![patient with doctor at appointment](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/styles/header/public/images/patient-with-doctor-SBI-cropped_resized.jpg?itok=w-YABgp3)
Minnesota Primary Care Research Learning Network
Facilitating practice-based research and innovation guided by community, providers and staff, along with primary care stakeholders.
Minnesota Primary Care Research Learning Network (PCRLN) is a group of primary care clinicians and practices working together to answer community-based healthcare questions and translate research findings into practice. PCRLN harmonizes research, education, and clinical domains to ensure we are advancing evidence-based medicine in primary care practice while improving patient care and health outcomes.
The goals of the PCRLN are to:
- create a network of primary care clinics across the state promoting and conducting research that matters in daily practice and that is community-driven,
- provide an interface for implementation scientists and experts to support key projects and evaluations, including rapid response trials and recruitment into primary care studies,
- increase scholarly publications, and collaborations between clinicians, research faculty, and patients and community members, and
- implement learnings from research back into primary care faster than the typical research cycle.
This work is done with a community-based participatory approach to fostering a culture of curiosity by building relationships, creating trust and buy-in, building research capacity in physicians and staff, encouraging participation in projects as well as providing opportunities to opt-in to participate in research projects.
By embedding research into daily primary care practice, the PBRN opens opportunities for participation in all aspects of research to diverse and often underserved populations.
About Us
Team Members
![Headshot](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/images/ali-hamdi_pbrn_resize.jpg)
Hamdi Ali, MPH
Research Facilitator / Mill City Clinic / Float
![Headshot](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/images/mary_earm_pbrn_resize.jpg)
Mary Earm, RN, MPH
Research Facilitator / Phalen Village Family Medicine Clinic
![Headshot](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/images/sherri_fong_pbrn_resize.jpg)
Sherri Fong, MPH
Research Facilitator / Bethesda Family Medicine Clinic
![Headshot](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/images/abdifatha_haji_pbrn_resize.jpg)
Abdifatah Haji, MBBS, MPH
Research Facilitator / Smiley’s Family Medicine Clinic
![Kirstin](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/images/kristin_boman_head_shot_150.jpg)
Kristin Boman, MPH
Manager
![Mary Anne](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/images/powell_mary_anne_web.png)
Mary Anne Powell, MPH
Research Facilitator / Broadway Family Medicine Clinic
Patient Partners - Coming soon!
Opportunities to Engage with PCRLN
The following are the roles that clinic employees (e.g. providers as well as staff) can take within the PCRLN.
- Awareness: stay informed about the network as well as ongoing projects
- Recruitment Assistance: let people know of opportunities to be involved with research; for projects, studies, data collection, etc.
- Percolator/Idea Generator: brainstorm new project ideas; space to talk about what is being seen in clinic, how providers are doing
- Collaborator: contribute expertise to projects, interrupt data, and/or draft and review manuscripts; could build experience or skills in areas
- Co-investigator: involved in projects’ scientific development
- Research Champion: lead projects, advocate for research, and encourage discussion
- Lead/Principal Investigator: make decisions on study design, manage conflicts on the team, direct manuscript and product development
- Disseminator: share about works in progress and results of completed projects; take work to clinicians
There are other opportunities for patients and community members to engage, including setting research priorities and collaborating at each step in the research process. Please email PCRLN@umn.edu if you are interested in partnering with us.
PCRLN Request
Use this link if you are interested in partnering with the PCRLN to expand your recruitment or initiate a project.
Contact us
To connect with a PCRLN team member, please contact PCRLN@umn.edu.
Additional PBRN Information
![Practice Care Research Learning Network](/sites/med.umn.edu/files/styles/site_width/public/images/primary_care_research_logotype_maroon_0.png?itok=wwxcYw5F)