 spread in schools.  

April 26, 2021     

UNMC’s Nada Fadul, MD, works with the Coalition of Sudanese Organizations Against COVID-19 to help mitigate the devastating effects of COVID-19 in Sudan.

May 8, 2021     

UNMC honors leaders in biopreparedness through the 2021 commencement awards. Recipients are Philip Smith, MD, Gary Anthone, MD, and Nebraska’s public health directors.  

May 13, 2021

Nebraska Medicine along with the Arnold P. Gold Foundation recognizes Kelly Cawcutt, MD, Theresa "Woody" Woodrum, and Jodi Garrett as fearless, courageous, and heroic leaders during the COVID-19 crisis.

May 25, 2021     

The Healthcare and Emergency Responder Organization Education through Simulation (HEROES) program resumes full in-person training across the state.

May 28, 2021     

Research by UNMC’s Bryant England, MD, finds that rheumatoid arthritis patients have a higher risk of COVID-19 and associated complications.

June 2, 2021     

UNMC’s Armando De Alba, MD, is selected as a keynote speaker for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ national campaign against vaccine hesitancy.

June 21, 2021     

UNMC requires the campus community to document their vaccination status in continuing efforts to combat the pandemic and protect the campus community, patients, and visitors.

August 6, 2021     

UNMC's iEXCEL offers a new look at the COVID-19 Delta variant through interactive digital models.

August 9, 2021     

UNMC, Children's Hospital & Medical Center, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney collaborate on a $3 million grant to help rural Nebraska families working in agriculture stay healthy.

August 16, 2021     

The NU Board of Regents approves the new master's level respiratory therapy educational program in the College of Allied Health Professions.  

August 19, 2021     

The National Strategic Research Institute awards $25,000 each to Elizabeth Beam, PhD, and Siddappa Byrareddy, PhD, for their COVID-19 related research.

August 27, 2021     

UNMC’s findings in July 2020 of COVID air transmission pass scientific peer review and are accepted for publication by Nature's Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

September 8, 2021     

The McGoogan Health Sciences Library hosts a temporary exhibition of the comics series C'rona Pandemic Comics, which highlights the impact of COVID-19 on tribal communities.

September 23, 2021     

UNMC's Siddappa Byrareddy, PhD, is senior author on a paper looking at COVID-19's direct and indirect effects on the central nervous system, as well as the effect of vaccine hesitancy.

September 24, 2021     

A new study on the benefits of the drug Baricitinib for patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia confirms the recent findings of a trial led by UNMC’s Andre Kalil, MD.

September 24, 2021     

The CDC approves Pfizer vaccine booster for health care workers.

October 4, 2021     

A team of genetic counselors from the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) Department of Genetics publish research studying how the pandemic has impacted patients.

October 5, 2021     

UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, is honored by the Wellbeing Partners with a Lifetime Achievement Award for leadership at the nonprofit's annual Ignite Awards.

October 25, 2021     

The CDC and the FDA approve Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine boosters.

October 26, 2021     

UNMC ophthalmologist Steven Yeh, MD, publishes a study exploring retinopathy as a unique insight into disease pathogenesis in severe COVID-19.

October 26, 2021     

Mark Rupp, MD, receives the Excellence in Service Award from the Nebraska Hospital Association.

November 1, 2021     

A UNMC team, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Missouri, identifies two potential candidates for an antiviral treatment to fight COVID-19.

November 16, 2021     

UNMC and Nebraska Medicine launch a new clinical research trial evaluating if Molnupiravir, an oral antiviral, can prevent COVID-19.

November 17, 2021     

UNMC researchers find higher adverse risks for solid organ transplant recipients who are diagnosed COVID-19.

December 1, 2021     

UNMC and Children’s Hospital & Medical Center researchers take part in a vaccine study for children ages 6-months to 4-years-old.

December 28, 2021     

Researchers in the College of Allied Health Professions find that malnutrition in COVID-19 patients increases mortality and the risk of being mechanically ventilated.

January 14, 2022     

Due to the ongoing pandemic and highly infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19, UNMC requires the campus community to wear KN95 or N95 masks while on campus.

February 17, 2022     

The UNMC College of Nursing receives a three-year, $2.2 million grant to develop and deploy resources that promote resiliency and mental health in the nursing workforce.

February 23, 2022     

Rev. Portia Cavitt and Kathy Karsting, RN, are the recipients of the 2021 UNMC Community Service to Research Award for their efforts addressing health care inequities in marginalized communities.

February 24, 2022     

Andre Kalil, MD, MPH, is named the 2021 UNMC Scientist Laureate, UNMC's highest research honor, for his extensive career in clinical research and his current impact in research related to COVID-19.

March 1, 2022     

UNMC co-sponsors an international conference in Turkey on, "COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.”