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HHRI News & Press Releases

HHRI News & Press Releases

September 22, 2026 -- A transition is underway in the management of the nation's transplant data infrastructure. Publicis Sapient, a global digital business transformation company, is in the process of taking over fundamental elements of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) contract, from the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI). The transition is currently in progress. The IT infrastructure transition is expected to be fully completed by December 1, 2026, with other contract element timelines yet to be determined.

SRTR is a vital national resource that supports the transplant community through comprehensive data analysis, with a core mission of improving patient outcomes and experience. It operates under a contract from the Division of Transplantation (DoT), Health Systems Bureau (HSB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The registry provides program-specific reports on transplant programs and organ procurement organizations, offering wide-ranging information to clinicians, researchers, and patients.

HHRI has been a cornerstone of medical research since 1952, supporting and overseeing research conducted at HCMC, the flagship acute care and teaching hospital of the Hennepin Healthcare System in downtown Minneapolis. As one of the largest medical research nonprofits in Minnesota, HHRI often ranks in the top ten percent nationally of institutions receiving research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The organization, through its Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG), has operated SRTR for over 15 years with a steadfast commitment to its mission of transforming health and health care for all through ethical research and meaningful community partnerships.

The transition from HHRI to Publicis Sapient is being conducted collaboratively to ensure a seamless transfer of responsibilities and the continued integrity of SRTR's operations. Both organizations are dedicated to ensuring that the registry continues to provide reliable, data-driven insights that are essential for the transplant community and the patients they serve.

Further updates will be provided as the transition progresses.

More HHRI Research Highlights

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The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients Contract Operations to Be Assumed in Part by Publicis Sapient, Succeeding Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute

September 22, 2026

A transition is underway in the management of the nation’s transplant data infrastructure. Publicis Sapient, a global digital business transformation company, is in the process of taking over fundamental elements of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) contract, from the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI). The transition is currently…

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Sedative choice could improve outcomes for breathing tube patients

December 12, 2025

Doctors treating seriously ill patients in an emergency setting may want to give the sedative etomidate, rather than ketamine, while placing a breathing tube, according to a randomized trial published Dec. 9 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Randomized Trial of Sedative Choice for Intubation (RSI) is the first multicenter…

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HHRI Leadership Updates

October 27, 2025

Dr. Kirsten Johansen was recently appointed as HHS Chief Research Officer. We are pleased to announce that HHRI’s President, Kirsten Johansen, MD, has been appointed to a new leadership position as Hennepin Healthcare System’s (HHS) Chief Research Officer (CRO). The establishment of this position represents an important step forward in…

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HHRI Adopts New Mission, Core Values

October 27, 2025

HHRI is excited to announce the adoption of a new organizational mission and set of core values. The new HHRI Mission is: Transforming health and healthcare for all through ethical research and meaningful community partnerships. The new Core Values for HHRI are: Excellence World-class health science research and education engages,…

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Kirsten L. Johansen, MD (center), USRDS Director, will lead an NIH-funded nationwide effort on kidney disease surveillance, assisted by USRDS Deputy Director James B. Wetmore, MD, MS (left) and David T. Gilbertson, PhD (right), Project Director for the USRDS.

CDRG Re-Awarded United States Renal Data System (USRDS) Federal Contract

March 14, 2024

Minneapolis – The Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) has been selected to continue administering the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) federal contract. The USRDS is a national registry that collects, analyzes, and distributes information about chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States. This…

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Hennepin Healthcare Researchers Seek Best Way to Place Patients on Breathing Machines

March 11, 2024

The procedure to place a severely ill patient on a breathing machine (intubation), can be high-risk. One in four severely ill patients undergoing intubation in the Emergency Department or Intensive Care Unit experiences serious problems with blood pressure or oxygen levels during this procedure. Some of these risks may be…

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Implementing community-engaged pharmacogenomics in Indigenous communities

March 7, 2024

Casey Dorr, PhD, is a nephrology investigator at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) and first-generation descendant of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. He’s passionate about using innovative research in pharmacogenomics (PGx), the efficacy of medication based on genetic variations; to create inclusive precision medicine for Indigenous communities to reduce…

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Reentry and Health Experts Release Roadmap for Evaluating Medicaid Waivers to Promote Safe and Health Reentry from Incarceration to Communities

February 1, 2024

New Guide from Transitions Clinic Network, The SEICHE Center for Health and Justice and The Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute aligns with the CMS National Quality Strategy San Francisco, CA—Today the Transitions Clinic Network (TCN), along with its partners at The SEICHE Center and…

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Dr. Kate Diaz Vickery named HHRI’s first Vice President of Engagement

February 1, 2024

HHRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Kate Diaz Vickery has been selected to serve as Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s (HHRI’s) first Vice President of Engagement.  Dr. Vickery is a previous Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) research scholar and HHRI investigator and Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota.  She is…

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Hitting the mark, setting standards for lifesaving care

January 18, 2024

From Hennepin Healthcare Newsroom – Our emergency department (ED) sets high standards for emergency and trauma care. As a teaching hospital caring for some of the most critically ill and injured patients from throughout the state, ED team members know a thing or two about delivering the best care most…

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Doxycycline prophylaxis use low and did not prevent STIs among cisgender women

December 21, 2023

Researchers from the University of Washington (UW), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), and Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) published results in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results of the study have been highly anticipated, as this is the first study of doxycycline PEP among cisgender women, following multiple…

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A Learning Health System to increase organ donation and equity in populations experiencing health disparities

December 20, 2023

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute awarded NIH grant, in partnership with LifeSource, to study a Learning Health System model that could improve community trust and reduce persistent disparities in donation and transplantation. MINNEAPOLIS – Native Americans and other underserved communities suffering from organ failure are less likely to receive a life-saving…

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Dr. Casey Dorr featured in the Bemidji Pioneer

December 19, 2023

Casey Dorr, PhD, a Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) Investigator, was recently featured in a story in the Bemidji Pioneer. The piece highlighted his journey from a first-generation descendant of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe from Bemidji to becoming a scientist. Dr. Dorr hopes to inspire Indigenous students to…

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HHRI’s own Moncies Franco, Sr., featured on MPR News

November 21, 2023

On voting day, November 7, 2023, Moncies Franco, Sr., from Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s (HHRI) Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice (HHCJ) Lab, was featured in a story on MPR News. The story highlighted his first vote since the passage of Minnesota’s Restore the Vote law in June 2023. Prior to…

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Black Youth with Stethoscopes Youth Summit – Lifting Them to Their Peaks in Healthcare Careers

November 20, 2023

An uplifting dose excitement could be felt as 70 Twin Cities Black youth strolled down the halls of Hennepin Healthcare’s Clinic & Specialty Center. Their curiosity and hungry minds were also in full force November 4 at the Black Youth with Stethoscopes Youth Summit. The latest Hennepin Healthcare Talent Garden…

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Researchers adapt health system COVID-19 collaboration to track near-real-time trends in visits for substance use

November 8, 2023

Detailed, timely data will inform equity-driven approaches to the drug overdose epidemic In a study released this week, researchers at Hennepin Healthcare and other Minnesota health systems describe how a COVID-19 collaboration across Minnesota health systems was adapted to monitor near-real-time trends in substance use–related hospital and emergency department (ED)…

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HHRI and HHS in the community

October 26, 2023

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) and Hennepin Healthcare (HHS) recently participated in community outreach events during the summer and fall seasons. One of these events was Open Streets, a series of free and family-friendly events that advocate for street places that prioritize people. During Open Streets major thoroughfares are closed…

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HHRI’s Summer Intern Janissa Thomas From Puerto Rico, Prepping for a Career in Research

October 13, 2023

For medical student Janissa Thomas, the road on her healthcare career journey started in Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island that’s an unincorporated territory of the United States, eventually leading to the mainland and a research opportunity in Minneapolis. Research is an area for which Thomas has a great passion. “I…

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HHRI’s new Director of Training and Mentoring Dr. Sandra Japuntich sets goals to help junior research faculty succeed

October 4, 2023

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) has always prided itself on being a teaching and mentoring organization, but is now shifting to a more codified and streamlined approach through the newly created Director of Training and Mentoring role. Tobacco dependence researcher, Sandra Japuntich, PhD, LP, will be spearheading this new position.…

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Dr. Allyson Hart, Leading the “Heart” of Ethical Research for Hennepin Healthcare

August 23, 2023

Allyson Hart, MD, MS, a Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) investigator and Hennepin Healthcare nephrologist, is surging through the summer in wonderful ways as she reaches the second year of her role as Chair of the Hennepin Healthcare Institutional Review Board (IRB). IRBs are committees charged by the federal government…

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