HHRI Leadership Updates
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 strengthening the integration between the HHS clinical enterprise and the research mission. Dr. Johansen, who has served with distinction as President of HHRI since 2023, will now elevate this work to the executive leadership level, creating even greater alignment across the HHS system.
Dr. Johansen brings an extraordinary record of leadership, scholarship, and mentorship. She is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota and Director of the Nephrology Division at Hennepin Healthcare. She is the current Director of the U.S. Renal Data System, overseeing the nation’s chronic kidney and ESRD data, and is renowned for her innovative research on improving patient outcomes in nephrology care.
Dr. Johansen will continue her role as the HHRI President in addition to taking on these additional responsibilities, enhancing the connections between HHRI and HHS at the executive leadership level. Her career journey reflects a lifelong commitment to advancing patient-oriented research and improvements in care, and we are celebrating the elevation of her position within HHS to better align the future trajectories of HHRI and HHS.
New HHS IRB Physician Chair
We are excited to announce the promotion of Mark Oswood, MD, PhD, to the Chair position of the Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) Institutional Review Board (IRB). Over the last year, Dr. Oswood has held the IRB Vice Chair position, and during that time, he worked closely with the current IRB Chair, Allyson Hart, MD, MS, who will be taking the Vice Chair position while a new Vice Chair is recruited.
Dr. Oswood has served as the Chief of Neuroradiology at HHS since 2018 and as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota since 2014. His background includes over 20 years of experience in clinical research, which included service on the IRB at Allina Health from 2012 to 2014.
Dr. Hart has been serving as the IRB Chair since August 2021. During her tenure, she oversaw the implementation of a new staffing structure and new IRB policies and procedures to support the workflows associated with Cayuse, the IRB data management system that was implemented in late 2020.
The IRB is the heart of the HHS Human Research Protection Program, and we are deeply grateful to both Dr. Hart and Dr. Oswood for their commitment to enabling the highest quality research while protecting the rights and welfare of people who participate in research at HHS. Please join us in thanking them both for their continued service.