Yesterday, the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing celebrated the opening of a new, state-of-the art education center for nursing and other health professional students.

The Bentson Healthy Communities Innovation Center will provide students with new opportunities to engage in complex simulated health scenarios in interprofessional teams, use sophisticated telehealth technology and learn emerging health records technology.

The center is named to honor the lead gift made by the Bentson Foundation, which contributed $3.7 million to the $7.8 million dollar project. A $1 million gift from the United Health Foundation and other generous donations enabled rapid construction, which began in May 2012.

It’s the night before Match Day and Nora Sadek is feeling humbled by the requisite patience of being a match participant.

“On Monday you know that you’ve matched but you still don’t know where until Friday. To be okay with that uncertainty is a really big deal,” she admits. “Up to now, there’s been a lot more control.”

Sadek understands that her residency match will greatly influence the type of physician she becomes. The training environment and community she serves will all have an impact on her work in some way. Luckily, she feels ready for whatever comes next.

Health Talk is highlighting University of Minnesota health professional students’ stories about their experiences at the U of M’s student-run Phillips Neighborhood Clinic.

Medical School student Chris Ryer highlights his experiences at the clinic in this final post in the series.

The University of Minnesota’s freshman class of 2016 isn’t just getting its feet wet in college, it is soaking up the viruses and germs that come with a new environment and lifestyle. And that exposure is exactly what Henry Balfour, Jr., M.D. is looking to investigate.

Balfour has been studying mononucleosis, a common disease among young people caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), for 10 years. His goal is developing a way to prevent it.

Kyle Holmberg, a student within the School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota, is among an elite group of medical, dental and veterinary scholars conducting research at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Washington, D.C. Due to his impressive work in the field of dental and cranial research, Holmberg is the first student to be featured as an AHC Gamechanger.

For most college undergrads, jobs in a cafeteria or coffee shop are the norm. But for a select group of students, there is an opportunity to work on real medical research projects thanks to the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Center for Health Equity (CHE) Undergraduate Research Program (URP).

John Tarnowski, a senior majoring in biochemistry in the College of Biological Sciences, is currently participating in URP and has seen the benefits of such a program.

“This program has allowed me to gain exposure to research programs here at the University of Minnesota and see how the research process really works,” said Tarnowski. “I’ve been able to get involved and understand how all the components fit together. I’ve learned that the research process really is a team effort.”