Associate Professor of Nursing at UNMC, Elizabeth Beam, PhD, RN, discusses her innovative new healthcare device, the Beam Helmet, during the Feb. 27, 2025, Idea Pub: Morning Edition event.
OMAHA, Nebraska (February 27, 2025)—Idea Pub: Morning Edition, UNeMed’s networking event for university innovators, entrepreneurs and startup community members, met again today featuring UNMC’s innovative nursing professor, Elizabeth Beam, PhD.
UNeMed’s Business Development Manager and event organizer, Tyler Scherr, PhD, also announced that future Morning Editions will be held in the event space of the new Catalyst building in the Edge district, just west of Saddle Creek Road.
An innovative new healthcare device, the Beam Helmet, was on display during the Feb. 27, 2025, Idea Pub: Morning Edition—along with the technology it replaces.
Dr. Beam gained a recent notoriety as the primary inventor behind the Beam Helmet. Named UNeMed’s Most Promising New Invention in 2024, the helmet is an improved respirator system that dramatically improves the safety and comfort for healthcare providers when working around infectious diseases.
She spoke about the genesis of protective masks and respirators within the healthcare system, and how her innovation was borne from the challenges that arose during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
A critically important factor with her innovation was bringing together the experience of clinical staff with researchers and engineers, who could all work together to better understand the problem, its challenges and find the most effective solution, she said.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsored the event, which will continue as a regular monthly series featuring guest speakers from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Idea Pub strives to provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
Morning Edition will continue on the last Thursday of every month, featuring a new speaker each time.
The next Morning Edition is planned for March 27, 2025, in the event space in the Catalyst building in the Edge District at 9 a.m.-11 a.m. UNeMed will announce the featured speaker at a later date.
Each Morning Edition will also feature “Office Hours,” with UNeMed and MOVE, a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
