Diane Treat-Jacobson, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., is an associate professor at University of Minnesota School of Nursing

A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Ph.D. program, Diane Treat-Jacobson, Ph.D., returned to her alma mater to pass along some of what she learned through teaching and research.

Treat-Jacobson has focused her expertise on the debilitating condition Peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD is a circulatory problem caused by a buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries of the legs. Patients are also often at high risk for heart attack and stroke.

Alex Fok, Ph.D., is the Director of the Minnesota Dental Research Center for Biomaterials and Biomechanics in the School of Dentistry

It’s not every day a dental school hires a nuclear engineer to direct its research center, but that’s just what the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry did in 2007.

Alex Fok, Ph.D. has a vision to apply engineering principles to the design and assessment of dental restorations, which sets him apart in the health sciences. Fok completed his undergrad and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK.    He worked four years as a nuclear engineer, then joined the faculty of the University of Manchester’s  School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering where he worked on stress analysis of the fuel core components of graphite-moderated nuclear reactors

The University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center (AHC) is a leader in the movement of interprofessional education (IPE).  In fact, the AHC was recently selected to lead a new coordinating center that will provide national leadership in the field of interprofessional education and collaborative practice among health professionals.

Interprofessional education occurs when students from the health professions and related disciplines learn with and from each other to improve the effectiveness and quality of health care; a practice which promotes excellence in learning through collaboration.

To promote a better understanding around this topic, the U of M Medical School and Academic Health Center’s Office of Education will be co-hosting a speaker series with health science faculty from around the country. Attendees of the interactive sessions will be presented topics surrounding best practices and innovation in IPE.

Dr. Steven Miles, professor in the Center for Bioethics and the Medical School at the University of Minnesota, has built a medical career around his concern for the ethics of healthcare and dignity of others. Miles’ work has changed end-of-life care, treatment practices in nursing homes, refugee camp medicine, and military medical practices. Miles’ concern for quality of life among the elderly and disenfranchised has motivated his career and taken him to new heights within the field of bioethics.

A University of Minnesota student and faculty member utilize the CAE Healthcare VIMEDIX simulator at SimPORTAL during the ultrasonography training program.

Whether your idea of medical internships comes from television hits like Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs or personal experience, the situation has historically been pretty standard: interns dive into a medical environment and – guided by seasoned physicians – learn as they go.

We say “historically standard” because the University of Minnesota Medical School has taken a different approach.

To better prepare interns for their work with patients, professors in the University of Minnesota’s Medical School have taken a new approach to training their incoming residents: Instead of having interns start their programs in medical facilities, the students participate in a 30 hour intensive training course using the same ultrasonography technology currently used in critical diagnosis.

For many cancer researchers, being selected by the American Cancer Society,  as one of two researchers in the nation recognized for gamechanging work is a dream.

For University of Minnesota professor and recipient of the prestigious American Cancer Society Research Professor Award, David Largaespada, Ph.D., it is reality.

Largaespada’s research is used to understand the genetic basis of many cancers, including brain tumors, carcinomas of the liver and gastrointestinal tract, leukemias, and sarcomas. For this work, he has been named an ACS Research Professor.

“Having all of the hard work my team and I have put into our research validated by such an influential organization is a great feeling,” says Largaespada. “What I’m really excited about is, thanks to the support from the ACS, being able to take our research in a new direction.”