KL2 Scholars for Child Health Research

Three new KL2 Scholars to advance children’s health research

CTSI is pleased to welcome three new Scholars into its KL2 Scholar Career Development Program, a three-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutional Career Development Award program for University of Minnesota assistant professors conducting clinical or translational research. 

The KL2 program is designed to support rising translational investigators through structured training, mentoring, protected time, research funds, and salary support, with a multidisciplinary, translational research emphasis. The Scholars, Christen Ebens, MD, MPH, AB; Anne Frosch, MD, MPH; and Rene Pierpont, PhD; focus on children’s health in three diverse areas, and are uniquely supported by UMN resources.

“Dr. Ebens is positioned to study epidermolysis bullosa (EB) in a highly novel way, as the University is the only center in the world investigating immunity to EB in this particular patient population," said Kelvin O. Lim, MD, director of the KL2 program. "Dr. Frosch has tremendous experience conducting research to benefit immunology and global health. Dr. Pierpont is able to research patients receiving alternative therapies through the University of Minnesota’s newborn screening surveillance clinic.”

“All three Scholars in this cohort have strong academic backgrounds, as well as outstanding mentorship teams,” said Lim. “We are confident in their ability to not only develop as clinical and translational researchers during the program, but also help the University of Minnesota become a research leader in their respective research areas.”

Congratulations to the three new Scholars!

Christen Ebens, MD, MPH, AB
Medical School, Department of Pediatrics
Mentors: Jakub Tolar, Bryce Binstadt, Xianghua Luo
Epidermolysis Bullosa: Characterizing and targeting immune dysfunction

Anne Frosch, MD, MPH
Medical School, Department of Medicine
Mentors: Marc Jenkins, Katherine Huppler Hullsiek, Paul Bohjanen, Kristin Hogquist, David Boulware
Memory T follicular helper cell kinetics and localization during recall immune responses to tetanus vaccination

Rene Pierpont, PhD
Medical School, Department of Pediatrics
Mentors: Jeffrey Wozniak, Chap Le, Michael Georgieff, Paul Orchard
Early detection of white matter disease in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy 

The latest Scholars join existing KL2 Scholars Cristina ‘Sophia’ Albott, MD, MA, Department of Psychiatry; Anne Bantle, MD, Department of Medicine; Andrew Grande, MD, Department of Neurology; Sandra Safo, PhD, MSc, School of Public Health; and Craig Schulz, DC, MS, Center for Spirituality and Healing. Since 2011, the KL2 program has supported over 40 Scholars in developing successful, multidisciplinary clinical and translational research careers.

CTSI’s Research Education, Training, and Career Development core administers seven Scholar research career development programs and provides training and education to advance researchers through the career development pipeline, from the undergraduate experience to an independent research career.

Learn more about CTSI career development opportunities, courses, and training programs for clinical and translational research teams.