Why Research Matters to Me
Research Highlights
ADDICTION & BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
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 in Providence, Rhode Island. It is indeed a small world after all.
BRAIN HEALTH
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 highlighted practical strategies for prevention and early detection of stroke and dementia, with a strong focus on managing cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, physical activity, and sleep.
CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
February is American Heart Month, the time to raise awareness about the leading cause of death across all genders, races, and ethnicities – heart disease.
Learn about some of the cardiac-related research being done at HHRI.
Since 1982, Fred Apple, PhD, DABCC, has served in a number of roles at the Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) and Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI), including Medical Director of the Clinical Laboratories, Clinical Chemistry, Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, and Point of Care Testing (POCT) at HHS and as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified Cardiac Biomarkers Trials Laboratory (CBTL) at HHRI. He is also a Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota.
EMERGENCY RESEARCH
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 the winter months. However, with the help of internationally recognized researcher Rachel Nygaard, PhD, who specializes in frostbite, burn, and violent injury prevention, she hopes to mitigate the severity of frostbite seen in Hennepin Healthcare’s patients.
The hyperbaric chamber is a pressurized room where patients undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves exposing high concentrations of oxygen to your blood and tissues to treat infections, tissue injuries, poisoning, and other medical conditions.
GERIATRIC MEDICINE
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 Outcomes and Clinical Research
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.
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 the ALSOP study, researchers found that always listening to music, compared with never, rarely, or sometimes listening to music after the age of 70, was associated with a 39 percent reduction in dementia risk and a lower risk of memory loss. The study included more than 10,800 older adults.
INFECTIOUS 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 laboratory.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
The new HHRI Mission is:
Transforming health and healthcare for all through ethical research and meaningful community partnerships.
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.
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES (TBIs)
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 and bleeding, with families in waiting rooms who haven't yet absorbed what is happening.
In the blink of an eye, 24-year-old Evan Faucett’s world turned upside down during a motocross competition when his bike landed without him. That life-changing moment was over six years ago on July 9, 2018. It’s been a long road to recovery, but with the help of the Epidural Stimulation After Neurologic Damage (E-STAND) study implant and the Restorative Neurotrauma Lab (RNL) with Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) and Neurosurgeon, David Darrow, MD, PhD, at the helm, his quality of life has vastly improved.
WOMEN OF 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.
Investigator Spotlights
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 modeling, to simulating current and…
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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 kidney disease. Johansen’s path to…
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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 V. Baker, MD, MS. Dr.…
Read MoreEmergency Research Studies
Public notification of emergency research studies being conducted at Hennepin Healthcare