OCEDP - Key Persons


Aaron Grad

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

Aaron Groh

Job Titles:
  • Graphic Designer

Addy Irvine

Job Titles:
  • Academic Advisor
  • Member of Committee

Adrina Kocharian


Alan Glass

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1982 / PHILANTHROPY COMMITTEE
Alan Glass, MD, is an emeritus faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry, former medical director of the Standardized Patient Program and advisory dean for the Cori Society. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards and an inaugural fellow in the Washington University School of Medicine Academy of Health Professions Educators. A pediatrician by training, he spent two decades as a higher education administrator and is a past president of the American College Health Association. His medical education expertise lies in medical student admissions, where he formerly served as assistant dean for Washington University, and in complex remediation in the areas of clinical skills and communication. Dean Glass has had faculty cameos is seven Washington University School of Medicine student musicals.

Alexandra Schefter

Job Titles:
  • Fellow

Alik Widge

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Allison Hubel

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Amanda Termuhlen

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

Amy D. Cavanaugh

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director

Amy Skubitz

Job Titles:
  • Director

Ana Núñez

Job Titles:
  • Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Aneisha Tucker

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant

Angel Twardy

Job Titles:
  • Executive Office & Administrative Specialist

Angela M. McArthur

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Director, Anatomy Bequest Program

Angie Simonson

Job Titles:
  • Financial Analyst

Anja K. Bielinsky

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Foundational Science

Anne Keenan


Annette Rod

Job Titles:
  • Research Infrastructure Manager & Safety Officer, Office of Research Support

ANTHONY WILLIAMS

Job Titles:
  • ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Dr. Williams is a Med-Peds hospitalist at HealthPartners who splits his clinical time between Regions and Children's Minnesota. He is also an Associate Program Director of the Med-Peds residency program at the University of Minnesota. He is passionate about creative writing and the power of narrative expression to cultivate resilience.

April Homich

Job Titles:
  • Executive Office and Administrative Specialist

Ashley Haase

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Ashley Petersen

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Bayardo I. Garay


BEN TRAPPEY

Job Titles:
  • DIRECTOR
Dr. Trappey is a Med-Peds hospitalist at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. He is passionate about helping other providers become more effective storytellers through programs and events like story slams, storytelling workshops and electives.

Bharat Thyagarajan

Job Titles:
  • Co - Program Director

Boris Winterhoff

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Brandon Hubbard

Job Titles:
  • Marketing Coordinator

Brenna Doheny

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Associate, Office of Research Support

Britt Erickson

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Bryce Binstadt

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
  • Associate Professor
  • MSTP Associate Director
Dr. Binstadt is an Associate Professor in the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Pediatrics. He is also Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program. He is also Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program and Director of the Pediatric Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP). His laboratory in the Center for Immunology is broadly interested in autoimmune disease pathogenesis, including investigating mechanisms of cardiovascular tissue damage in chronic rheumatic diseases.

Cara Skon-Hegg

Job Titles:
  • Research Scientist, Whiteside Institute for Clinical Research

Carol Lange

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology ( Joint Appointment )

Carston Wagner

Job Titles:
  • Distinguished University Teaching Professor and Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry

Casey Fleming

Job Titles:
  • Quality Assurance / Process Improvement Coordinator
  • Quality Assurance / Process Improvement Coordinator, Anatomy Bequest Program

Catherine McCarty

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean of Research, Professor

Charles Dietz

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Radiology

Christine Kiel

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Director

Christine Vincent

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant Name

Christopher Warlick

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Urology

Clarence Shannon IV

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean of Strategy and Innovation

Clark Chen

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Neurosurgery

Colin Campbell

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Graduate Education

Connor Myhre

Job Titles:
  • Corporate Communication Specialist

Dale Ray

I am an emergency medicine physician with over 25 years of practice in West Michigan at Level One trauma and tertiary medical center. During this part of my career, I also had departmental, health system, residency program, and GME-consortium leadership roles. For seven years, I was a member of the ACGME Clinical Learning Environment Review team, which aimed to enrich the training of physicians and enhance patient care at the institutions where physicians are trained. Most recently, I have worked at the medical school level in directing the third and fourth year clinical curriculum. I joined the board in order to share my experience and passions with alma mater, and to help support the experiences of physicians in training. In my spare time, I enjoy salt and freshwater fly fishing, the training of upland hunting dogs, reading and learning on a wide range of topics, and spending time with friends and family.

Daniel Vallera

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Therapeutic Radiology - Radiation Oncology

David A. Bernlohr

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics

David Boulware

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Medicine

David Einzig

David graduated from the U of M Medical School in 1998. He completed the triple board residency program in Salt Lake City, UT before returning home to Minnesota. He is board certified in general pediatrics, adult psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry. He works at Children's Minnesota doing mostly outpatient care, including telemedicine. He is in the pediatric clinic 1 day per week doing some integrative/collaborative models of care. His interests include integrating psychiatry services into various pediatric subspecialty clinics, and working with the medically complex with co-morbid psychiatric needs. He enjoys teaching medical students and residents, and provides lectures to community providers. He has served on various steering committees for National Quality Forum in Washington DC. He is a distinguished fellow of the AACAP, and is past president of the Minnesota Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He loves gopher athletics, and is greatly looking forward to being a member of the Alumni Board!

David Jewison - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman

David Odde

Job Titles:
  • Professor

David Potter

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Medicin

Dawn A. Lowe

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Deborah Egger-Smith

Job Titles:
  • Fellowship & Medical Student Program Administrator
  • Medical Student and Fellowship Coordinator
  • Medical Student and Fellowship Program Administrator
  • Medical Student Questions

Denis Clohisy

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Surgical and Procedural Specialties and Head, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Dia Yang

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager, Research & Community Engagement

Dimple Patel

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Admissions
  • Associate Dean of Admissions, Medical School

Dina Jansen

Job Titles:
  • Digital Marketing Manager

Donna Dvorak

Job Titles:
  • Final Disposition Coordinator
  • Final Disposition Coordinator, Anatomy Bequest Program

Dr. Kirby Clark

Job Titles:
  • Director

Elizabeth Seaquist

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Medical Specialties and Primary Care

Ella Thomson

Job Titles:
  • GME Administrative Associate

Erica Barnes

Job Titles:
  • Rare Disease Council Administrator

Erik Peterson

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Medicine

Erik van Kuijk

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences

Fisch Art

Job Titles:
  • Medicine Student Awards

Gail Hannan

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant

Gail Kelly

Job Titles:
  • Department Administrator, Director of Administration and Operations

Greg Beilman

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Clinical Administration

Guillermo Marques

Job Titles:
  • Research Project Specialist

Hannah Michelson

Job Titles:
  • Marketing Manager

Hardin E. Olson

Job Titles:
  • Research Day

Heather Dorr

Job Titles:
  • Director

Heather Hammon Nelson

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Ira Davis

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1984 / STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE / Professional Summary

Jakub Tolar

Job Titles:
  • Dean
  • Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School
Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD is the Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School and a Distinguished McKnight Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He is also the Vice President for Clinical Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Board Chair for University of Minnesota Physicians and co-leader of M Health Fairview.

James McCarthy

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Chairman 's Fund Professorship in Cancer Research

James Miner

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Emergency Medicin

James Pacala

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Family Medicine & Community Health

James V. Harmon, Jr

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery

Jane Loitman

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1992 / ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT & EVENTS COMMITTEE
After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1992, Dr. Loitman completed an internship and residency at Brown University and a fellowship in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She has worked in hospice and palliative medicine since 1997. She started Palliative Care programs and worked in hospice in St. Louis and around New England. An author and contributor, she is also on the editorial board for various palliative care and AAHPM publications. She has a Pain Medicine private practice in addition to working in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the VAMC. She lives in St. Louis, MO but loves to return to MN and spends one week every summer in Bemidji as a camp doctor and occasionally makes it back for the State Fair!

Jason Vollmer

Job Titles:
  • Donation Coordinator
  • Donation Coordinator, Anatomy Bequest Program

Javad Keyhani


Jay Dirks


Jaylee Engebretson

Job Titles:
  • Financial Analyst

Jean Regal

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Biomedical Sciences

Jennifer Brooks

Job Titles:
  • Medical Education and Research Coordinator
  • Medical Education and Research Coordinator, Anatomy Bequest Program

Jerian Lind

Job Titles:
  • Financial Analyst

Jerica Berge

Job Titles:
  • BIRCWH Corresponding Principal Investigator, Co - Program Director, Co - Research Director

Jerrold Vitek

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Neurology

Jess Blum

Job Titles:
  • Director of Integrated Education - Clinical Sciences TC Campus
  • Member of Committee

Jianping Wang

Job Titles:
  • Professor

John C. Ring

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1977 / STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE
My name is John C. Ring; the middle initial is important, because there are four named John Ring in my family - my father, his father and my older son. I have been married - forever - to Adriana van Breda, who immigrated as a child from the Netherlands; it was a workplace romance. We have two grown children, who have no interest whatsoever in healthcare professions. We live just south of Alexandria, VA, on part of George Washington's Mansion Farm. I graduated from the University of Notre Dame (English-'73), University of Minnesota (MD-'77) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School (MPH-'10), where I also earned the certificate in healthcare economics. I was a Pediatrics Intern/Resident at the U of MN, a Cardiology Fellow at the same institution and a Critical Care Fellow at Children's Hospital/George Washington U. (Those choices make for a long story and, in retrospect, were good choices.) I was an Academic Sub-Specialty Pediatrician throughout my career, rising through the professoriate and providing clinical care, teaching students and trainees and performing administrative duties. I dabbled enough in clinical research to understand the process and appreciate a life of the mind. I worked in the North Central, Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic states. I am now retired from clinical practice - this time, for good (I think). Through a broad and intense involvement with my professional association - the American Academy of Pediatrics - my focus changed to include population health and advocacy. I was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, working on the majority staff of the U.S. Senate H.E.L.P. Committee. Subsequently, I directed the Department of Healthcare Policy at the American Heart Association and the Department of Quality Improvement (Pediatrics) at Geisinger Health System. Currently, I am a volunteer member of Virginia's Medical Reserve Corps, where I have been involved - clinically and administratively - in pandemic response. I am a director of a local low-income housing non-profit organization. I remain active with the Virginia Chapter - American Academy of Pediatrics, focusing on immunizations; this includes chairing the Quality Improvement Workgroup Commonwealth's multi-stakeholder immunization coalition. I like to read, write and think, cook (and eat), ride my bicycle and listen to music of all kinds. So...why did I join this group? Minnesota is my home. Medicine is my profession; I think it is a calling. I think the next generation of providers is the future. We can do better in preparing them and have a responsibility to do so. I value the group process and believe this group can help.

John Fischer

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women 's Health

John Hoffmann

Job Titles:
  • Financial Analyst

JON HALLBERG

Job Titles:
  • CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Dr. Hallberg has long been an active patron, participant and volunteer in the Twin Cities arts community, and he has woven medicine and the arts together in myriad ways since he was a medical student. As medical director of the innovative and award-winning Mill City Clinic, he has been able to create a unique space where the art of medicine is carried out seamlessly.

Joseph Koopmeiners

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Division Head

Joseph M. Metzger

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology

Joseph Milo Meland

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1968 / PHILANTHROPY COMMITTEE
I am a retired diagnostic radiologist. Born and raised in Bemidji, MN, I graduated from Harvard University in 1964 and UMN Medical School in 1968. After two years of training in internal medicine at the University of West Virginia and two years in the Navy, I completed a residency in diagnostic radiology at UMN Med School. The part of medicine that has always appealed most to me is the diagnostic effort so this was a perfect choice. I practiced for 15 years at Metropolitan Medical Center and 20 years with the Abbott Northwestern radiology group. I married a med school classmate fifty two years ago (Mary Hobbs Meland,MD) and our immediate family includes two pediatricians, a surgeon, and me, a radiologist. We all trained at this medical school so I feel a great attachment and a responsibility for its future. I have served for two years on the UMN Med School Scholarship Committee and for four years on the UMN Med School Admissions Committee. In both of these settings I have come to appreciate the great unmet financial needs of so many of its graduates. I benefited from scholarships in my education and want to repay my backers.

Joseph Neglia

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Pediatrics

Julie Huss

Job Titles:
  • Interim Lab Manager
  • Interim Lab Manager, Anatomy Bequest Program
Julie Huss is a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic. She graduated in 2013 from Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington. She studied at the University of Minnesota for her undergrad degree. She also holds an additional license to practice animal chiropractic, and still occasionally sees horses and dogs in her free time. After spending several years in private practice and managing a chiropractic business, she decided to shift her career focus and joined the Anatomy Bequest Program in 2018. Julie is currently serving as the Interim Lab Manager. She enjoys overseeing and supporting all of the lab operations. Julie supports the education courses here at the University of Minnesota, as well as 22 other colleges throughout the state. Julie also supports the research and training events that occur both on campus and off campus. She enjoys leading a busy, fast paced, efficient lab team.

Kait Macheledt

Job Titles:
  • BIRCWH Program Coordinator

Kara Spafford

Job Titles:
  • Donation Coordinator Specialist
  • Donation Coordinator Specialist, Anatomy Bequest Program

Kat Dodge

Job Titles:
  • Communications Manager

Kathy Halverson

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1986 / ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT & EVENTS COMMITTEE
As an alumna of the University of Minnesota Medical School, participating on the Alumni Board allows me to repay some of the investment this institution has made in my life and career. I am grateful for those formative years, beginning at the Duluth campus, which provided me with the education, training, and support to practice Family Medicine for 28 years. What a great ride! My career has been interesting, diverse and meaningful. This has included a full Family Medical practice with obstetrics, helping establish a local multidisciplinary team response to Child Maltreatment as part of a national consortium, receiving a Bush Medical Fellowship in Adolescent Health Care, practicing in Urgent Care, and ongoing work in Gnlobal Health Promotion. My husband and I have adventured together outside for 38 years. We have a daughter, who is a Med-Peds physician; and a son, who is in media production.

Kaylee Schwertfeger

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Kelaine Haas

Job Titles:
  • Director of Integrated Education - Foundational Sciences TC Campus
  • Member of Committee

Kelly Glynn

Job Titles:
  • Internal Communications

Kevin Elias

Job Titles:
  • and Daniel Cramer

Kevin Wickman

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Pharmacology

Kirsten Aspros - Treasurer

Job Titles:
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer

Koryn Zewers

Job Titles:
  • Director of Research Strategy and Operations

Kristin Boylan

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director

Laura Garbe

Job Titles:
  • Medical Education, Research, and Clinical Training Coordinator

Laura Niedernhofer

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Laurel Sweeney

Job Titles:
  • Education Program Coordinator
Education: University of Minnesota, Morris and Capella University

Lauren Asfaw

Job Titles:
  • Research Professional

Laurie Parker

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

LeAnn Pelletier

Job Titles:
  • Financial Analyst

LeeAnn Higgins


Leo Furcht

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology

Leslie Morse

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine

Linda McLoon

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
  • MSTP Associate Director
  • Professor
Dr. McLoon is a Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences. She is currently the Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Neurosciences and Co-Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee for the Medical School. She has been funded by the National Eye Institute for many years studying the cause and potential pharmacological treatments for eye movement disorders in children.In addition, her laboratory has been focusing on understanding unique properties of the muscle stem cells in the extraocular muscles as a potential explanation for why these muscles are spared in a large number of degenerative neurologic and muscle disorders, including muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Linnea Seidelmann

Job Titles:
  • Donation Coordinator

Liz Sopdie

Job Titles:
  • Operations & Program Development Director
Education: University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development

Lyndsay Stevens

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director

Lynsie Radovich

Job Titles:
  • Coordinator, Whiteside Institute for Clinical Research

Madeline Christensen

Job Titles:
  • Office and Faculty Coordinator

Marc Berg

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1993 / CHAIR, PHILANTHROPY COMMITTEE / EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
I'm a born and raised Minnesotan having grown up in Battle Lake (Ottertail County). Both my parents and three siblings have degrees, and some advanced degrees, from the "U," so I knew at an early age where I would be attending college. After graduating from the College of Biological Sciences with a BS in Biology in 1989, I started medical school at the Medical School, Duluth Campus and joined the main campus class to graduate in 1993. I have since spent 28 years "living abroad," currently in California for four years after 20 years in Arizona and stints in Utah and Michigan. However, I'm back to Minnesota at least once a year to spend time with family. In addition to my full-time academic pediatric critical care career, I spend additional professional time working in technology, both in adaptive learning and digital health. My wife is a Pediatrician and I have three kids, ages 24, 22, and 8. What time I have left over is spent riding my bike around the California coastal mountain range, reading, cooking and enjoying life. I'm honored and delighted to serve on the alumni board.

MAREN OLSON

Job Titles:
  • DIRECTOR
Dr. Olson is a pediatric hospitalist at Children's Minnesota and an associate program director for the Pediatric Residency at the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about the power of storytelling to build connection, foster empathy and promote healing.

Maria K. Hordinsky

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Dermatology

Marilyn Odean

Job Titles:
  • Program Director, Whiteside Institute for Clinical Research

Marina Barnes

Job Titles:
  • Medical Education, Research, and Clinical Training Coordinator

Mark Rosenberg

Job Titles:
  • Vice Dean of Education and Academic Affairs

Mark Sanders

Job Titles:
  • Program Director

Martin Felices

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Medicine

Martina Bazzaro

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Mary Winger

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager

Masato Yamamoto

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Matthew Slattery

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Maureen Long

Job Titles:
  • Director

Melena Bellin

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Melissa Allard

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant

Melissa Geller

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Division Director, Gynecologic Oncology

Melvina Bissonette

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 2012 / STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE
I am Lakota and Dine. I completed my undergrad studies at the University of New Mexico, majoring in psychology. I completed medical school and my residency in psychiatry through the University of Minnesota. I worked at a tribal clinic, primarily providing telepsychiatric care, for 4 years, prior to transitioning to the VA hospital in Minneapolis one year ago. My husband also works as at the VA, he is a nurse in MH. We have three children, 5 and 2.5 years, and a one month old.

Michael H. Wall

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Anesthesiology

Michael Kim

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Dean for Student Affairs TC Campus
  • Member of Committee

Miller Balley - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Mohamed Abdi

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 2014 / CHAIR, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE / EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
I am a Radiation Oncologist with an interest in making medicine equitable, accessible and humane. My background is in the physical sciences, radiation medicine, and oncology. I am currently working at a hospital-based practice and covering all sites with particular interest in CNS and Head & Neck. I am also an associate editor at Advances in Radiation Oncology and mentor to medical students and residents. I completed my undergraduate education at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and finished my MD at the University of Minnesota. I matched at Queen's University for Radiation Oncology and moved back to the midwest to start my career last year. My other interests include biking, working on drones, gardening, reading science fiction novels, and working on our hobby farm.

Nancy Morgan

Job Titles:
  • Senior Communications Manager

Nasrin Perskvist

Job Titles:
  • Director of Clinical Cytology Biobank, Coordinator of National Cytology Biobank, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Natasha Jauss

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist

Nicholas Berg

Job Titles:
  • Program Associate

Nick Hanson

Job Titles:
  • Public Relations Manager

Nick McArdle

Job Titles:
  • Program Specialist

Nils Arvold

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director, Whiteside Institute for Clinical Research

Olivia Gray

Job Titles:
  • Environment

Patience Reich

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1997 / PHILANTHROPY COMMITTEE
As a physician and humanitarian for over 20 years, I have led and developed leaders locally, nationally and internationally. I was national Chairman of the Society of Hospital Medicine's Leadership Committee, developed leadership training curriculum for my peers and participated as faculty. Besides that, I have been involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work all over the world through out my career as a hospitalist. I have worked with marginalized people both here at home and on every continent except Antarctica. I was recognized by the Society of Hospital Medicine with its inaugural Humanitarian Award in 2014. I am adept at cross cultural communication and engagement, navigating complexity, managing risk, diplomacy, building relationships and collaboration. The reason is that I would like to give back to the U and serve as an Alumni Board member is that I consider the U my home and want to see her prosper and flourish and set up another generation of servant-leaders. Along with providing strategic and operational leadership, these are the things I bring to the alumni board. I graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1997. I am second generation U of M. My dad graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine. I was born at the U's teaching hospital and will forever consider the U of M my home. I am an Internal Medicine Hospitalist in Thomasville, North Carolina with Novant Health. I chose the hospital setting because I enjoy acuity and complex systems re-design. I love re-designing complex systems to make care safer for patients. I am married and live with my husband and two cats in Winston Salem, North Carolina. We have two adult children. I have a parallel career as a jazz singer. When I am not practicing medicine, I am usually playing music. I won first place in my category at the American Protégé International Music Competition in 2013 and made my debut at Carnegie Hall that same year. So someone other than my mother thinks I can sing.

Patricia McCarthy

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist

Patrick Alford

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Paul Drawz

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Medicine

Paul Quie

Job Titles:
  • Founding Directors of the GMER

Peter Argenta

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology

Peter Crawford

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
  • MSTP Associate Director
  • Professor
Dr. Crawford is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Director of the Division of Molecular Medicine, and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Medicine. His research program seeks to reveal the metabolic origins of disease through the use of cutting edge and state of the art chemical metabolomics profiling and informatic technologies.

Peter Igarashi

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Medicine

Peter M. Nalin

Job Titles:
  • Department Head of Family Medicine & Biobehavioral Health

Peter Mitsch - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer

Petr Ruzicka

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1976 / BOARD PRESIDENT / EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Qing Cao

Job Titles:
  • Senior Research Fellow, BDAC

Raymond Christensen

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director

Rebecca Emery

Job Titles:
  • CTSI Translational Research & Career Training Postdoctoral Scholar, Office of Research Support

Rebecca Warpeha

Job Titles:
  • Executive Office and Administrative Specialist

Reetu Syal

Job Titles:
  • CLASS of 1999 / CHAIR, ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT & EVENTS COMMITTEE / EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
I am a private practice OBGYN physician, providing support to my local community, hospital systems, and other medical professionals. I have managed all aspects of the patient's healthcare journey and, as a business owner, I have learned the administrative and financial aspects to maintain high-quality standards across clinic operations. I currently serve as the Chairwoman of Premier OBGYN of Minnesota, which is a consortium that consists of five OBGYN clinics with 50 doctors. My personal passion is to utilize, create, and disseminate digital technology to deliver better care and enhance communication amongst the medical community. I come from a diverse background with a life lived as an immigrant where English is my second language. I offer these life experiences, my constant drive to learn, and a passion to make changes. I await new opportunities that can be offered by the Alumni Board to advance issues important within my medical community.

Rita Perlingeiro

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Medicine

Robert Englander

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education

Rosalyn Segal

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Director

Sally Mullany

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Samantha Hoffman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Samir Khariwala

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Otolaryngology

Sandra Stover


Sarah J. Paulsen

Job Titles:
  • Office Manager

Sarah Kesler

Job Titles:
  • CTropMed®, Course Director
Drs. Phil Peterson and Paul Quie were founding directors of the GMER program from 1998-2014.

Sayeed Ikramuddin

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Surgery

Scott Davenport

Job Titles:
  • Director, Student Affairs TC Campus
  • Member of Committee

Sebastian Yang

Job Titles:
  • Executive Accounts Specialist

Shannon Benson

Job Titles:
  • Program Coordinator

Shannon Blackmer

CDR Shannon Blackmer is the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Eugene Herrera, USMC (ret), and Ernestine Herrera. She was raised in several states on the east coast, west coast, and Okinawa, Japan. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in cellular and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry from San Francisco State University. She went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Medical School as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 2005. She was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the US Navy and completed a surgical internship year at Naval Medical Center San Diego in 2006. She was accepted to the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute and earned her Flight Surgeon wings in April 2007. Upon graduation she was immediately transported to USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER to serve as a flight surgeon for Carrier Air Wing SEVEN (CVW-7) in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM. She remained with CVW-7 until 2009 as one of two flight surgeons responsible for the care of 2000 personnel. In addition to providing primary care, she evaluated pilot illnesses and injuries, releasing them safe for flight, while providing expertise as the medical representative on mishap investigation boards. She was then assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron TWO EIGHT (HSC-28) and served with them until 2012. She completed her residency in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine at the Uniformed Services University in 2012. Her first assignment as a Preventive Medicine Officer (PMO) was to the Naval Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit TWO in Norfolk, VA. While there she became the Department Head for the Threat Assessment Department and deployed as the Medical Officer in Charge and PMO during Southern Partnership Station 2015, a mission to build partner nation capacity in the SOUTHCOM Area of Responsibility. She also became board certified in Occupational Medicine in 2016. CDR Blackmer was assigned to the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center in Portsmouth, VA, in the Expeditionary Platforms Department in 2016. She worked as a Global Health Engagement planner and provided training to public health personnel assigned to the Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit, a scalable, flexible and sustainable force health protection unit that provides rapid assessment and identification of health hazards to deployed forces. CDR Blackmer is a diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Her personal awards include the Commander, US Naval Air Forces Leadership Award, USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, 2019, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards). She is a member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the Association of American Indian Physicians. CDR Blackmer is married to CAPT Brent Blackmer and they have 2 children, Nico, 11 years old and Sasha, 9 years old.

Shannon Vadnie

Job Titles:
  • Interim Lab Manager

Sharon Allen

Job Titles:
  • BIRCWH Co - Research Director

Sophia Vinogradov

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Stefani Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Stephanie Terezakis

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Radiation Oncology

Suma Jacob

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
  • MSTP Associate Director
Dr. Jacob is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her research program utilizes data-driven approaches to study biobehavioral differences in childhood that predict dimensional and categorical outcomes in neurodevelopmental disorders. As a neuroscientist, Suma is focused on clinical disorders that are highly correlated, emerge during development, and reflect overlapping genetic and brain-behavioral risks.

Susan Culican

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education

Susan Shurson

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director
Susan has been with the MSTP Program since January 1997. She enjoys working directly with our students and feels that the primary purpose of her position is to be an advocate during their training. She works with students directly to assist in each step of the process of completing the Program, helping them graduate with as much ease as possible. One of Susan's interests is Alternative and Complementary Medicine. She is a trained human and canine massage therapist and in her free time is studying acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

Taj Mustapha

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Tami Brown

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant

Tammy Price - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Finance Director

Tim Coleman-Zaitzeff

Job Titles:
  • Principal Office and Administrative Specialist

Tim Starr

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Timothy Ebner

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Neuroscience

Timothy Griffin

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Todd Markowski

Job Titles:
  • Scientist

Tom Hays

Job Titles:
  • Department Head, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development

Trisha Pederson

Job Titles:
  • Residency Administrator
  • Residency Program Administrator

Tyler Bold

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Medicine

Ugo Cavallaro

Job Titles:
  • IRCCS Istituto Europeo Di Oncologia S.R.L. in Milan Italy

Wendy Gordon

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Wendy Schwartz

Job Titles:
  • Research and Facilities Manager, Office of Research Support

Whitney Meredith

Job Titles:
  • Data Analyst

William Slattery

Job Titles:
  • Director of Learner Development TC Campus
  • Member of Committee

Yasushi Nakagawa

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Yoji Shimizu

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Distinguished University Teaching Professor
  • MSTP Director
Dr. Shimizu is a Distinguished University Teaching Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and holds the Harry Kay Chair in Biomedical Research. He is also the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Director of the Graduate School Diversity Office, and Immunology program leader in the Masonic Cancer Center. His laboratory focuses on understanding how immune cells respond to environmental cues that modulate cell-cell interactions and cell migration, and the functional significance of these molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion and migration on the ability of the immune system to respond efficiently and specifically to pathogens and tumors.

Zelealem Mekuria

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Associate

Zohar Sachs

Job Titles:
  • Lois and Richard King Assistant Professor of Medicine