As of June 1, the Medical Discovery Team (MDT) on Rural and American Indian Health Equity (Memory Keepers) in Duluth is being led by Dr. Kristen Jacklin. Dr. Jacklin replaced Dr. J. Neil Henderson, the founding director who retired in May. Dr. Henderson created the vision and recruited the outstanding team for this MDT. 

A leader, researcher, and advocate with two decades of experience in the area of Indigenous health equity, Dr. Jacklin was recruited to Memory Keepers as associate director in 2017. Her expertise as a medical anthropologist centers around age-related dementias and diabetes in Indigenous populations. She leads the recently renewed NIH research grant, “Indigenous Cultural Understandings of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias - Research and Engagement (I-CARE)” and is the founder of the International Indigenous Dementia Research Network and the Indigenous Cognition Awareness and Aging Awareness Research Exchange.

Her extensive work in these areas, and her deep commitment to improving the health and lives of American Indian and rural Minnesotans, make her an excellent and exciting fit to head the MDT.