Leadership

Committed to expanding the scope and pace of collaborative clinical research opportunities across the University of Minnesota and to our hub partners. 

CTSI Co-PIs

Dr. Bruce Balazar headshot in a lab coat

Bruce Blazar, MD

Director and PI
Dr. Daniel Weisdorf headshot in a lab coat

Daniel Weisdorf, MD

Deputy Director, and Clinical Translational Research Services (CTRS) core Director

Executive Leadership Team

CTSI's Executive Leadership Team convenes weekly to collaborate on organizational strategic objectives, respond proactively to opportunities, and guide priorities across the Institute, including clinical and translational research support and collaboration, community-engaged research, research workforce development, and team science. Executive Leadership Team meetings are convened by Dr. Bruce Blazar, CTSI's director.
Dr. Bruce Balazar headshot in a lab coat

Bruce Blazar, MD

Director and PI
Dr. Constantin Aliferis

Constantin Aliferis, MD, MS, PhD, FACMI

Chief Research Informatics Officer
Michelle Allen

Michele Allen, MD, MS

Co-Director, Community Engagement to Advance Research and Community Health (CEARCH) and Co-Lead, Community & Collaboration
Tim Beebe

Timothy Beebe, PhD

Senior Advisor, Community & Collaboration
Melena Bellin

Melena Bellin, MD

Medical Advisor, Clinical Translational Research Services (CTRS)
Dr. Berge

Jerica M. Berge, PhD, MPH, LMFT, CFLE

Co-Director, Community Engagement to Advance Research and Community Health (CEARCH) and Co-Lead, Community & Collaboration
John Bischof

John Bischof, PhD

OACA Sr. Research Advisor for ODAT Grant Programs
Jennifer Cieslak

Jennifer Cieslak, EdM

Chief of Staff
Jayne Fulkerson

Jayne Fulkerson, PhD

Co-Director, Research Education, Training, and Career Development (CTSI-Ed)
Carrie Henning-Smith

Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD

Co-Director, Rural Health Program
David Ingbar

David Ingbar, MD

Co-Director, Research Education, Training, and Career Development (CTSI-Ed)
Dr. Kozhimannil

Katy Kozhimannil, PhD

Co-Director, Rural Health Program
Dr. Nunez

Ana Núñez, MD, FACP

Integration Strategist and Co-Director, Pathways to Research Program (PReP) and Advanced Pathways to Research Program (A-PReP)
Beth Nunnally

Beth Nunnally, CPA, MA

Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Byron

Byron Vaughn, MD, MS

Medical Advisor, Clinical Translational Research Services (CTRS)
Dr. Volkov

Boris Volkov, PhD

Monitoring & Evaluation Director, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
John E. Wagner, MD

John E. Wagner, MD

Senior Advisor
Dr. Daniel Weisdorf headshot in a lab coat

Daniel Weisdorf, MD

Deputy Director, and Clinical Translational Research Services (CTRS) core Director
Sandra Wells

Sandra Wells, PhD

Director, Office of Discovery and Translation

Hub Leadership Team

CTSI’s Hub Leadership Team meets monthly. It brings together leadership from CTSI, hub partners, the community, University of Minnesota Duluth, and the Office of the Vice President for Research. The team focuses on collaboration to expand our CTSA hub’s research capacity, extending collaborative clinical and translational research opportunities, and strategies for harnessing our collective research capacity to address community and state-wide health needs. Hub Leadership Team meetings are convened by Dr. Blazar.
Roli Dwivedi

Roli Dwivedi, MD

Hub Leadership Team member—Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC)
Steven Fu

Steven Fu, MD, MSCE

Hub Leadership Team member—Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System
Dr. Israni

Ajay Israni, MD, MS

Hub Leadership Team member—Hennepin Healthcare
Dr. Kristen Jacklin

Kristen Jacklin, PhD

Hub Leadership Team member—University of Minnesota Duluth
Dr. McCarty

Catherine McCarty, PhD, MPH

Hub Leadership Team member—University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth
Dr. Murray

Anne Murray, MD, MSc

CTSI Hub Leadership Team member—Hennepin Healthcare

Contact

To learn more about CTSI's leadership team, contact:

Rachel Matthes
Administrative Core Program Manager
[email protected]
(612) 626-6032