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At the CTSI Research Conference on September 12, 2012, Dr. Betsy Seaquist was honored as the first recipient of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute Mentor of the Year.

Dr. Seaquist is Professor of Medicine and holds the Pennock Family Chair in Diabetes Research. Her research focuses on the effect of diabetes on brain metabolism, structure and function. Dr. Seaquist directs the University of Minnesota site for the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) Trial and is Principal Investigator on an NIH training grant for fellows in endocrinology and diabetes. She was recently elected Vice President of the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Seaquist received her BA from Vassar College and completed her medical training, including residency and fellowship, at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Seaquist has trained scores of students, residents, and fellows. She has been the primary mentor for two K23 scholars, both of whom remain in academic medicine. She is the primary mentor for two current KL2 scholars (Drs. Silvia Mangia and Amir Moheet), and serves on the committee supervising K23 recipient Dr. Melena Bellin.

Dr. Seaquist's nominations were full of praise and admiration for her work as a mentor.

"Thanks to her absolutely stunning appreciation of team-work, the atmosphere of her lab is in fact truly electrifying for everyone. She is a natural source of positive energy that encourages us to always welcome challenges as possibilities for improvement rather than limitations."

"I will always be grateful to Betsy for the time she spends with me (she never skipped any meeting with me during these moths), for her intelligence, for her willingness to share with others the benefit of her intelligence, for her humanity, overall for being simply who she is. In a world that desperately needs positive human figures, Betsy is a deep breath of fresh air."

"Dr. Seaquist is the epitome of a successful mentor. She is a world-class clinical/translational researcher and academic endocrinologist dedicated to the development of junior faculty. She accomplished the challenging task of providing guidance and allowing for freedom."

Join us in congratulating Dr. Seaquist!

About the CTSI Mentor of the Year Award

Mentor of the Year candidates are nominated by a CTSI mentee with supporting letters from a former mentee and a faculty colleague. Award selection criteria include assistance with guidance in research, interpersonal and motivational skills, promotion and career development, and mentor training record and NIH biosketch.

On Tuesday, September 11, 56 University of Minnesota scholars and community partners presented their clinical and translational research projects in a poster session, which opened the first annual Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Research Conference. 

Posters were judged on the presenters' translation plans, including next steps, barriers to translation, and how the the project will contribute to improving human health. 

Top posters in each category were chosen for travel awards of up to $1200 to attend a national conference to present their CTSI-sponsored research.

Please join us in congratulating the 2012 CTSI travel award recipients!

Community Pilot Grant
Erica Gerrity
Submitted by: Rebecca Schlafer, Dept of Pediatrics.
Project Title: Health disparities in the context of a parenting and pregnancy support program for incarcerated mothers

Undergraduate Research Program (URP)
Nguyen-Tran, Hai
Training Program: CHE - Undergraduate Research Program
Area of Research: Women's Health; Health Disparities
Mentor: Rahel Ghebre
Project Title: Comparison of Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening Among Somali and Vietnamese Women

Truong, Uyen
Training Program: CTSI - Undergraduate Summer Research Program
Area of Research: Hematology, Pulmonary
Mentors: Anna Solovey; Robert Hebbel
Project Title: Analysis of muscularized pulmonary arteries due to pulmonary arterial hypertension in Sickle Cell Disease

Radtke, Kendra
Training Program: CTSI - Undergraduate Research Program
Area of Research: Pharmacology
Mentor: James Cloyd
Project Title: Glutathione Redox Status in Blood of cALD Patients Undergoing Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplantation with NAC Adjuvant Therapy

Konchellah, Mercy
Training Program: Center for Health Equity Undergraduate Scholar
Area of Research: Addiction, Behavioral Sciences
Mentors: Jasjit S. Ahluwalia
Project Title: Are there Differences in Frequency of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption and Intent to Quit among Social Nondaily Smokers and "Other" Nondaily Smokers?

Advanced Research Program (ARP)
Aby, Elizabeth
Training Program: CTSI - Advanced Summer Research Program
Mentors: Jerrold Vitek; Diane Kachel
Area of Research: Neurology
Project Title: Evaluation of Clinician vs Automated ParkinTune™ Motor Score Assessments for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Programming in Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD)

Agarwal, Suresh
Training Program: CTSI - Advanced Summer Research Program
Area of Research: Pharmacology, Neurology
Mentors: James Cloyd; Richard Brundage
Project Title: A Meta-Analysis of the Absorption Characteristics of Diazepam Following Alternative Routes of Administration to Optimize Future Bioequivalence Trial Design

Parker, Sarah
Training Program: CTSI Advanced Research Program
Mentor: Bruce Blazar
Project Title: Potential of Deriving iPS from Peripheral Blood T Cells using Retroviral Approach

F&T Pilot Grant Program
Frosch, Anne
Training Program: CTSI-F&T Pilot Grant
Area of Research: Infectious Disease, Immunology
Mentor: Chandy John
Project Title: The effect of HIV on malaria specific B-cell responses

Pre-K Pilot Grant and KL2 Scholars Program combined category
Bhargava, Maneesh
Training Program: CTSI KL2 Scholars Program
Area of Research: Biomarker Discovery in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Mentor: Chris Wendt
Project Title: Proteomic Biomarkers of Survival in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Clark, Cari
Training Program: KL2 Scholar
Area of Research: Epidemiology, Child Health and Development
Mentors: Michael Resnick; Susan Everson-Rose; John Connett; Iris Borowsky; Robert Krueger
Project Title: Dating Violence and its Association with Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Adulthood

Gillick, Bernadette
Training Program: CTSI Pre-K Scholar, CTSI BDAC Pilot Funding, MMF
Area of Research: Neurosciences, Pediatrics
Mentors: Kelvin Lim, Jeremiah Menk
Project Title: Safety of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Pediatric Hemiparesis

K2R and R2R Pilot Grant Program combined category
Cormier, Robert
Training Program: CTSI R01 to R01 Pilot Grant
Areas of Research: Cancer, Oncology
Co-Investigator: Kevin Silverstein
Project Title: Discovery of Fusion Oncogenes in Colorectal Cancer

Ostrander, Julie H
Training Program: CTSI - K to R transition award
Area of Research: Cancer
Mentors: Doug Yee, Chap Le
Project Title: PELP1 localization as a Biomarker for Early Mammary Carcinogenesis and Response to Tamoxifen Chemoprevention

Polgreen, Lynda
Training Program: CTSI K to R
Area of Research: metabolic bone disease
Mentor: Chester Whitley, Ph.D., M.D.
Project Title: Cross-Sectional Study of Associations of Osteocalcin with Obesity, Adipokines and Inflammation in the Mucopolysaccharidoses

Please join us on September 12 for the 2012 CTSI Research Conference: Translating Discoveries into Better Health.

• Learn how translational science is improving the health of our communities.
• Celebrate the accomplishments of clinical and translational research teams at the University of Minnesota.
• Find resources, services, tools, and expertise to support your research.
• Connect with investigators and research teams from across the University.
• Meet CTSI leaders and expert consultants

Conference Highlights

• Opening remarks from University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and Vice President for Research Tim Mulcahy
• Keynote address from Clay Johnston, MD, PhD, Director of the University of California, San Francisco Clinical and Translational Science Institute
• Breakout sessions with practical advice for advancing your research career and conducting research with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Who should attend?
University of Minnesota faculty members, staff, and students interested in clinical and translational research

The University of Minnesota's Office of Community Engagement for Health (OCEH) - a Clinical and Translational Science Institute effort - has helped build mutual trust and respect between the University and the surrounding community since its founding in 2009.

Now, the OCEH has set its sights on a new level of community partnership with the new Triple Aim initiative.

The Triple Aim is a framework used nationally, focused on: 1) improving the patient experience; 2) improving the health of the populations; and 3) reducing the cost of care.

Working with organizations throughout Minnesota, the OCEH is facilitating the implementation of new health care innovations within and across Minnesota communities

"The Triple Aim is of utmost importance to the OCEH and broader University as a whole, and to achieve the effort we'll be working to engage and collaborate with organizations beyond just hospitals and clinics," said Sheila Riggs, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., director of OCEH. "Our current partners - organizations like the Courage Center and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota - are seeing first-hand what this collaboration can do for their organization and the patients they serve."

The Courage Center is a nonprofit rehabilitation and resource center that serves children and adults with brain and spinal cord injury, stroke, chronic pain, autism and disabilities experienced since birth.

"The OCEH is starting to change the conversation about what will be needed to really achieve the Triple Aim for the whole state, not just parts of Minnesota," said Jan Malcolm, chief executive officer of the Courage Center. "As a result, the dialogue has been more complete and more promising for addressing the whole picture of health, especially for the most vulnerable segments of the state's population."

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is the state's largest nonprofit social service organization focused on providing children, youth and families, people with disabilities and older adults the opportunity to live and work in the community with dignity, safety and hope.

"We had the opportunity to participate in the Triple Aim Innovation Conference, which allowed us to compare notes with other organizations seeking to re-design health care and human services for the future," said Jodi Harpstead, chief executive officer of the Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. "We learned a lot and made connections that we're currently exploring to create new partnerships for our work that we believe will be models for the integration of healthcare and social services to improve quality and reduce cost."

The next meeting in the Triple Aim Innovation series will take place on Tuesday, July 10, 1-4:30 pm at Normandale Community College. Learn more and register.

For more information about the Triple Aim initiative and the OCEH, visit the CTSI website.

The Minnesota Children's Health Research Collaborative will host a dinner forum on May 10 on the topic of adolescent health and sexuality. This is the second in a series of Research in Child Health Dinner Forum meetings, which represent a unique collaboration between Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at the University of Minnesota.

Purpose
This collaboration is made possible through a $51 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health, and is designed to encourage pediatric researchers and practitioners from Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota, as well as community-based child-health partners, to work together more closely. This partnership, known as the Minnesota Children's Health Research Collaborative, provides a unique opportunity for us to address significant problems in children's health.

About the Event
Developing research networks to address unmet needs in adolescent health and sexuality
In the second forum in this series, leading experts will outline major research priorities in the area of adolescent health and sexuality. Invited speakers and panel members include: Karen Wills, MD, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota; Elsa Keeler, MD, HealthPartners, Minnesota; Renee Sieving, PhD, University of Minnesota; and Iris Borowsky, MD, PhD, University of Minnesota. The evening will conclude with a discussion about creating community collaborations in adolescent health research.

Topic: Adolescent health and sexuality
When: Thursday, May 10th, 6:00 -7:25 pm
Where: Nasseff Center Auditorium, 333 N. Smith Ave., St. Paul (just north of United Hospital)
Who: Anyone interested in working collaboratively on important topics in child health
Why: It is an opportunity to hear from your peers and learn about potential opportunities to participate in clinical research.
Registration Information: Click here to register for the event. Your RSVP is kindly requested by Friday, May 4.

If you have questions, please contact Andrea Leinberger-Jabari at lein0072@umn.edu or (612) 624-4247.