Category: Research

A Day in the Life of Central Venous Access Devices

This post comes courtesy of Dr. Mark Rupp, who recently published a study in the Journal of Infusion Nursing about outpatient maintenance practices for central venous access devices (CVADs)! Our patients are increasingly receiving intravenous therapy at home via indwelling CVADs. However, limited data exist regarding patients’ experiences with outpatient CVADs. Regina Nailon is the […]

Jun 18, 2019

Inter-Professional Relationships in HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

We’re excited to feature a recent publication borne from student-faculty collaboration that highlights the importance of interdisciplinary care! Dr. Jordan Broekhuis, the lead author, is one of our former HIV Enhanced Medical Education Track (EMET) students who is now a surgery resident at Beth Israel Deaconess.  He completed his EMET work here at UNMC under […]

Apr 18, 2019

MD/PhD brings clinical and basic science research together

Kelsey Yamada is an MD/PhD student in Dr. Tammy Kielian’s laboratory studying Staphylococcus aureus.  We enjoyed learning more about him and his work! Tell us a little about yourself. I am originally from Hawaii, but moved to Nebraska over a decade ago to attend Creighton University. After graduating with my B.S. Chemistry I moved to Bethesda, […]

Apr 4, 2019

MD/PhD Student on the Cutting Edge of HIV Research

Jonathan (Yoni) Herskovitz is an MD/PhD student working with Dr. Howard Gendelman studying therapies for HIV.  We were excited to talk to him about his work and his plans for the future! Tell us a little about yourself and your career goals. I am California native, and though pursuing a career as a physician-scientist occupies […]

Mar 28, 2019

Faculty Research Presentation: Bacterial Iron Metabolism and Novel Antimicrobial Strategies

Every month, we have a faculty member presents their ongoing research. Last month we had the opportunity to learn from Dean Bradley Britigan about novel antimicrobial strategies involving disruption of bacterial iron metabolism.  Microorganisms need iron for growth and metabolism; they need it for enzymes, gene regulation, and development of virulence factors. Most bacterial species […]

Apr 11, 2018

Plazomicin: Will it be the future of MDRO treatment?

Today at our UNMC Infectious Disease Research Conference, Dr. Kelly Cawcutt’s presentation included details on Plazomicin, a new antibiotic recently granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation,  aimed at treating multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs). Antibiotic resistance continues to be a clinical problem. The CDC Antibiotic Threat Report has estimated 2 million infections with antibiotic resistant organisms and […]

Feb 6, 2018

Effect of variations in clinical practice on blood culture volumes

Blood cultures obtained from central venous catheters (CVC) contain a significantly greater volume of blood than those obtained via peripheral venipuncture.  This is the main finding from a study recently published by investigators at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) (Jones RL, Syles HR, Fey PD and Rupp ME).  “Effect of Clinical Variables on […]

Jan 5, 2018

Research in HIV Medicine…charting a path to longer lives and ending HIV transmission

Research has long been an important part of the mission of the HIV Team at UNMC’s Specialty Care Center For many years, clinic patients clinic have had the opportunity to take part in a variety of projects including interventional treatment for HIV, the study of comorbid conditions and opportunistic infections, and trials targeted towards HIV […]

Dec 20, 2017

A New Template for Antibiotic Stewardship in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Settings

Antibiotic use is common in long-term care facilities (LTCF) with 70% residents receiving at least one course of systemic antibiotic every year. A significant proportion of the antibiotic use (40% to 75%) in nursing homes has been found to be unnecessary or inappropriate. Antibiotic exposure drives selection for multi-drug resistant organisms and C difficile infection. […]

Nov 22, 2017

Resistant CMV – Research Aimed at the Cure

  Infections due to Cytomegalovirus(CMV) remain a significant problem for patients undergoing various types of transplants, including both hematopoietic stem cell transplants and solid organ transplant, particularly since these groups both require the use of potent immunosuppressive chemotherapy. Although the currently available systemic anti-cytomegalovirus agents are usually effective, their use is limited by their toxicities, […]

Oct 5, 2017