Member Centers

The Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio) aims to “stop biological time” and radically extend the ability to bank and transport cells, aquatic embryos, tissue, skin, whole organs, microphysiological systems (“organs-on-a-chip”), and even whole organisms through a team approach to build advanced biopreservation technologies.

John Bischof, PhD
Director and Principal Investigator, ATP-Bio
Director, Institute for Engineering in Medicine
Distinguished McKnight University Professor
Carl and Janet Kuhrmeyer Chair, Mechanical Engineering
Medtronic-Bakken Endowed Chair for Engineering in Medicine

 

Mehmet Toner, PhD
Deputy Director and Co-Principal Investigator, ATP-Bio
Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Center for Engineering in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Helen Andrus Benedict Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Harvard Medical School
Founding Co-Director, The Institute for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, a division of Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Director, BioMEMS Center, Mass General

With three decades of experience in healthcare innovation, the Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing has played a pivotal role in improving the health and wellbeing of people, organizations, and communities at the local, national, and international levels. Its remarkable faculty, experts drawn from the University and the community, are committed to innovation, service, and social change. Aligned with the University's mission of education, research, and service, the Bakken Center is a pioneer in forging new paths for interprofessional education and research—breaking down silos and disciplinary boundaries. Its diverse and multidisciplinary faculty strive to advance health and wellbeing around the world.

Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN
Founder and Director, Center for Spirituality & Healing
Professor, School of Nursing
Co-director, Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

The BioTechnology Institute (BTI) provides advanced research, training, and university-industry interaction in biological process technology, a major area of biotechnology research. BTI is the central University of Minnesota vehicle for coordinated research in the biological, chemical, and engineering aspects of biotechnology and home to the President's Initiative on Biocatalysis.

Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, PhD
Director, BioTechnology Institute
Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics

The Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) joins with local, national, and international stakeholders to respond to emerging animal health, public health, and food safety issues.

Andres Perez, DVM, PhD
Director, Center for Animal Health and Food Safety
Endowed Chair of Global Animal Health and Food Safety
Associate Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine 

The Center for Bioethics' mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge concerning ethical issues in health care, biomedicine, and the life sciences. It conducts original interdisciplinary research, offers educational programs and courses, fosters public discussion and debate through community outreach activities, and assists in the formulation of public policy.

Debra DeBruin, PhD
Director, Center for Bioethics
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Center for Bioethics
Associate Professor, College of Liberal Arts Department of Philosophy

Cognitive neuropharmacology is the study of how drugs interact with the brain and affect thinking and behavior, such as speech and language. Researchers at the Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuropharmacology collaborate with investigators from such disciplines as neuroscience, neuroimaging, linguistics, natural language and speech processing, psychometrics, pharmacogenomics, pharmacometrics, and informatics to study how drugs can affect an individual’s cognitive functioning.

Angela Birnbaum, PhD, FAES
Director, Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuropharmacology
Professor, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP)
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP) 

Susan Marino, PhD
Professor Emerita, Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuropharmacology

The Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility (CGHSR) advances health worldwide through collaborative partnerships, sustainable programs, and academic excellence—and does it in a socially responsible, equitable way. To achieve these ambitious goals, CGHSR supports global health research at the University of Minnesota as well as through its networks around the world. CGHSR works with global partners to build capacity for ensuring the health of their communities in the long term. And CGHSR champions interdisciplinary education that helps to advance professionals—at home and abroad—who will improve the health of our world. 

Shailey Prasad, MD, MPH
Executive Director and Carlson Chair, CGHSR
Associate Vice President for Global and Rural Health, Office of Academic Clinical Affairs
Vice Chair for Education, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

CIDRAP focuses on three priorities: 1) improving the readiness of public health, infectious disease medical practice, and the health care system to respond to catastrophic events such as bioterrorism; 2) developing strategies for enhancing the ability of the farm-to-table food system to prevent, detect, and respond to deliberate contamination of food and agricultural products with infectious or toxic agents; 3) promoting the implementation of routine food irradiation to reduce the incidence of foodborne disease.

Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH
Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)
Regents Professor
McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health
Distinguished Teaching Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
Professor, Technological Leadership Institute
Adjunct Professor, Medical School

CSTEP is part of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and focuses on issues arising at the intersection of science, technology, environment, and society that shape economic development, environmental sustainability, human health, and well-being.

Gabriel Chan, PhD
Co-Director, Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy
Associate Professor, Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (CSTEP)

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) supports all stages of the research process, providing research and regulatory support, specialized facilities, and analytical services. It also offers educational and training opportunities for new investigators and study coordinators. CTSI is part of a National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium created to accelerate laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients.

Bruce Blazar, MD
Director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
Director, Center for Translational Medicine
 

David Ingbar, MD
Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Mentoring for the Office of Faculty Affairs
Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep

The mission of the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute is to increase and sustain the University's impact in the interdisciplinary arena of food, agriculture, and health. The priority focus areas are food safety, prevention of obesity and chronic disease, and food policy.

Mindy S. Kurzer, PhD
Director, Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute
Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition
Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Oncology & Transplantation
Director of Graduate Studies, Nutrition Graduate Program

The Institute for Health Informatics educates students and conducts research in the fields of biomedical and health informatics. In that work, it focuses on the design, use, and evaluation of information systems that support and improve healthcare while protecting the safety and confidentiality of those who receive that care. It is an interdisciplinary endeavor that encompasses work in a variety of settings from tertiary care hospitals to specialty clinics, mental health facilities, community clinics, nursing homes, and home care agencies.

Constantin Aliferis, MD, PhD, FACMI
Director, Institute for Health Informatics (IHI)
Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine
Chief Research Informatics Officer, Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)

IonE discovers solutions to Earth’s most pressing environmental problems by conducting transformative research, developing the next generation of global leaders and building world-changing partnerships.

Jessica Hellmann, PhD
Executive Director, IonE
Russell M. and Elizabeth M. Bennett Chair in Excellence, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior

Melissa Kenney, PhD
Director of Research and Knowledge Initiatives, IonE
Principal Research Scientist of Environmental Decision Support, IonE
Affiliate Faculty, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs

The International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) aims to build a coordinated and collaborative national and international initiative that leverages and binds together experts from academia, nonprofits, industry, and government agencies to create a collective global effort to identify barriers to advancing biosensing research and generate more innovative solutions that will lead to better products and policies, while securing the future of our children and citizens.

Patricia Khashayar, MD, PhD, MBA
Director, International Institute for Biosensing
Research Associate Professor, Research Computing Department

International Science & Technology Practice & Policy (InSTePP) brings together a community of scholars at the University of Minnesota and elsewhere to engage in economic research on science and technology practice and policy, emphasizing the international implications.

Philip G. Pardey, PhD
Co-Director, International Science & Technology Practice & Policy
Professor, Department of Applied Economics
Director of Global Research Strategy for the College of Food Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station

Alison B. Joglekar, PhD
Co-Director, International Science & Technology Practice & Policy
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Economics

Yuan Chai, PhD
Co-Director, International Science & Technology Practice & Policy

The University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center serves as the focal point for cancer research at the University. As a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, Masonic Cancer Center's 500 members apply their expertise to the broad problem of cancer with research on cancer causes, prevention, treatment, outcomes, and survivorship. 

Jeffrey Miller, MD
Director, Masonic Cancer Center
Co-Leader, Immunology Program
Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Melissa Geller, MD, MS
Associate Director, Clinical Research
Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Minnesota

Aaron Schilz, MPA 
Executive Director, Masonic Cancer Center
 

The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) brings together University of Minnesota experts in pediatric medicine and research to diagnose, prevent, and treat neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood and adolescence.

Michael K. Georgieff, MD
Co-Director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB)
Director, Center for Neurobehavioral Development
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Psychology
Professor, Institute of Child Development
Director, Division of Neonatology

Damien Fair, PA-C, PhD
Co-Director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB)
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Professor, Institute of Child Development
Faculty Member, Division of Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience

The Stem Cell Institute (SCI) uses stem cell biology to change the practice of medicine through discovery, education, and translation. The researchers and faculty of SCI explore the science of stem cell biology with the purposes of responding to the medical needs of today and educating the researchers of tomorrow.

Walter Low, PhD
Director, Stem Cell Institute
Professor, Department of Neurosurgery

Susan A. Keirstead, PhD
Administrative Co-Director, Stem Cell Institute
Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology 

The University of Minnesota Genomics Center (UMGC) provides genomics research services committed to advancing genomics in Minnesota. UMGC maintains and acquires state-of-the-art instrumentation and offers an array of services including sequencing, expression, genotyping, nucleic acid extraction, and related support. UMGC strives to keep pace with the ever-broadening world of “omics” technologies (genomics, epigenomics, metabolomics), and to expand its role at the University and the wider biotech community.

Kenneth Beckman, PhD
Executive Director, University of Minnesota Genomics Center
Affiliate Faculty, Institute for Health Informatics

The Water Resources Center provides leadership in freshwater management through cutting-edge research, educational opportunities for students and professionals, and community outreach.

Bonnie Keeler, PhD
Director, Water Resources Center
Faculty Appointment, Department of Forest Resources

Joel Larson, MPP
Associate Director, Water Resources Center
Extension Program Leader, Water Resources Center