Key Researcher
Michael Puskarich, MD, MSCR
Division Lead
Dr. Puskarich graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Puskarich completed residency and a clinical research fellowship at Carolinas Medical Center. His research focuses on early diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of shock, with an emphasis on life-threatening infections and sepsis.
Key Researcher
Brian Driver, MD
Director of Clinical Research
Brian Driver, MD, Director of Clinical Research, graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed a combined residency in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, and is board-certified in both specialties. His main research focus is improving the safety and efficiency of all aspects of emergency airway management, and he also conducts many research projects studying the general practice of emergency medicine.
Key Researcher
Johanna Moore, MD, MSc
Director of Laboratory Research
Dr. Moore works within the Emergency Department at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and performs clinical and pre-clinical research, focusing on novel methods of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She earned her medical degree from the University of Minnesota (U of M) and is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of Minnesota Medical School.
Key Researcher
Matthew Prekker, MD
Dr. Prekker is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He cares for critically ill patients at Hennepin Healthcare in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Emergency Medicine.
In this role, he directs the Extracorporeal Life Support Program at Hennepin County Medical Center. He’s board certified in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine. He attended the University of Minnesota Medical School for his Doctorate of Medicine (MD) and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health for his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, then completed the combined Emergency and Internal Medicine residency at Hennepin followed by a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) fellowship at the University of Washington-Seattle.
Key Researcher
Sarah Knack, MD, MS
Dr. Knack graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine and completed her emergency medicine residency at Hennepin Healthcare. She then pursued fellowship training in clinical research at Hennepin, earning a master’s degree in clinical research from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Knack’s research focuses on the acute management of trauma and traumatic brain injury in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Translational Center for Resuscitative Trauma and as a site investigator for several multi-center trauma trials.
Key Researcher
James Miner, MD, FACEP
HCMC Chief of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Miner earned his medical degree from Mayo Medical School. He is also a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and is an Associate Editor of Academic Emergency Medicine. His research objective is two-part: improving the safety of how pain medication is administered and exploring the common factors for disparities in how pain medication is administered.
Emergency Medicine
There are over 140 million visits each year to emergency departments (EDs) in the US, which amounts to about 43 visits for every 100 people. ED boarding, in which admitted patients cannot obtain a hospital bed in a timely fashion, causes overcrowding in the ED, and prolongs waiting times for all patients. Additionally, Americans who lack adequate health insurance, commonly wait to seek treatment for a condition only when it has progressed to a life-threatening and painful stage. Thus, emergency medical care facilities are increasingly challenged to meet the demands placed on their services.
The Emergency Department has been seeking solutions to the challenges of emergency medical care for decades. A tradition of medical innovation has helped Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) earn the reputation as one of the best emergency medicine centers in the US including the certification as a Level I Trauma Center.
Central to the tradition of innovation is the goal of improving patient care for those requiring emergency medical care. The Department of Emergency Medicine has a robust set of nationally recognized investigators studying a range of emergency care conditions at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI), from airway management to cardiac arrest to infectious diseases to toxicologic overdoses. Click on their profiles for more information.
The Research & Quality Improvement Program in the Emergency Department (ED) at HCMC hosts undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, and post-graduate students interested in medical careers to participate in data collection for academic research projects. In the role of a Research and Quality Intern (RQI), students are afforded the opportunity to gain experience using basic methodologies in clinical research, interact with patients, and observe the practice of emergency medicine. RQIs participate daily in the innovation of medical practice.
The Research & Quality Improvement Program runs year-round, with students often working 8 hours a week during the academic year. The summer program is an intensive twelve-week program from June through August, during which students are scheduled to work 12-16 hours a week. During all these terms, RQIs are also expected to work one overnight shift every month. In addition to the time spent in the ED, students are invited to attend lectures on selected topics in Emergency Medicine and research methodology.
The Research & Quality Improvement Program began in 2000 with a group of ten undergraduate and medical students who were recruited to help collect data for headache, procedural sedation, overdose, and economic hardship studies. Today, the program has grown to a group of 50-70 students who gather data on several studies ranging from emergency airway management to shock to procedural sedation. Many past participants have cited the program as a pivotal experience when applying to medical school and EM residency programs. Former RQIs commonly attend medical school, and a number have grown to become Hennepin faculty or residents in the ED.
To learn more about the Hennepin County Medical Center's Emergency Research & Quality Improvement Program, view our website here.
Key Researcher
Michael Puskarich, MD, MSCR
Division Lead
Dr. Puskarich graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Puskarich completed residency and a clinical research fellowship at Carolinas Medical Center. His research focuses on early diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of shock, with an emphasis on life-threatening infections and sepsis.
Key Researcher
Brian Driver, MD
Director of Clinical Research
Dr. Driver is the Director of Clinical Research, graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and completed a combined residency in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, and is board-certified in both specialties. His main research focus is improving the safety and efficiency of all aspects of emergency airway management, and he also conducts many research projects studying the general practice of emergency medicine.
Key Researcher
Johanna Moore, MD, MSc
Director of Laboratory Research
Dr. Moore graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical. She self-designed a clinical research fellowship in Emergency Medicine, where she worked on clinical research projects in the Emergency Department and also completed coursework for a master’s degree in clinical research through the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include emergency airway management and management of patients in undifferentiated shock.
Key Researcher
Matthew Prekker, MD
Dr. Prekker is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He cares for critically ill patients at Hennepin Healthcare in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Emergency Medicine.
In this role, he directs the Extracorporeal Life Support Program at Hennepin County Medical Center. He’s board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine. He attended the University of Minnesota Medical School for his Doctorate of Medicine (MD) and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health for his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, then completed the combined Emergency and Internal Medicine residency at Hennepin followed by a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) fellowship at the University of Washington-Seattle.
Key Researcher
Sarah Knack, MD, MS
Dr. Knack graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine and completed her emergency medicine residency at Hennepin Healthcare. She then pursued fellowship training in clinical research at Hennepin, earning a master’s degree in clinical research from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Knack’s research focuses on the acute management of trauma and traumatic brain injury in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Translational Center for Resuscitative Trauma and as a site investigator for several multi-center trauma trials.
Key Researcher
James Miner, MD, FACEP, HCMC
Chief of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Miner earned his Medical Degree from Mayo Medical School. He is also a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and is an Associate Editor of Academic Emergency Medicine. His research objective is two-part: improve the safety with which pain medication is administered and explore the common factors that cause disparities in how pain medication is administered.