HHRI News & Press Releases
Celebrating 60 Years of the IRB Protecting Research Participants
For 60 years, the Hennepin Healthcare Institutional Review Board (IRB) has helped ensure research is conducted safely, ethically and with the rights and well-being of participants at the forefront. Since its beginnings in 1966 as the Research Advisory Committee, the IRB has provided independent oversight for studies that involve people,…
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2026 So Far: Recognizing Excellence
AWARDS & HONORS Mark Linzer, MD, received the 2026 American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) Camille Mermod Award for Exceptional Service Board-certified internist and Director of the Institute for Professional Worklife (IPW), Mark Linzer, MD, has received the 2026 American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) Camille Mermod Award for Exceptional Service. The AMWA held an Awards Gala on…
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Rockswold Health Scholars Program: Where Curiosity Meets Healthcare
Every summer, a new group of undergraduates gets a front-row seat to see how healthcare actually works. The Rockswold Health Scholars Program brings students into Hennepin Healthcare and the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) for 10 weeks, giving them a real look at how research, education and patient care come…
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Summer is the Deadliest Season for Brain Injury and Dr. Gaylan Rockswold is Working to Change What Happens Next
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, and with that has come a familiar shift at Hennepin Healthcare’s emergency department. Motorcycles hit the road. People take risks they wouldn’t take in February. And when things go wrong, some of those people arrive at Hennepin in a coma, their brains swollen…
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Tiny Ticks, Big Impact: Diana Zychowski Studies the Rise of Tick-Borne Diseases
Diana Zychowski, MD, MPH, was drawn to the field of infectious diseases because of how dynamic and interdisciplinary the field is-it sits at the intersection of microbiology, public health, informatics, epidemiology, and patient care. After Dr. Zychowski graduated from college, she worked as a Research Technologist in an infectious disease…
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Inside the HATS Study on Aging, Memory, and Dementia Risk
The Healthy Aging in the Senior Years (HATS) study explores why older Black adults have twice the risk of dementia compared to older white adults in the United States. The study is one of the current aging and dementia research projects at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s (HHRI) Berman Center for…
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The Overlooked Link Between Kidney Disease, Dialysis, and Cognitive Decline
Anne Murray, MD, MSc, is an internal medicine doctor, a geriatrician (a doctor who cares for senior citizens), and a dementia epidemiologist. A dementia epidemiologist explores the different subtypes of dementia and cognitive impairment (CI) in aging populations and their associated risk factors to better understand how to prevent them.…
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When Evidence Changes Practice: Rethinking Aspirin in Older Adults
Most people want to live long, healthy lives and age well. As a geriatrician, a doctor specializing in the care of older persons, Anne Murray, MD, MSc, has pursued research to help patients achieve a healthy lifespan, or an independent life without dementia or disability. Dr. Murray is an internal…
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What Long-Term Data Reveals About Aspirin and Cancer Risk
The recently published findings in JAMA Oncology, “Cancer Incidence and Mortality With Aspirin in Older Adults: Follow-Up of the ASPREE Trial,” show that taking a low-dose of daily aspirin does not reduce overall cancer rates in older adults, including colon cancer, but increases the risk of cancer-related mortality. Findings of…
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Turning Up the Volume on Brain Health in Older Adults
As part of a sub-study of the ASPirin Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial, the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP) focuses on the physical, behavioral, social, economic, and environmental factors that positively and negatively impact the health and quality of life of older adults. As part of…
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Driven by Data, Guided by Purpose: The HHRI Transplant Team
When it comes to innovative analytics that help heal and save lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation, no one gives a data-driven push like the HHRI (CDRG) Transplant Team. Nestled within Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s (HHRI) Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) division, this team knows transplant data. From statistical…
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National Kidney Month Highlights Dr. Kirsten Johansen’s Work to Improve Life for Kidney Disease Patients
March is National Kidney Month, a time to raise awareness about kidney disease and the importance of early detection. For Kirsten Johansen, MD, nephrologist and president of Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI), it’s also a reminder of the critical role research plays in improving the lives of patients living with…
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Women Leading the Way: Research, Care, and Impact at HHRI
Women’s History Month 2026 is upon us. In recognition of this occasion, we are highlighting a few of our female researchers and the impactful contributions they are making to science and medicine. Healing Future Generations: One woman’s journey in helping expectant families and parents of young children Hennepin Healthcare Research…
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One Family, One Parking Lot, Thousands of Diapers: How the Follmer Family Turned Compassion Into Action
by Elizabeth Bonin, Hennepin Healthcare Foundation Suzi Follmer and her family knew they had to do something. For weeks, they listened to stories about families who couldn’t leave their homes for basic necessities and medical appointments for fear of Operation Metro Surge. This hit especially hard because Suzi’s husband, Ryan,…
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2026 Brain Health Awareness Day: Brain Health Starts with Us
Hennepin Healthcare hosted its first Brain Health Awareness Day on January 22, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST at the Hennepin Healthcare Clinic and Specialty Center, and on Microsoft Teams. The event brought together community partners, clinicians, researchers, patients, caregivers, and staff to share the latest evidence on…
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Where Science Meets Care: How the CeIDeR Team is Shaping the Future of Infectious Disease Treatment
The Center for Infectious Disease Research (CeIDeR), is one of many research programs within Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI). CeIDeR’s mission “is to advance clinical care of infectious diseases by expanding our understanding of disease pathogenesis, as well as developing prevention, treatment, and implementation strategies to that end,” said Jason…
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2025 Year in Review: Recognizing Excellence
HHRI researchers are MDs, MD/PhDs, PhDs, PharmDs, and other medical and science professionals working to advance medical knowledge and improve the care patients receive. HHRI investigators and staff continued to make an impact throughout 2025-receiving a significant number of new and renewing sponsored awards, publishing regularly in peer-reviewed journals, leading…
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Year in Review: Stories That Shaped 2025
It’s hard to believe it, but 2025 has wrapped up. In case you missed it, here’s a round-up of HHRI’s biggest stories, milestones, and moments from 2025. From groundbreaking research to community highlights, here’s a collection of stories that have shaped our journey this year. A stand of its own:…
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Cold Realities: How Science and Speed Save Lives in Frostbite Emergencies
Living in Minnesota is not for the faint of heart, with temperatures frequently plummeting to 20 degrees below zero F, and with wind chills, it can drop as low as 50 degrees below zero F. With extreme temperatures such as these, it’s no wonder that frostbite becomes a problem during…
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Redefining Tobacco Cessation and Mental Health Care: Inside BHERG’s Mission to Break the Cycle
Director of Training and Mentoring and Senior Psychologist, Sandra Japuntich, PhD, LP, and Senior Psychologist and Director of the Hennepin Healthcare Tobacco Dependence Clinic, Drew Busch, PhD, LP, both have Minnesota roots. However, they met on the other side of the country during their respective clinical internships at Brown University…
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