Duluth Leadership

Bio

Dr. Regal was named the Co-Interim Regional Campus Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus. She became active in this role on April 19, 2021 through Summer 2022.

Research Summary

The overall goals of my research program involve understanding basic immune mechanisms of cardiopulmonary disease. I have a long-standing interest in the complement system as a mediator of adverse events in disease states such as anaphylaxis, asthma and most currently pregnancy-induced hypertension. These interests have also involved defining mechanisms of pulmonary immunotoxicity of small molecule workplace allergens such as trimellitic anhydride. My research approach involves experimentation at the molecular, biochemical and physiological levels using animal models of disease. Current research projects include:

Pregnancy-induced Hypertension Preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy affect ~10% of all pregnancies in the United States, significantly impacting the health of both mother and child. The initiating event of preeclampsia involves impaired blood flow to the placenta and the end result for the mother is high blood pressure and protein in the urine, along with growth restriction in the fetus. During pregnancy, the immune system including the plasma complement system, is tightly regulated to allow fetal survival. In women with preeclampsia the complement system is excessively activated, and our long-term goal is to determine the therapeutic utility of manipulating the complement system to prevent preeclampsia or minimize consequences for the mother and child. We hypothesized that complement system activation and white blood cell recruitment lead to hypertension in the mother and growth restriction in the fetus. Thus, we are manipulating the complement system and white blood cell function in a model of placental ischemia induced high blood pressure to determine the critical mechanisms responsible for the pregnancy complications. Our most recent studies are defining the role of natural antibody and the B lymphocyte in initiating complement activation in vivo, and assessing the importance of endogenous complement regulators in limiting the activation.

Dr. Regal's lab is currently funded through the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of NIH and the American heart Association. 
 

Professional Associations

• Director, AHC Women's Mentoring Program
• Director, AHC Duluth Research Seminar Series
• Editorial Board, Hypertension
• Editorial Board, Toxicological Sciences
• Associate Editor, Journal of Immunotoxicology
• Fellow, Academy of Toxicological Sciences

Teaching Summary

Chemotherapy of Infection; Anti-inflammatory Drugs; Drugs for Pulmonary Disorders
Mentoring/Advising: undergraduates, graduate & post-doctoral fellows
 

Bio

As Department head, Dr. Nalin's responsibilities include oversight of the research, outreach and clinical teaching activities for faculty and students that align with the departmental goals towards enhancing the broader mission of the Medical School, Duluth Campus, focused on training the next generation of rural and American Indian physicians.Dr. Nalin was named the Co-Interim Regional Campus Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus. He became active in this role on April 19, 2021.

Bio

Dr. Mary Owen is a member of the Tlingit nation. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School and North Memorial Family Practice Residency Program before returning home to work for her tribal community in Juneau, Alaska. After eleven years of full-scope family medicine, she returned to the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth in 2014, as the Director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH). Her work includes: developing and managing programs to increase the numbers of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students entering medical careers, outreaching to local and national Native leaders to ensure University of Minnesota Medical School remain in tune with AIAN health care and education needs, developing an AIAN track for all students interested in providing healthcare to AIAN communities and developing research efforts to address AIAN health disparities. She continues to provide clinical care at the Center of American Indian Resources in Duluth and is the current President of the Association of American Indian Physicians.

Bio

Kristen Jacklin, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health as well as the Associate Director of the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team – Health Equity (MK-MDT) at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus.  Dr. Jacklin is a medical anthropologist with an extensive background in community-based Indigenous health research and health equity. Her research focuses on chronic disease care for Indigenous peoples, including investigations concerning aging; cognitive health and dementia; diabetes; and Indigenous health/medical education. Dr. Jacklin leads the Indigenous Cultural Understandings of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias – Research and Exchange (I-CARE) program of research which pairs community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches with Indigenous methodologies to address dementia disparities in Indigenous populations. She also co-leads with Dr. Wayne Warry, the Center for Community Engaged Rural Dementia and Alzheimer’s Research (CERDAR). CERDAR uses CBPR approaches to engage rural participants in projects concerning the prevention, diagnosis and care for people with dementia in rural communities. Dr. Jacklin is the founder of the International Indigenous Dementia Research Network and the Indigenous Cognition Awareness and Aging Awareness Research Exchange (I-CAARE.ca).

Bio

Dr. al'Absi is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, and directs the Duluth Global Health Research Institute. He holds the Max E. and Mary LaDue Pickworth Chair. Al'Absi has been honored with several awards, including the ABMR Neal E. Miller Award and American Psychosomatic Society Herbert Weiner Early Career Award. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences; has served in leadership positions within several scientific organizations and on several NIH panels; and is associate editor for Psychophysiology and on the editorial board of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Clinical Summary

Psychobiology of stress; pain; addiction

Research Summary

1) Endocrinology: Investigating the role of pituitary hormones as immunomodulators and regulators of development.

2) Lyme disease: Characterizing the entrance of Borrelia burgdorferi into macrophage by non-opsonic mechanisms.

3) Development of active learn tools to teach biomedical concepts

Teaching Summary

Membrane Biology 
Receptor Biology
Immunology

Mentoring/Advising: undergraduate & graduate students

Courses Taught

Biochemistry Laboratory, Chem 5361
Immunobiology, MicB 5545
Immunopathology, MicB 5546
Molecular Pathogenesis, MicB 5555
Advanced Immunology and Immunobiology, MicB 8554
Evolution of Host Defenses, IBS 8980
Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, IBS 8102
The Biological Practitioner, IBS 8099
Medical School Immunology, MED 6541, MED 6520, MED 6724
Problem Based Learning Facilitator, Neuromedicine and IHO, MED 6566/6728

Service Summary

Lyme Disease Support; St. Luke’s Hospital
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Toastmasters International

Bio

Raymond Christensen, MD, has practiced family medicine for approximately 40 years, making it his personal mission to provide rural communities with access to high quality health care. He serves as associate dean for rural health at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus, and associate director of the Rural Physician Associate Program. He also advises the Family Medicine Interest Group on the Duluth campus.

Bio

Catherine A. McCarty, PhD, MPH, RD, was born and raised in Duluth, MN. She received her B.S. and MPH degrees in nutrition from the University of Minnesota and her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. She recently completed a master’s degree in bioethics with an emphasis in clinical ethics at Clarkson University. After completing her PhD, she was the Head of the Epidemiology Research Unit in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne, Australia for eight years. During that time, she directed a population-based study of eye disease in Victoria, Australia and collaborated on similar projects in Hyderabad and Chennai, India and on Hong Kong. Dr. McCarty returned to the US in 2001 as a Senior Research Scientist at Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation where she was the Principal Investigator for the Personalized Medicine Research Project, a population-based biobank with more than 20,000 adult participants and 20 active research projects.  She was the Director of the Research Division at Essentia Institute of Rural Health prior to taking up the position of Associate Dean for Research at the Medical School, Duluth campus, in February 2017.  Dr. McCarty's awards include the Gwen Sebold research award at Marshfield Clinic, Alumni of the Year from her undergraduate college at the University of Minnesota and Silver and Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She has published more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts, earned more than $12 million in research grants, been invited to give many scientific talks, and mentored many students. She leads community engagement efforts for a PCORI-funded research network and has active research projects in the areas of trauma, genetic epidemiology and pharmacogenetics. Dr. McCarty is a member of two clinical ethics committees at Essentia Health and teaches medical ethics.

Bio

Dr. Michaels is working with colleagues in the US and Canada to examine how medical schools assess humanistic traits in their applicants. She also has an interest in promoting wellbeing in medical students and developing resources for mental health services and addressing food insecurities.

Teaching Summary

Lecturer in the Neurological Medicine Course; Lab instructor for Human Anatomy sessions.
Mentoring/Advising: All medical students on campus; several undergraduates preparing for professional school and early career faculty at our school. 

Research Summary

Dr. Nordgren's research interest focuses on development of innovative educational methods and resources for health professions education. In particular, her work emphasizes the importance of active learning strategies and builds on the framework of Guided Discovery Learning.

Research Summary

The brain depends upon a supply of blood-borne nutrients to maintain its physiological function. A hallmark characteristic of the brain vasculature is an endothelium with tight occluding junctions at positions of cell-cell contact. This absence of spaces between cells prevents bulk diffusion of plasma components into the surrounding tissue. The net result of this "blood-brain barrier" is that influx and efflux of metabolic substrates and nutrients (including glucose, amino acids, and nucleosides) across the brain vasculature must occur via transport systems located in the luminal and abluminal plasma membranes of the endothelial cell. For example, glucose is the primary substrate for brain metabolism and is transported into cells via specific membrane carriers. Under normal glycemic conditions, GLUT1 and GLUT3 are the known members of the glucose transporter family responsible for carrying glucose from the blood and into the cells of the brain. This includes transport across both the luminal and abluminal sides of the endothelial cell and the plasma membranes of the neuronal and glial cells. Although recent studies have greatly expanded our knowledge about glucose transporters in several tissues, much less is currently known about these integral membrane proteins in the brain or how they are regulated in response to pathophysiological conditions. The long-term goals of my research are to characterize the molecular process by which nutrients are transported through the cells comprising the blood-brain barrier (endothelial cells) and the blood-CSF barrier (epithelial cells of the choroid plexus). These goals include an understanding of the molecular identity of the transporters, the membrane sites where transporters are located, the kinetic characteristics of substrate and inhibitor specificity, and, in the future, the mechanisms regulating trans porter activity and expression. Research describing the molecular events of blood-brain transport may be valuable in understanding neurological dysfunctions associated with stroke, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic encephalopathies. Indeed, it could lead to treatment s for minimizing these dysfunctions or for designing therapeutic strategies.

Research Summary

The focus of our molecular parasitology laboratory is trypanosomes. Species of these vector-borne protozoan parasites cause World Health Organization-designated Neglected Tropical Diseases that are endemic to poor, rural populations and for which new drug targets are urgently needed. The laboratory studies aspects of their metabolism and mitochondrial gene expression, looking not only for vulnerabilities that may serve as new drug targets but also at processes that can inform our fundamental understanding of eukaryotic evolution.