"Leading Nebraska" Podcast Series University of Nebraska

The majority of us wake up in the morning, get out of bed, and go about our day never thinking about how we move. But for Dr. Nick Stergiou and his visionary team at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, biomechanics—the study of human movement and the forces that produce it—is all they research.

UNO is home to the first center in the world dedicated exclusively to researching human movement. The center’s projects lead to groundbreaking innovations and improved quality of life—like reducing falls among patients with Parkinson’s disease or helping children with congenital defects through prosthetic limbs. It’s also attracted millions of dollars in funding from the National Institutes of Health. 

In this episode of Leading Nebraska, we take a deeper dive into how Stergiou helped advance UNO to the top of list when it comes to biomechanics research.

The world’s population is predicted to surge to 9 billion people in 2050. We'll need production gains in crops to match this growth—and ensure there’s enough food to eat. Stephen Baenziger, a professor and plant sciences expert at UNL, is changing the game when it comes to wheat.

His work creating wheat hybrids that are more resilient—and more productive—will play a major role when it comes to feeding a hungry, growing world. In this episode of Leading Nebraska, we take a look at how Baenziger‘s research makes a huge difference across the agriculture-driven state of Nebraska—and across the world.

In Nebraska, about a fourth of criminal offenders will be arrested again. Ebonie Epinger is a UNO doctoral student and part of a research team at the University of Nebraska at Omaha that aims to reduce recidivism—or the tendency to repeat criminal behavior and end up back behind bars.

Epinger and her team study the patterns that prevent inmates from succeeding once they’re released from custody—research that will lead to less inmates and safer communities. In this episode of Leading Nebraska, we take a look at their efforts to uncover risk factors and develop effective case management tools—and what inspires Epinger to improve the criminal justice system.

To access a transcript of this podcast, visit https://nebraska.edu/nuforne/ebonie-epinger

A UNMC doctor, Andre Kalil, is using their specialized biocontainment facility in Omaha to lead the way in experimental testing for COVID-19. A drug treatment for coronavirus, remdesivir, was first tested at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. While studies are ongoing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19.

In this episode of Leading Nebraska, we take a look at the efforts to test remdesivir—and what inspires Andre Kalil to keep searching for effective treatments to COVID-19.

For more stories or to access a transcript of this podcast, visit https://nebraska.edu/nuforne.

As he leads the University of Nebraska system and plans for its future, University of Nebraska President Ted Carter is putting years of military experience to good use. A retired Navy admiral with over 30 years of service to our nation, Carter has faced challenging decisions before. Today, as higher education faces the pandemic, he has put together a plan that will help Nebraska's only public university grow and thrive despite the current background of uncertainty.

In this episode of Leading Nebraska, Ted Carter talks about what prepared him to lead the University through tough times, his strategy for the future—and why he believes the university will come out stronger on the other side.

For four months this year, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was in the hand sanitizer production business, under the leadership of Hunter Flodman, UNL associate professor of practice in chemical and biomedical engineering.

In this episode of Leading Nebraska, we explore how Flodman and his team produced thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer for schools, hospitals, businesses and other organizations who needed it—and couldn't access it.

For more stories or to access a transcript of this podcast, visit https://nebraska.edu/nuforne/hunter-flodman.