Dan Weisdorf, MD, Professor of Medicine, in the Medical School’s Department of Medicine, was recently appointed as the CTSI Clinical and Translational Research Services (CTRS) core Director in addition to his leadership role as CTSI’s Deputy Director.
“I am delighted to have Dan align the deputy director responsibilities, which have included leadership for two parts of the CTSA grant, Network Capacity and Research Methods, with leadership for the CTRS core, creating both synergies and efficiencies in the CTSI organization,” said Bruce Blazar, MD, CTSI’s Director.
In his CTRS Director role, Dr. Weisdorf will work closely with:
- John Connett, PhD, Biostatistical Design and Analysis Center (BDAC) Director, to oversee the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Program.
- Lisa Johnson, MA, MBA, Associate Director for CTRS, to oversee management of research for the Department of Psychiatry, Biorepository Laboratory Services (BLS), Regulatory Support, Clinical Research Operations, which includes the Research Preparation Group, the Workforce Development Program, and the Recruitment Program, among others, and the Clinical Research Support Center (CRSC).
View the CTRS organizational chart for more detail on his areas of oversight, or the overall CTSI organizational chart to see how the two areas tie into CTSI.
I am delighted to have Dan align the deputy director responsibilities, which have included leadership for two parts of the CTSA grant, Network Capacity and Research Methods, with leadership for the CTRS core, creating both synergies and efficiencies in the CTSI organization. - Bruce Blazar, MD, CTSI’s Director.
Weisdorf’s background
Dr. Weisdorf serves as the Senior Research Advisor for the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and was the Director of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation (2013-2018), Director of the Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program (1998-2017), and served as the Principal Investigator on the NIH-sponsored Blood and Marrow Transplantation Clinical Trials Network and Chair of the Network Steering Committee (2001-2016). He also co-leads the NCI Cancer Center Support Grant-funded Transplant Biology and Therapy Program at the Masonic Cancer Center. Dr. Weisdorf previously served as the Scientific Director of the National Marrow Donor Program and currently is Senior Research Advisor and Scientific Director for the Acute Leukemia Committee of the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research. He received his MD from the Chicago Medical School in 1975 and received Internal Medicine Training at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. He was a Fellow at the University of Minnesota in Hematology and Medical Oncology and is Board certified in both disciplines.
Dr. Weisdorf's clinical and research interests are in application of blood and marrow transplant therapies for hematologic malignancies as well as extensive study of the clinical complications of transplantation including opportunistic infections and graft versus host disease (GVHD).
Schacker’s impact
Weisdorf is assuming responsibilities from Timothy Schacker, MD, who served as the CTRS Director since 2013 and was recently appointed Vice Dean for Research by Dean Jakub Tolar in the University of Minnesota Medical School where he will be responsible for the optimization of CTSI’s resources and programs to advance Medical School faculty research, among other responsibilities.
During Dr. Schacker’s leadership of CTRS, he led efforts to integrate research in the M Health Clinics and Surgery Center (CSC), the opening of the M Health Clinical Research Unit (CRU) in November 2017, established the Clinical Research Support Center (CRSC), and formed the Biorepository and Laboratory Services (BLS).
“I am deeply appreciative of Dr. Schacker’s leadership and thank him for his many contributions to CTSI,” Blazar said. “I am confident that Dr. Weisdorf will provide strong leadership for CTSI’s largest core and will further catalyze CTRS’ pivotal impact on the University of Minnesota’s research environment.”
Learn more about CTSI's Executive and Hub leadership teams that are committed to expanding the scope and pace of collaborative clinical research opportunities across the University of Minnesota and to its hub partners.