Evangel Profile
Laura (Graeff) Armas, M.D. (’97): Creighton University Medical School teacher
January 29, 2009
Dr. Laura (Graeff) Armas graduated summa cum laude from Evangel University in 1997. Along with acquiring her degree in Biology, she was recognized as an Outstanding Science and Technology Graduate. According to Laura, her favorite memories at Evangel include long talks with friends, midnight runs to Wal-Mart, going to movies and “studying” at coffee shops.
“My parents went to Evangel, which played a large part in my college choice,” Laura said. “I knew that I wanted to go to a Christian school, and I was interested in a science degree. Having an overall Christian emphasis on higher education makes a difference. I will always remember the close friends I made and the teachers I had who cared for me, not only as a student but also as a person.”
Following graduation from Evangel, she attended Creighton University School of Medicine, graduating in 2001. Laura then finished her residency program in Internal Medicine and completed a fellowship program in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Creighton University Medical Center.
Laura feels that attending Evangel made all the difference in preparing for her career. “As a biology major, I had many classes with Dr. Tenneson and Dr. Bohanon. I felt that I was prepared for medical school and now that I have a research career, I feel that the classes I took in research design and statistics were particularly helpful,” she said.
Laura is now an assistant professor at Creighton University Medical School in the Division of Endocrinology and the Osteoporosis Research Center. She has been board certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine since 2004 and the American Board of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism since 2007. Her work is focused on research in the areas of nutrition and bone disease, but she has also done work on nutrition’s effects on cardiovascular disease, immunity, and cancer.
Laura and her husband, Rolando, met while she was in medical school. “We went to the same church in Omaha and were part of a group of single young adults who had just finished college,” Laura said. The Armas’s reside in Nebraska with their three children: Gabriella, 6; Jonathan, 3; and Sarah, 8 months
