Research Career Development Program

Inaugural awardees named for CTSI’s new TL1 research career development program

Eleven pre- and post -doctoral trainees from across the University of Minnesota and Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute have been awarded research career development awards through CTSI’s new TL1 Program that provides comprehensive, flexible training for Scholars who are committed to substantive and impactful careers in translational research and team science.

The TL1 Program provides Scholars with an individualized curriculum; professional development activities that focus on team-based research and effective collaboration and communication with the larger community; mentorship; a stipend; health insurance; course and registration fees; and research-related supply and travel funds over two years.

The mentored research training program is a new component to CTSI’s latest Clinical and Translational Science Award and is the seventh in CTSI’s Research Education, Training, and Career Development core that provide training and education to advance researchers through the career development pipeline.

TL1 Program Director Jayne Fulkerson, PhD, School of Nursing, and affiliate professor, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, and Associate Director Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari, PhD, Medical School, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Division, and vice chair of research, Department of Pediatrics, are excited to welcome these inaugural Scholars to the program!

Pre docs

Rebecca Brown, RN, PhD Program, School of Nursing
Mentors: Diane Treat-Jacobson, School of Nursing and Erica Schorr, School of Nursing
Project title: Development of predictive screening tool for patient-reported symptom clusters for artery disease

Max Herzberg, Child Psychology PhD Program, College of Education and Human Development
Mentors: Kathleen Thomas, Institute of Child Development, CEHD; Bill Iacono, Department of Psychology, CEHD; and Bryon Mueller, Department of Psychiatry, Medical School
Project title: Resting-state brain networks underlying psychopathology and associations with early life stress

Shannen Kizilski, Mechanical Engineering PhD Program, College of Science and Engineering
Mentors: Victor Boracas, Biomedical Engineering, College of Science and Engineering; and Rumi Faizer, Department of Surgery, Medical School
Project title: Developing a capacitive aortic stent-graft for blood pressure management

Ethan Leng, MSTP Student, Biomedical Engineering PhD Program, College of Science and Engineering
Mentors: Greg Metzger, Department of Radiology, Medical School; and Joe Koopmeiners, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health
Project title: Computer-Aided Diagnosis for Prostate Cancer Detection on Multiparametric MRI

Kathleen Miley, PhD Program, School of Nursing
Mentors: Fang Yu, School of Nursing; and Sophia Vinogradov, Department of Psychiatry, Medical School
Project title: Identification of the neural correlates of social functioning and evaluation of the neuroprotective effects of a novel cognitive training intervention in first episode psychosis.

Zachary Rivers, PharmD, Social and Administrative Pharmacy PhD Program, College of Pharmacy
Mentors: David Stenehjem, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy; Karen Kuntz, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Emil Lou, Department of Medicine, Medical School; and Andrew Nelson, Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology, Medical School
Project title: The Clinical and Economic Impact of the Implementation of Prospective Pharmacogenomic Testing in the Care of Patients with Cancer

Joshua Shirley, Medicinal Chemistry PhD Program, College of Pharmacy
Mentors: Erin Carlson, Department of Chemistry, CSE; Ryan Hunter, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School; and Elizabeth Hirsch, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy
Project title: Detection of Bacterial Pathogens and β-Lactamases in Cystic Fibrosis Patient Samples Using Chemical Probes and Flow Cytometry as a Novel Diagnostic Technique

Megan Schmit, MSTP Student, BMBB PhD Program, College of Biological Sciences
Mentors: Anja Bielinsky, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences; and Jeff Miller, Department of Medicine, Medical School
Project title: The role of Mcm10 in NK cell deficiency

Post docs

Michelle Korir, PhD, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School
Mentors: Gary Dunny, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School; and Courtney Aldrich, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
Project title: Biofilm-associated antibiotic resistance and stress induced alteration of biofilm architecture in Enterococcus faecalis

Warren McKinney, PhD, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute
Mentors: Ajay Israni, Department of Medicine, Medical School; Marilyn Bruin, College of Design, Betram Kasiske, Nephrology, Hennepin Healthcare System; and Andrew Wey, Biostats, Hennepin Healthcare System
Project title: Creating a culturally-sensitive report card for Afican-American kidney transplant candidates

Rebekah Summers, DPT, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Medical School
Mentors: Colum MacKinnon, Department of Neurology, Medical School; and Noam Harel, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Medical School
Project title: Alterned neuroplasicity of the motor system with people with ideopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder: a harbinger of Parkinson's Disease?

Congratulations to these Scholars whose awards are set to begin Jan. 7, 2019.