MN-LHS Program Welcomes 2026-2027 Cohort of Scholars
The Minnesota Learning Health System Embedded Scientist Training (MN-LHS) Program recently welcomed a new cohort of scholars for the 2026-2027 cycle.
Selected from a competitive application cycle, these six new scholars represent a range of health systems and research interests.
Rebecca Brown, PhD, MEd, RN
Dr. Brown is a nurse investigator, core investigator for the Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research (CCDOR), and principal investigator for Rehabilitation & Engineering Center for Optimizing Veteran Engagement & Reintegration (RECOVER) at the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System. Additionally, she is an adjunct clinical professor with the School of Nursing. Dr. Brown will conduct an environmental scan to understand use of supervised exercise therapy (SET), an effective but underutilized treatment for Peripheral Artery Disease, as well as patient and facility characteristics associated with SET use and outcomes. Using mixed-methods design, she will assess staff, clinician, Veteran, leadership, and system-level factors associated with SET use and program implementation.
Gretchen Buchanan, PhD, LMFT, LADC
Dr. Buchanan is a senior researcher for the RedLeaf Center for Family Healing and Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute and an assistant professor for the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Her MN-LHS project will address the large number of women who suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum without receiving adequate care and treatment by healthcare professionals. Dr. Buchanan is focused on developing both the terminology and a natural language processing algorithm to identify people who may be experiencing perinatal mental health conditions in the EHR with the goal of improving access to care for mothers of diverse backgrounds.
Beth DeRonne, PharmD
Dr. DeRonne is a clinical pharmacy specialist and core investigator for Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research (CCDOR) at the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System. Her project aims to understand the current use of pharmacist collaborative management (PCM) for pain management and opioids within the VA, focusing on identification of barriers and facilitators to use of this care model. A pilot study will then be conducted to evaluate feasibility and acceptability of PCM sustainment to inform development of an implementation playbook, supporting spread of the practice model.
Kate Miley, PhD, CNP, PMHNP-BC
Dr. Miley is an assistant research investigator for HealthPartners Institute and adjunct assistant professor for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her MN-LHS project will focus on identifying clinical risk markers of bipolar disorder and informing the development of tools for early detection of bipolar disorder from health system data.
Paige Nong, PhD
Dr. Nong is an assistant professor within the School of Public Health’s Division of Health Policy & Management whose work focuses on optimizing the governance and use of patient-centered digital technologies across the US healthcare system. Her MN-LHS project will focus on developing strategies to build AI capabilities across care delivery organizations.
Laura Palombi, PharmD, MPH, MAT
Dr. Palombi is a licensed pharmacist and a community-engaged researcher at the Essentia Institute for Rural Health in Duluth, MN. Her clinical and research focus is community-engaged rural public health initiatives to reduce substance use. Dr. Palombi’s MN-LHS project will take an Implementation Science approach to expanding access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) for patients who obtain their healthcare at Essentia sites in MN, ND, and WI.
