MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/21/2010) —In recognition of a lifetime of support, the University of Minnesota has named the newest building in its Biomedical Discovery District the Winston and Maxine Wallin Medical Biosciences Building.
June 2010 Archives
For nearly all of her life, 22-year-old Shannon Beestman has received care at the University of Minnesota to treat her congenital heart defect. Having been under the care of a pediatric cardiac team for more than two decades, Beestman had concerns about transitioning to a cardiologist trained primarily in adult heart care. But last year, thanks in part to the University’s new Adult Congenital and Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic, that transition became a little easier.
Philanthropy has helped to shape the careers of University of Minnesota stem cell scientists Michael Kyba, Ph.D., and Rita Perlingeiro, Ph.D. "We've had a lot of good interactions with philanthropy," Kyba says. "It has really changed the trajectory of my career for the better."
In the midst of a successful career in cardiology, Jay N. Cohn, M.D., was pondering a change.
By the mid-1990s, after almost 40 years as a cardiologist and 22 years as head of the University of Minnesota’s cardiovascular division, Cohn had developed and refined innovative, effective methods for treating patients with end-stage cardiovascular disease and acute heart attack.
Lowell Kruse was the youngest student in the Master of Healthcare Administration (M.H.A.) Program when he came to the School of Public Health (SPH) in 1965. He was 21 and had just graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His wife, Leslie, was 19. They drove to Minnesota in Lowell’s father’s cattle truck with their furniture and 6-week-old baby. "We were absolutely clueless," says Leslie. "We looked like the Clampetts."
Twin Cities ophthalmologist Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D., has many fond memories of campus life as a University of Minnesota medical student, including his fraternity involvement and season tickets to Gopher football games. But most memorable and inspiring, he says, was the support he received from others.
While teams at the University already work together closely when it comes to pediatric and maternal health care, the new home for University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital will unite the two areas in one family-friendly physical space.
Construction crews have made significant progress on the new facility, which is scheduled to open in March 2011. Perhaps the most visible change is the placement of the hospital’s distinctive anodized stainless steel exterior siding panels, which reflect blue, green, purple, maroon, or gold, depending on how the sunlight hits them.
More than 20 students from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health worked abroad this summer on their field experience, the hands-on component of several SPH academic programs. While their projects and settings varied dramatically, the overarching goal is the same: promote health and improve lives. Much of this work is done in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and locally based groups that helped the students connect to the communities they served.
Older women with diabetes are more than twice as likely to develop colorectal cancer. That’s according to a Mayo Clinic study of data involving nearly 40,000 women. Kristin Anderson, a University of Minnesota cancer epidemiologist, was one of the study’s researchers.
If you frequent an indoor tanning salon, listen up: Your risk of getting melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, is 75 percent greater than for people who don't tan indoors. In addition, the more time that people spend at tanning salons, the greater their risk of acquiring melanoma.
Tobacco researchers at the University of Minnesota are teaming up with researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii to determine why African Americans and Native Hawaiians are far more susceptible to getting lung cancer from cigarette smoking than other ethnic and racial groups.
The Lions Clubs International, one of the world’s largest service groups, is widely known for its commitment to preventing blindness—a mission its Minnesota clubs have embraced through a 50-year partnership with the University of Minnesota. Less well-known is a newer relationship that’s blossoming as well. For the last 12 years, the Minnesota Lions have supported the University’s Schulze Diabetes Institute (SDI), a world leader in cure-focused type 1 diabetes research.
When Jason Swain was 18 months old, his parents noticed that he was not gaining weight and his sweat seemed salty. After several visits to the doctor, Jason’s family got the devastating diagnosis—Jason had cystic fibrosis. The year was 1972 and at that time children with cystic fibrosis (CF) were not expected to live to age 10.
While sitting in the lobby of the Transplant Center at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in May 2010, Liz Johnson spots one of her doctors as he turns the corner to leave the clinic. She quickly turns to her father, Dick: "Dad, there goes Dr. Kempainen. Go see if you can catch him. I want to show him my medal." Around her neck hangs a participation medal that she had earned only a few days earlier for running a half marathon back home in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Two SPH faculty members and one student have received Global Spotlight awards from the University of Minnesota Office of International Programs (OIP). The OIP’s global spotlight is a biennial focus on a region of the world and a pressing global issue. The latest focus is on Africa and the issue is water in the world.
Eunice Abiemo has received an International Peace Scholarship from the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO). The scholarship is for female international students pursuing graduate study in the United States or Canada.
