Dr. Warren McKinney appointed Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute VP for Equity in Research

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) is proud to announce that Warren McKinney, PhD, has been named HHRI’s VP for Equity in Research. In this role, Dr. McKinney joins the HHRI Board of Directors and the institute’s executive leadership team.

The VP for Equity in Research is a new position at HHRI created to help Hennepin Healthcare and HHRI best meet their shared goal of improving equity in research by investing in a coordinated approach to reduce barriers and facilitate health equity research by engaging with minority communities in a more in-depth manner.

Dr. McKinney will lead the work across the Hennepin Healthcare System to connect efforts to improve health equity, define and drive strategy, and advocate for resources to build equity-focused, community-engaged research. Additionally, he will develop community relationships and collaborate with other researchers to help cultivate community-engaged research projects with various minority communities.

Dr. McKinney completed a PhD in sociology from Columbia University in 2018 and a combined Master’s degree in African-American Studies and Sociology from Yale University in 2009. His research interests include race and ethnic studies and most recently, disparities in kidney transplantation. His current position as a Research Investigator at HHRI and an embedded University of Minnesota Learning Health Scholar focuses on creating culturally sensitive resources to support African-American transplant candidates. His project merges qualitative and patient-centered methods to inform the development of tools that can supplement patient education and counselling on the newly available hepatitis c positive donor option at the Hennepin Healthcare Kidney Transplant Program.