In This Together: Retired USU Administrator and Chemist Recognized for Medical Research, Advocacy

Cache Valley resident and longtime Utah State University supporter Ned Weinshenker developed a passion for chemistry by age 7, and his enthusiasm hasn’t waned for more than seven decades.

“I’m passionate about bringing medical discoveries to the public,” says Weinshenker, who served as vice president for strategic ventures and economic development at USU from 2006-2012. “I’m committed to taking complicated medical and scientific terms and explaining them in relatively simple ways lay people can understand.”

Weinshenker, who earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University with Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey. He built a distinguished career in pharmaceuticals and medical device development and never dreamed he’d be the subject of a clinical trial, but that’s where he found himself after being diagnosed with the MPN myelofibrosis in 2018.

The Brooklyn, New York native directed his energy toward research on his rare blood condition and found the Chicago-based MPN Research Foundation, which funds and advances research aimed at treating blood cancers, including myelofibrosis, known collectively as myeloproliferative neoplasms or MPNs. It was from the foundation’s website Weinshenker found the details of the clinical trial he eventually joined.

“During my career, I studied many clinical trials and protocols for other people,” says Weinshenker, who is a member of the MPN Research Foundation’s Patient Impact Council. “I never thought I would actually be a patient in clinical trial. It’s been sort of an out-of-body experience. I am my own scientific study.”

In recognition of his commitment to MPN research, as well as raising awareness of MPNs, advocating for patients and generating research funding, Weinshenker was one of seven individuals and organizations honored as a 2024 MPN Hero. His efforts, along with the MPN Patient Council, were highlighted in a ceremony on Dec. 6 in San Diego.

Weinshenker’s video profile appears among the 2024 “Meet the Heroes” video gallery on the Voices of MPN website.

At age 82, Weinshenker is a self-described “volunteer postdoc” in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. For the past three years, he’s assisted faculty members with various organic chemistry research projects and is currently working with Associate Professor Ryan Jackson investigating the potential of CRISPR technology to treat various cancers. Together, they’ve assembled a collaborative team with the University of Utah and the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

“We’re seeking funding to advance Dr. Jackson’s CRISPR technology discoveries toward treatment of MPNs and other cancers,” Weinshenker says.

Weinshenker also serves as a member of the Patient Power Advisory Board and is a contributing author to its website, an online collection of cancer research news, along with information about MPNs, tips for navigating cancer treatment, advocacy groups and events.

“I’ve been able to help start a support group to get as many patients as possible educated as to what they’re dealing with, what they’re experiencing and to advocate for themselves,” he says.

Weinshenker’s current pursuits at Utah State extend beyond research. An adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 2008, he has been active in career counseling with students and seeking out summer internship opportunities for undergraduates. Weinshenker and his wife, Gail Bird Weinshenker, established USU scholarships in both the College of Science and in the Caine College of the Arts.

An accomplished photographer, Weinshenker served on the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art board and the Caine College of the Arts Advancement Council, and currently serves as chair of the Cache Valley Center of the Arts Board of Trustees.

“I’m humbled by the recognition by the MPN Foundation,” Weinshenker says. “I’m passionate about medicine, research to advance treatments and cures, along with fostering the arts in our community.”