Casey Dorr, PhD, has joined CTSI to co-direct its two summer training programs: the Pathways to Research Program (PReP) and the Advanced Pathways to Research Program (A-PReP).
PReP provides an opportunity for students from populations underrepresented in research to begin or advance their research career, while A-PReP is a research training program for doctoral-level professional health sciences students and early PhD students interested in clinical and translational research.
Dr. Dorr will serve as Co-Director with Ana Núñez, MD, FACP, who is CTSI’s Integration Strategist and Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Minnesota Medical School. They succeed Ned Patterson, who will continue to serve on CTSI-Ed’s Internal Advisory Board (IAB).
About Dr. Dorr
Dr. Dorr is an Investigator in the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s Department of Nephrology as well as an Assistant Professor in the UMN Department of Medicine’s Renal and Hypertension Division. He is a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe with a long-standing mission to improve health outcomes in minority communities through biomedical research.
In this role, Dr. Dorr will build upon the programs’ strong foundations and pursue innovative ways to improve them, such through his connections with the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
“I’ve been in training programs at each stage of my research career, starting with a University of Minnesota summer research program for undergraduates," says Dr. Dorr. “The experience was a critical step for my career, and I'm excited about the opportunity to help the next generation of students find their own direction.”
In addition to this first-hand experience with summer research programs, Dr. Dorr brings experience with CTSI’s own research training programs. Dr. Dorr participated in CTSI’s K Scholars Multidisciplinary Seminar Series for years as one of CTSI’s Affiliate Scholars.
Research
Dr. Dorr investigates the genetics of transplantation and drug metabolism, with a goal of improving personalized medicine for kidney transplant recipients.
His lab is located at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute and is focused on addressing disparities in transplant outcomes. The Dorr lab specializes in pharmacogenomics, drug metabolism assays in bioengineered cell lines, and molecular cellular analysis of kidney allograft biopsies to determine the association of biological mechanisms with clinical outcomes.
Education
Dr. Dorr earned his PhD in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and his BS in Cell Biology and Chemistry at University of Minnesota Duluth. In addition, he is currently pursuing an MS in Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology.