Check this page often to learn about events at Boys Town National Research Hospital, scientific studies underway in our laboratories, and advances in diagnosis and treatment in our clinics.

What's New - Archived Articles

Looking to the Future

In honor of our 90th birthday and Father Flanagan’s legacy, we are launching a new logo and reinvigorating our mission to care for more of America's children and families.

Boys Town Pediatrics Voted BEST in Pediatric Care

The Best of the Big O—Reader’s Choice Awards, recognizes Boys Town Pediatrics as the ‘Best’ in Pediatric Care. With over 20,000 businesses in the Omaha area, Boys Town Pediatrics is proud to be your top pick for Pediatrics!

Linda Daugherty Recognized as 'Caring Kind'

Linda L. Daugherty, RN, has received the 2007 "Caring Kind" award from the Nebraska Hospital Association. The award was presented at a luncheon honoring recipients from across the state at the association’s annual convention in Lincoln, Nebraska, on November 2.

Medical Mission to Vietnam

On August 24, 2007, Rodney Lusk, M.D., Director of Boys Town Ear, Nose & Throat Institute, and his wife Connie Lusk, R.N., traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam on a medical mission. Dr. and Mrs. Lusk spent 11 days in an underdeveloped country, educating and training doctors and medical staff on current medical and surgical ear, nose and throat procedures.

Boys Town National Research Hospital Presents Emerging Medical Therapies for Deaf/Blindness

William J. Kimberling, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Study and Treatment of Usher Syndrome, will be the keynote speaker at the annual Deafblind International World Conference. The conference will be held September 25-30, 2007 in Perth, Western Australia.

Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home and Boys Town Pediatrics Developing Model Program for Lead Poisoning

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home in Omaha, Nebraska for a Targeted Lead Grant.

The $99,244 grant project is to design, pilot, and disseminate a physician’s lead screening protocol within Boys Town Pediatrics in Omaha to improve testing rates and identification of cases of childhood lead poisoning. The protocol would be disseminated to all nine Boys Town clinics and later to pediatricians across the country.

Boys Town National Research Hospital Memorial Day Run Helps Children with Hearing Loss

The 2007 Boys Town National Research Hospital Memorial Day Run was an outstanding success, with a record breaking crowd of more than 2330 walkers and runners participating in the three events: Children’s 1-Mile Fun Run, 1-Mile Walk/Run and 5-Mile Walk/Run. The event took place on Monday, May 28 on the Boys Town Home Campus and raised over $72,000 for the hospital’s Cochlear Implant Program and Lied Learning and Technology Center for Childhood Deafness and Vision Disorders.

Sudhakar Akulapalli Advances Cancer Research

A new discovery reported by Dr. Sudhakar Akulapalli and his team of researchers at Boys Town National Research Hospital offers a significant advance in cancer research and has prompted researchers to develop and test many classes of anti-angiogenic molecules. Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels are derived from preexisting ones and is essential for tumor growth. The "angiogenic switch" is turned on when levels of certain growth factors (VEGF, bFGF) exceed those of endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor molecules. The protein human alpha3(IV)NC1 is a naturally existing endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor found in body fluids or tissues, provides a counterbalance to the above growth factors.

Boys Town National Research Hospital Receives $10,000 Gift for Loaner Hearing Aid Program

Boys Town National Research Hospital received a $10,000 donation for the Loaner Hearing Aid Program, from Valero L.P. The check was presented to Patrick E. Brookhouser, M.D., Director of Boys Town National Research Hospital, by Valero L.P. General Manager of Terminal Operations Ron Simmons during a special ceremony at the Hospital at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, 2007.

University of Nebraska Medical Center Honors Dr. Rodney P. Lusk

Rodney P. Lusk, M.D., Director of the Boys Town Ear, Nose & Throat Institute and Director of the Cochlear Implant Center, is the recipient of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Volunteer Faculty of the Month for February 2007. The award recognizes extraordinary faculty volunteers for the valuable role they play in educating students and residents. Dr. Lusk will be presented with a certificate of appreciation at a special luncheon with John L. Gollan, M.D., Ph. D., Dean of University of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Medicine on April 24, 2007.

Dr. Mary Pat Moeller Participates in NIDCD Workshop

Mary Pat Moeller, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Childhood Deafness, was among 15 research scientists invited by the National Institutes for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) to participate in a workshop titled Outcomes Research in Children with Hearing Loss. The aim of the workshop, held December 12-13, in Bethesda, Maryland, was to determine and prioritize research needs and to discuss the design of research studies that would benefit children with mild to severe hearing loss.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Create Unique Art Project

More than 200 deaf and hard of hearing children, along with their families, educators and counselors from Nebraska and western Iowa traveled to Omaha to participate in a community arts project for Boys Town National Research Hospital October 7.

Boys Town National Research Scientist Publishes Findings in National Scientific Journal

Dominic Cosgrove, Ph.D., Director of Basic Research at Boys Town National Research Hospital, in collaboration with Harvard biologist Raghu Kalluri, published encouraging findings about Alport syndrome in the April 28 online issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Kalluri, Cosgrove, and their team of researchers found that bone marrow transplantation may provide a therapeutic benefit for patients with Alport syndrome, a hereditary disease that results in the breakdown of the kidney’s filtration system. Currently, dialysis and transplant are the only treatment options for these patients.

Boys Town National Research Hospital Researcher Reveals Anti-cancer Mechanism

A new discovery led by Dr. Sudhakar Akulapalli and a team of researchers at Boys Town National Research Hospital offers a significant advance in cancer research. Dr. Akulapalli’s discovery explains how angiogenesis – the growth of small blood vessels – is inhibited in the arrangement of blood vessels in a tumor.

Boys Town National Research Hospital Receives Fellowship for Mentoring and Educational Development

Boys Town National Research Hospital has been awarded a $15,000 fellowship from the Alexander Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to train professionals in the field of cochlear implants and auditory rehabilitation.

Boys Town To Build Special Treatment Center For Children With Disabilities

Boys Town broke ground on Thursday, March 31, to build a 50,000-square-foot specialized healthcare facility for children with disabilities. Located in the world-famous Village of Boys Town, Neb., the new Boys Town National Research Hospital West will include a short-stay surgical hospital, radiology center, and an outpatient medical facility.

UNL-Boys Town Agreement to Boost Audiology Education in Nebraska

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders and the Boys Town National Research Hospital have entered into a cooperative agreement designed to enhance doctoral education in audiology.

Patrick Brookhouser First Doctor From Nebraska Named To Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars

Dr. Patrick Brookhouser, Director of Boys Town National Research Hospital, is the first doctor from Nebraska to be elected to The Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars.

Rodney P. Lusk, M.D. Joins Boys Town National Research Hospital and Lied Learning and Technology Center

Dr. Lusk specializes in pediatric cochlear implants and the treatment of pediatric chronic sinusitis. He has written and edited numerous refereed journal articles and books on these subjects. He also developed many of the instruments currently used in pediatric endoscopic sinus surgery.