Faculty & Staff

Bio

Ryan Harden, MD, MS, joined the faculty in 2015 and currently serves as course director for Community Clinical Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus. Dr. Harden has a clinical practice at Gateway Clinic in Sandstone, Minn., where he serves as Medical Director, including a hospital practice at Essentia Health Moose Lake, Minn.Dr. Harden also teaches Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Medical Genetics, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics to students preparing for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). He has given lectures all over the world, including Debrecen, Hungary, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, St. George's University, Grenada and Toronto, Canada. He has also been a guest lecturer with the Montana State University WWAMI program and he has delivered CME lectures on the Ethics of Genetic Testing. He has been a panelist and host for WDSE-TV's(PBS North) television program "Doctors On Call.", Dr. Harden has been involved in community programs to prevent and treat prescription drug abuse. He has also worked closely with pharmacists to improve patient compliance with prescription medicines. Dr. Harden enjoys spending his free time with his family. His recreational interests include fly fishing, cross-country skiing, marathon running, motorcycling, scuba diving, waterskiing  and ice hockey.

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).

Research Summary

Over the past decade, my research agenda has significantly contributed to the field with discussions on culture-specific approaches to successful aging in two specific areas. First, my work established a culturally congruent Alaska Native (AN) perspective and understanding of AN successful aging and led to a theory of AN healthy aging (Lewis, 2011). My novel research stands in contrast and steers away from the ethnocentric definition and concepts currently found in mainstream gerontology literature. The most common definitions of successful aging focus on the lack of disease and disability and healthy mental well-being; it is based on assumptions that effects of aging are tied to disease. My research challenges these definitions of successful aging and reconstructs AN aging using a strengths-based, non-medical, systems approach perspective. Through Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), my work to define AN successful aging gives voice to Elders, enabling them to define their own aging processes, while contributing to concepts of Indigenous health and aging. For example, my previous work with AN Elders identified one key characteristic of successful aging to be a willingness and desire to pass down their wisdom and experiences to ensure a healthy future for younger community members. I coined the term Indigenous cultural generativity, which is further detailed below. My research in this area has resulted in book chapters, peer-reviewed publications and professional presentations highlighting how this concept can be used to address health disparities in tribal communities. My Indigenous theoretical and methodological perspectives align with the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team (MK-MDT) mandate and approach to preserve brain health by collaborative, community-based research.Over the past three years, my research agenda has expanded to include Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) among AN Elders. I explored the cultural understandings and constructions of ADRD, identified barriers to timely care, and assisted communities in developing culturally appropriate programming both from the perspectives of the Elders and their family caregivers (Lewis, Noonan, Jernigan, & Manson, in press). Qualitative data illustrates that AN communities and families view and understand ADRD from a non-medical, western biomedical model of health and illness. Through community-based work with tribal communities, I have identified barriers to proper assessment and diagnoses of ADRD. These include limited knowledge and lack of training of health care providers, including their understandings of ADRD from a cultural lens. As a community psychologist, I am trained to work with communities to develop culturally relevant programs and services to improve the health and wellbeing of community members across the lifespan. I learned of increased concern of ADRD among Elders and without caregiver education and resources, a timely diagnosis and proper care is delayed until advanced stages of the disease. The lack of a cultural understanding and explanatory model of Indigenous dementia creates barriers and misunderstanding by health care providers and families, delaying diagnoses and treatments.The next step in my research is to address this gap in knowledge and partner with caregivers and their loved ones to conduct a qualitative study to explore cultural understandings of ADRD in Indigenous communities to develop caregiver training and education. Stories illustrate that AN communities and families view and understand ADRD from a non-medical, western biomedical model of health and illness. My scholarly contributions include the development of a model of AN successful aging, the theory of AN healthy aging, the concept of Indigenous cultural generativity, and cultural understandings and construction of ADRD among AN caregivers. In addition to producing a model of AN successful aging, my research has developed an important model of Indigenous cultural generativity (Lewis & Allen, 2017). My research has identified indigenous cultural generativity as a critical source of meaning and identity. Cultural generativity is a crucial ingredient to healthy aging, a resilience resource, and an important tool for AN Elders. My work on Indigenous cultural generativity is nuanced and detailed and has important implications for the wellbeing of Alaska Native and American Indians, including those with ADRD, their caregivers, and family and community members. This model has the potential to guide significant future research in the area of Indigenous health and dementia, with generalizability to aging theory among all marginalized groups.

Bio

Catherine A. McCarty was born and raised in Duluth, MN. She received her B.S. and MPH degrees in nutrition from the University of Minnesota and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed a master’s degree in bioethics with an emphasis in clinical ethics at Clarkson University and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. After completing her Ph.D., 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 in Hong Kong. Professor 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. Professor McCarty's awards include the Gwen Sebold research award at Marshfield Clinic, the Distinguished Alumni Award from her undergraduate college at the University of Minnesota, the Center for Women In Medicine and Science Leadership Award for Advancing Gender Equity and Inclusion in Medicine and Science Fields, and Silver and Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She has published more than 450 peer-reviewed manuscripts, earned more than $16 million in research grants, been invited to give many scientific talks, and mentored many students.

Research Summary

Professor McCarty started her research career as the Head of the Epidemiology Research Unit at the University of Melbourne. During her eight years in this position, she led population-based studies of vision impairment in Australia, India, and Hong Kong. Upon returning to the US, Professor McCarty was the Principal Investigator for the Marshfield Clinic Personalized Medicine Research Project and conducted research in the areas of genetic epidemiology, pharmacogenetics, and community engagement related to biobanking. Professor McCarty currently conducts mixed-methods research in bioethics and rural health.

Teaching Summary

Professor McCarty is the Co-Lead for the Public Health thread in the new curriculum. She teaches epidemiology, biostatistics, and bioethics to first- and second-year medical students.

Clinical Summary

Dr. McCarty is a certified healthcare ethicist and a Essentia Health Duluth ethics committee member.

Bio

Dr. Nalin’s leadership roles for the University of Minnesota Medical School are the following: Professor with tenure and Department Head (Chair) of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, and Associate Dean for Rural Medicine. From 2001-2019 at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Nalin served in several executive, academic, and hospital leadership roles.  Initially recruited to Indiana as residency program director, Dr. Nalin advanced to Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, during which IUSM earned full accreditation with commendation from the ACGME. Then, as Executive Associate Dean for Educational Affairs with a responsibility portfolio budgeted at $80 Million dollars, Dr. Nalin led IU School of Medicine’s reaccreditation as its faculty accreditation leader while also leading the expansion of its system of eight regional medical campuses from two-year to four-year campuses, increasing IUSM’s medical school enrollment by 30% from 1,120 to 1,456 medical students. Dr. Nalin has fulfilled a diverse array of leadership roles, including VP of Medical Affairs and Interim CEO of the Riggs Community Health Center (FQHC), leading a multidisciplinary medical staff including FM, IM, Peds, Ob-Gyn, and Dentistry. Dr. Nalin also served as Interim Chair of the Radiation Oncology department at IUSM.

Dr. Nalin has earned the following educational degrees: a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, a Doctor of Medicine from the Larner College of Medicine of the University of Vermont, and an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Among Dr. Nalin’s awards and recognitions are a Top Doctor award and an Indiana Academy of Family Physicians award. With colleagues on the MBA Class gift committee, Dr. Nalin shared in the Spirit of Philanthropy Award from IUPUI for his MBA program’s record-breaking Class Gift. Dr. Nalin served as a governor-appointed member of the Indiana Medical Education Board, supporting family medicine residency programs and the Indiana Graduate Medical Education Board for the expansion of residency programs.

Nationally, Dr. Nalin has served as the elected President of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors and co-leader of the AAMC GRA GME Leadership Course for GME-designated institutional officials and executive directors. At present, Dr. Nalin serves on the Steering Committee of the AAMC Group on Regional Medical Campuses and has been appointed to a three-year term on the AAMC Student Surveys Advisory Committee. Dr. Nalin’s clinical care and leadership experiences span rural, urban, and suburban practices and institutions. Dr. Nalin is board-certified in family medicine and completed residency at the Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania. From the American Association of Physician Leadership, Dr. Nalin earned the certification as a Certified Physician Executive CPE. As a faculty physician executive, Dr. Nalin has enjoyed contributing to the vision and design of medical and educational facilities. Dr. Nalin enjoys teamwork and mentoring in education, research, clinical care, stewardship, and the business of medicine., and serves as a faculty advisor to medical student interest groups. Dr. Nalin enjoys music, sports, arts, the outdoors, and sailing.