Meet Our Faculty

Bio

The overarching goal of Dr. Kroupina's combined research-clinical program is to design a research-based clinic for young children with a history of early adversity and toxic stress, including those with histories of institutional care, multiple foster placements and early emotional trauma. The Birth to Three Clinic and Early Childhood Mental Health Program focuses on early identification of high-risk children in order to prevent long-term negative mental health and neurodevelopmental outcomes by providing early intervention. It is led by Dr. Kroupina and funded by the Masonic gift fund.

Research Summary

Currently funded research includes several NIH-funded studies: one on the effect of acute vs. delayed iron therapy in severe malaria on anemia, iron status, and neurobehavioral development in Ugandan children (PI: Chandy John, M.D.) and an investigation of red blood cell iron incorporation in severe malaria.
The impact of early advisory on child's neurodevelopment and mental health.

Clinical Summary

Mental Health; Early Mental Health

Bio

Dr. Kucher received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University. He completed his pediatric residency training at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and subspecialty training in pediatric critical care at the University of Minnesota. He completed additional training in pediatric cardiac critical care at The Hospital for Sick Children before returning to join the faculty of the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Kucher's research interests include simulation and its application in multidisciplinary training and debriefing strategies.

Research Summary

Cardiac Intensive Care, Quality improvement initiatives 

Bio

Alicia Kunin-Batson, PhD, LP is an Associate Professor and licensed psychologist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She received her doctoral degree from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science (Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School) and completed internship and postdoctoral training in pediatric psychology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She subsequently completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota, Department of Pediatrics. Her research program focuses on neurocognitive and psychosocial influences on health and health behaviors, and the biological and behavioral mechanisms linking early stressful life experiences to future health risks. She has served as PI or co-I on NIH grants (NIDDK, NICHD, NHLBI, NCI NCCIH). Her clinical interests include neuropsychological evaluations of children with chronic health conditions, specifically brain tumor, pediatric solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and anemias. She is co-chair of the Neuropsychological and Psychosocial Complications, Late Effects Guidelines Taskforce of the Children’s Oncology Group. She is the Associate Director of Research within the Division of Clinical Behavioral Neurosciences and Section Head of the Pediatric Neuropsychology Program.

Clinical Summary

Dr. Kunin-Batson is involved in the following clinics:

• Outpatient pediatric neuropsychology clinic, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Comprehensive Consultative Clinic

Bio

Dr. Kyba is a Professor of Pediatrics and Carrie Ramey / CCRF Endowed Professor in Pediatric Cancer Research in the Department of Pediatrics' Division of Blood and Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy. He is also an Endowed Scholar of the Lillehei Heart Institute, and an affiliate member of the Stem Cell Institute.
Dr. Kyba received his PhD degree from the University of British Columbia in 1998, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in stem cell biology at the Whitehead Institute at MIT, Cambridge, MA in 2003. From 2003-2008, he was Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX. He joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in July 2008.
Dr. Kyba has published over 100 research manuscripts in scientific journals, including: Cell, Science, and Nature Medicine.

Research Summary

Dr. Kyba's research laboratory focuses on regulation of tissue-specific stem cells (hematopoietic and skeletal muscle) with a view towards ex-vivo expansion and therapeutic transplantation, as well as the derivation of tissue-specific stem cells from embryonic or iPS cells. He is also developing methods of performing BMT without irradiation or chemical conditioning. He has performed seminal experiments establishing the proof of principle for hematopoietic stem cell repopulation using embryonic stem cells and maintains an active program in the development of gene-targeting / genetic correction / cell therapy models.

Deriving therapeutic hematopoietic stem cells from embryonic stem cells.

ES cells are totipotent and capable of recapitulating all of the developmental events of embryogenesis. They are therefore theoretically the ideal source of cells for regenerative therapies. However, turning theory into practice is not straightforward, and very few successful models of such therapy exist. We have developed one successful model, based on regulated expression of members of the Hox family of transcription factors. Current work is focused on understanding how Hox genes regulate hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and identifying regulatory circuits under Hox control.

Skeletal muscle stem cells and FSH muscular dystrophy

Certain degenerative diseases may be the result of ineffective self-renewal or differentiation of lineage specific stem cells. We are particularly interested in Fascioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD), a dominant dystrophy associated with a contraction of 4q subtelomeric repeats. Although the condition is almost certainly caused by derepression of a gene in the vicinity of 4q, the protein products of candidate genes in this area can not be detected overexpressed in patient muscle samples. Because muscle stem cells (satellite cells) are rare, proteins overexpressed specifically in satellite cells are unlikely to be identified in patient biopsies. We are testing the hypothesis that a Hox gene embedded within the 4q repeats, DUX4, causes FSHD when derepressed in muscle satellite cells.

Stem cell biology

Our long-term goal is to understand the pathways that control self-renewal vs differentiation of stem cells and to use this knowledge to understand degenerative diseases and to design and improve cell therapies. Our work is interdisciplinary, spanning iPS cell-based and animal models involving transplantation and tracking of somatic stem cells, vector development, CRISPR and TALEN-mediated genome editing, and cell-based screening and medicinal chemistry.

Bio

David Largaespada, PhD, is a full professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development and the Associate Director for Basic Research in the Masonic Cancer Center at University of Minnesota. He is an authority on mouse genetics, gene modification, and cancer genes. He received his BS in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 1987 and his PhD in Molecular Biology with Dr. Rex Risser at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992. He did a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute working with world-renowned geneticists Dr. Nancy Jenkins and Dr. Neal Copeland, where the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America awarded him a post-doctoral fellowship. He joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in late 1996. Dr. Largaespada currently holds the Hedberg Family/Children's Cancer Research Fund Chair in Brain Tumor Research. He was awarded the American Cancer Society Research Professor Award in 2013, the highest award given by the ACS.

Research Summary

Cancer genetics, Neurofibromatosis type 1 (Nf1), RAS signaling, insertional mutagenesis, pediatric cancer, brain tumors, osteosarcoma, transposons, Sleeping Beauty

Dr. Largaespada's laboratory is working to exploit insertional mutagenesis, and other functional genomics methods (e.g. CRISPR/Cas9) to identify and understand genes and pathways that govern cancer cell behavior. The Largaespada lab pioneered the use of a vertebrate-active transposon system, called Sleeping Beauty (SB), for insertional mutagenesis in mouse somatic cells. SB is being used as a tool for forward genetic screens for cancer genes involved in sarcoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and mammary, gastro-intestinal tract and NF1 syndrome-associated nervous system cancers. A special emphasis of this work is on genes that promote metastasis or govern treatment sensitivity. Also, novel mouse models are being used for preclinical evaluation of new drugs and drug combinations for cancer treatment.

The identity of the mutations and other changes that drive the development of cancer must be determined for developing molecularly targeted therapeutics. Studies on human cancer exon re-sequencing suggest that a large number of mutations are present in breast and colorectal tumors (Sjoblom et al., Science, 2006). But, the identification of those changes that are selected for is going to be difficult because the number of "passenger" alterations not selected for during tumorigenesis is very large. The human cancer genome project promises to help reveal the typical landscape of genomic changes in human cancer, but must be supplemented with complementary large-scale approaches for functional validation of targets and genetic screens that can identify cancer gene candidates. The Largaespada lab has developed approaches, using the SB transposon system, which can meet these needs. They have shown that SB transposon vectors can be mobilized in the soma of transgenic mice allowing forward genetic screens for cancer genes involved in sarcoma and lymphoma/leukemia to be performed in living mice (Collier et al., Nature, 2005; Dupuy et al., Nature, 2005). The system requires creating mice that harbor both a transposon array of the insertionally mutagenic SB vector, T2/Onc, and express the transposase enzyme in the target somatic tissue. If transposition can induce cancer, then tumor DNA is studied by cloning insertion sites. These insertion sites are analyzed and one looks for T2/Onc insertions at reproducibly mutated genes, called common insertion sites (CIS). The system has now been altered so that tissue-specific transposon mutagenesis for cancer gene discovery in various organs can be accomplished. In one illustrative project mice harboring mutagenic (SB) transposons were crossed to mice expressing SB transposase in gastrointestinal tract epithelium (Starr et al., Science, 2009). All mice developed intestinal lesions including intraepithelial neoplasia, adenomas, and adenocarcinomas. Analysis of over 95,000 transposon insertions from these tumors identified 77 candidate gastrointestinal tract cancer genes. These genes were then compared to those mutated in human cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC), or amplified, deleted or misexpressed in CRC, which allowed us to generate an 18 gene list that is highly likely to contain driver mutations for CRC. These genes include many of the most commonly known genes mutated in human CRC, such as APC, BMPR1A, SMAD4 PTEN, FBXW7, DCC, MCC, in addition to several novel CRC candidate genes that function in pathways widely expected to participate in CRC such as the proliferation, adhesiveness and motility of epithelial cells. Similar work has revealed drivers for hepatocellular carcinoma development (Keng et al, Nature Biotech, 2009). These studies demonstrate the power of transposon-based mutagenesis when combined with human studies for identifying the driver mutations that cause cancer. Similar results are accumulating for hepatocellular carcinoma, brain tumors, sarcomas and several other types of cancer.

Dr. Largaespada is also using mouse models of murine leukemia virus induced acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to identify and characterize genes that have a role in leukemia progression after disease is initiated by mutations relevant to human AML. This work also includes genetic studies of myeloid leukemia chemotherapy resistance and relapse. AML is the most common adult leukemia. It is clear that genetically defined subsets of AML have varying prognoses. AML frequently harbor chromosomal translocations that create fusion oncoproteins that act as transcription factors or constitutively active kinases. These fusion genes are thought to be insufficient, by themselves, for AML induction. Instead, secondary mutations cooperate with them to produce AML. The full set of cooperating mutations and their usefulness as therapeutic targets are important unknown quantities. The lab is exploring these questions by using MuLV mutagenesis in mice carrying specific human translocation fusion oncogenes known to play a role in human AML. The lab has developed MuLV-accelerated models of AML initiated by expression of the MLL-AF9 and AML1-ETO fusion oncoproteins (Bergerson et al., In Preparation; Yin et al., In Preparation). We have cloned 4,731 unique proviral insertions from 89 MuLV accelerated Mll-AF9/+ leukemia and 79 control MuLV-induced leukemia. Preliminary analysis reveals ~90 common insertion sites with many showing strong bias for Mll-AF9+ leukemias. Comparisons to expression microarray data on human AML with MLL gene translocations are in progress. These data may help to distinguish between genes that are direct targets of MLL-AF9, those that are a cause of AML development and those that cooperate with MLL-AF9 to induce AML.

In another area of AML research, we have sought to address the role of the activated NRAS oncogene in AML maintenance. We therefore developed Vav-tTA (expressed in hematopoietic cells) and TRE-NRASG12V transgenic lines in FVB/n mice. Interestingly, the doubly transgenic Vav-tTA plus TRE-NRASG12V mice developed a myeloproliferative disease very similar to human aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM) without other detectable hematopoietic tumors (Wiesner et al., Blood, 2005). To determine the ability of NRASG12D to cooperate with a fusion oncogene encoding an altered transcription factor we created triple transgenic Vav-tTA; TRE-NRASG12V; Mll-AF9 lines in C57BL/6J X FVB/n F1 mice. AML were obtained in triple transgenic mice. When we transplanted triple transgenic Vav-tTA; TRE-NRASG12V; Mll-AF9 AML into SCID mice we found that doxycycline (DOX) treatment via the drinking water could prevent AML engraftment or eliminate AML cells after letting them grow to full-blown leukemia in recipients. However, at least some of these mice develop DOX-resistant AML, which do not re-express the NRASG12V (Kim et al., Blood, 2009). This suggests that RAS oncoproteins may be good therapeutic targets, even in complex tumors induced in cooperation with another strong oncogene. The mechanisms for oncogene addiction are not clearly understood. We are currently exploring the mechanism of AML cell death after NRAS oncogene suppression, the mechanism by which rare AML cells escape death in this context, and interactions between RAS targeted therapies and conventional chemotherapy.

Bio

Dr. Catherine Larson-Nath joined the University of Minnesota's Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition team in 2015. She completed her medical school, residency at the University of Minnesota where she also stayed on for an extra year as a chief resident. She then completed her fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at the Medical College of Wisconsin/Children's Hospital of Wisconsin before returning to the University of Minnesota.
At the University of Minnesota Dr. Larson-Nath started the multidisciplinary intestinal rehabilitation program which she currently leads. She also initiated and continues to run nutrition focused rounds in the Neonatal and Cardiac Intensive Care Units. In addition to these clinical programs Dr. Larson-Nath serves as the Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition fellowship program director. Dr. Larson-Nath's research interests include body composition assessment and nutritional management of children with chronic disease. She is interested in validation and optimization of bedside body composition tools and better understanding the relationship between nutritional provision, body composition and short and long term growth, developmental, and clinical outcomes.

Clinical Summary

Intestinal Rehabilitation; Short Bowel Syndrome; Nutritional Support; General Gastroenterology

Bio

Dr. Chimei Lee is pediatric neuropsychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University and completed her pre-doctoral psychology internship at the Henry Ford Health Sciences Center with a specific emphasis on pediatric neuropsychology. She completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota, where she also received specialized training in ASD and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Dr. Lee's research focuses on neurocognitive and behavioral development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related conditions. She is interested in how genetic and environmental variables affect risk and resilience in these populations. She is also involved in translational research for serving individuals with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders and their families with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
In her clinical work, Dr. Lee specializes in assessment and intervention for children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. She also conducts neuropsychological evaluations and consultations for children with complex medical conditions, genetic abnormality, as well as a variety of other neurodevelopmental and social-emotional challenges. Dr. Lee is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN), the International Neuropsychological Society (INS), the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), and the Minnesota Psychological Association (MPA).

Research Summary

Neurocognitive functioning and development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder); Autistic characteristics among individual with genetic abnormality

Clinical Summary

Pediatric neuropsychology; Rare genetic diseases of childhood; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Other Developmental Disabilities

Bio

Dr. Lessin was among the first cohort of specialists to be board certified in the specialty of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in 2002 after completing her fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota in 1997. Since that time, Dr. Lessin has practiced as a Pediatric Subspecialist in Child Development, Behavior and Learning with an emphasis on creating long standing relationships with patients and families; as well as on engaging families with diverse cultural backgrounds. As an experienced clinician with young children, school - aged children, teens and young adults, Dr. Lessin has contributed to the development of clinical models for the evaluation and management of neurodevelopmental disorders in a multidisciplinary team format. Current academic interests include Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders as well as Neuroplasticity and Resilience in response to trauma. Having trained in self - regulation strategies and mind - body medicine, Dr. Lessin uses a strength-based model to guide families and children with ADHD, Autism, Learning profile differences, Neurogenetic and Neurobehavioral disorders.

Bio

Dr. Lohr is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. She is a founding faculty member and clinician in The Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic. She received her MD from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Lohr completed a residency in Pediatrics and a Research Fellowship in Physiology and Pediatric Cardiology at Oregon Health Sciences University. She completed a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at the University Of Minnesota. Dr. Lohr joined the University Of Minnesota faculty in 1997. She is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, and Adult Congenital Heart Disease.

Research Summary

Dr. Lohr has a research background in cardiac development using model systems including human induced pluripotent stem cells to model heart development and congenital cardiac disorders; neural crest, second heart field and cardiac development; genetic factors which influence long term outcomes in congenital heart disease.

Dr. Lohr completed a Masters Degree in Public Affairs at the Humphrey Institute in 2023 and is interested in improving equity and diversity in science and medicine and advocacy for patients with congenital heart disease at all ages.

Clinical Summary

Adolescents and young adults with heart disease; Cardiac genetics; Congenital heart disease; Echocardiography; General pediatric cardiology

Bio

Dr. Ashley Loomis is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Loomis attended the University of Kansas where she received her bachelor's degree and MD degree. Dr. Loomis completed her pediatric residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, and her Critical Care Fellowship at UT Southwestern/Children's Medical Center of Dallas. She previously served as an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Critical Care at Albany Medical College in Albany, NY.

Clinical Summary

Congenital heart disease; Extracoporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); Resuscitation; Severe infections; Traumatic injurie

Bio

Jeff Louie, MD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Emergency Medicine and staff physician at M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital.

Research Summary

Quality control and safety; Introduction of new technology to the bedside; Improving education processes for nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians

Bio

Dr. Lund is interested in the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) primarily for patients with inherited metabolic disorders, like Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), Hurler syndrome (MPS-1H), Hunter syndrome, Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, and others. He studies the onset of disease, biomarkers of disease, mechanism of disease, and how HSCT improves the disease process. His work both in his research laboratory and with his patients has created many new approaches to treatment, which will ultimately make HSCT safer and more effective.
"Yes, we're saving lives. But that's not enough. I want to improve the quality of life for these kids, and that's where I'm focusing my energy."

Research Summary

Dr. Lund's research focuses improving the outcomes for all patients undergoing blood and marrow transplantation by increasing the speed at which hematopoietic stem cells reconstitute the immune system after transplant. He also works to increase our understanding the pathophysiological processes underlying inherited metabolic diseases. One area Dr. Lund is exploring is how an autoimmune reaction may trigger the cerebral form of adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD), the most serious form of ALD. This study represents the largest screening for immune-reactivity in cALD ever performed, and further research could help identify ALD patients with immune-reactivity prior to the onset of cALD.

Clinical Summary

Clinical Interests
Adrenoleukodystrophy; Bone marrow transplant; Hurler syndrome; Peripheral blood stem cell transplant; Umbilical cord blood transplant

Bio

Dr. Maalouli is a native of Beirut, Lebanon who graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada with a bachelor's degree in Neurobiology. He went on to study medicine at the American University of Beirut then completed his pediatric residency at the Mount Sinai – St. Lukes Medical Center in Manhattan, New York.

Post residency, he practiced pediatric primary care in Illinois and New York then joined PACE Pediatrics in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2000 where he established one of the first electronic medical records system for primary care practices in the Twin Cities and introduced the first automated prescription dispensing system in Minnesota in private practice.

In 2008, he took on the responsibility of establishing the pediatric hospitalist program at Children's of Minnesota and successfully led it until 2012. He pioneered the use of scribes in the inpatient setting and developed a hospitalist run food allergy testing program in close cooperation with community allergists. Subsequently, he assumed the role of Chief Medical Officer at La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago, Illinois in 2012. During his tenure there, he actively led multiple quality and safety improvement initiatives, expanded the hospital referral network and re-organized the medical staff leadership and review process.

Dr. Maalouli rejoined his family back in Minnesota in 2014 and resumed his work in pediatric hospital medicine at the Mayo Clinic Health System before finally embarking on an academic career at the University of Minnesota as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and pediatric hospitalist in 2016 where he is currently engaging in clinical research and teaching. He remains active in systems improvement as a member of the University of Minnesota Physicians Compliance and Risk Management committee and the Fairview Ridges Hospital Quality Improvement committee.

Clinical Summary

Neural networks in the clinical diagnostic and management setting; Condition based predictive algorithms for clinical risk

Bio

Dr. MacMillan is Professor in Pediatrics in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy at the University of Minnesota. Dr. MacMillan received her MSc and MD from the University of Toronto in 1991. She completed residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto in 1997. She then completed a fellowship in Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Minnesota and joined the faculty in 1999.
Dr. MacMillan's clinical focus is allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for children with malignant and non-malignant diseases, especially Fanconi anemia. Dr. MacMillan is Director of the Kidz1stFund Comprehensive Fanconi Anemia Center at the University of Minnesota, which funds innovative cellular and gene therapy research for Fanconi anemia. Her research interests also include graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), especially the development and implementation of novel strategies to prevent and treat acute GVHD, and the optimization of acute GVHD clinical trial design by determining GVHD risk and best trial endpoints.
Dr. MacMillan holds 3 INDs for cellular therapy and has an excellent understanding of the regulatory requirements of translational research. She has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and is a member of numerous professional societies.

Research Summary

1. Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease: T regulatory cells to prevent GVHD & Novel pharmacologic agents/ regimens
2. Fanconi anemia: Novel preparative therapies, Gene therapy - multipotent adult stem cell, & Mechanisms to speed immune recovery and reduce infection after transplantation
3. Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia: Novel phase I agents & Novel preparative therapies

Clinical Summary

Clinical specialties: Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Fanconi Anemia, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia

Bio

Shawn Mahmud is a Pediatric Rheumatologist who completed MD/PhD (MSTP), residency, and fellowship training at the University of Minnesota.  He provides care to children with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases including juvenile idiopathic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, chronic noninfectious osteitis, vasculitis, and others. He has a long-standing interest in immunology, specifically CD4+ T cell biology. During his graduate training, Dr. Mahmud made contributions to our understanding of how regulatory T cells develop in the thymus.  His current focus is in developing peptide:MHCII tetramer-based approaches to identify, track, and phenotype important antigen-specific populations of CD4+ T cells in human disease.  

Bio

Erin L. Marcotte, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research in the Department of Pediatrics. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013, where she focused on environmental risk factors for childhood leukemia and Wilms tumor. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota with a focus on the genetic and molecular epidemiology of childhood leukemia, hepatoblastoma, and germ cell tumors. Dr. Marcotte's primary research interests are the genetic, molecular, and environmental causes of childhood leukemia and hepatoblastoma. She is also interested in understanding how maternal and early life nutrition impact childhood cancer risk. Finally, she has several ongoing projects which aim to understand cancer risk among individuals with neurofibromatosis type I.

Bio

Dr. Marmet grew up in Los Angeles, California. He majored in Spanish and Zoology at University of Wisconsin – Madison, and went on to study medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel, experiencing their system of universal health care. Following Pediatrics residency and an additional teaching year as a chief resident at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Marmet joined South Lake Pediatrics, where he enjoyed being a primary care Pediatrician for six years. During those years, he worked on many quality and process improvement projects, most notably on anaphylaxis and on nutrition and healthy lifestyles. In 2010, Dr. Marmet returned to the University of Minnesota as a Pediatric Hospitalist, to focus on acutely ill children admitted to the hospital. He went on to lead the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, which cares for pediatric patients at three Twin Cities hospitals, in medical and behavioral units, newborn areas, as well as providing chronic pain and palliative care. Dr. Marmet has pursued interests in quality improvement, patient safety, and education. He has been involved in leadership roles in organizational care for newborn babies and children of all ages admitted to the hospital.

Dr. Marmet is a husband, and proud father of three adolescent children. He enjoys travel, reading, movies, skiing, and biking.

Clinical Summary

Anaphylaxis; Complex medical conditions; General Pediatrics; Hospital-based care; Nutrition and healthy lifestyles

Bio

Dr. Marquez is a pediatric intensivist and Assistant Professor of Pediatric Critical Care at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She received her medical degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She completed pediatric residency training at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and subspecialty training in pediatric critical care at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Marquez additionally earned a master of science in translational research from the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the faculty in 2021 from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
Dr. Marquez's research aims to improve resuscitation and neurologic outcomes in pediatric cardiac arrest.

Bio

Dr. Mauer completed his Fellowship in Pediatric Nephrology at the University of Minnesota (UMN) and joined the faculty there in 1972. He was promoted to the rank of Professor of pediatrics in 1979. He was Co-Director of the Pediatric Nephrology Division from 1992 to 2009. His early clinical interests were in the management of acute and chronic kidney failure, helping to adapt hemodialysis and kidney transplantation to infants and small children. His more basic research efforts initially focused primarily on diabetic kidney disease, the cause of nearly half of chronic kidney failure in the Western world. Initially in animal studies and then in research kidney biopsies in humans, he helped to describe the structural changes in the kidney in diabetes that lead to kidney failure. He explored the cellular basis of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in a series of studies in cells cultured from patients with diabetes. He showed that the structural changes of DKD were reversible by cure of insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes by pancreas transplantation. He was Principle Investigator of two large international multicenter NIH funded clinical treatment trials in type 1 diabetes. In the last 12 years he has also studied a relatively rare form of inherited kidney injury related to Fabry disease and has helped to elucidate the kidney structural basis of this disorder. His lab trained more than 20 young investigators, many of whom remain actively involved in research. He has published more than 350 research articles and 90 book chapters. For 16 years he was Chair of the UMN Medical School Committee of Student Scholastic Standing, helping medical students to overcome academic difficulties. He also was Chair of the Department of Pediatrics Promotions Committee for more than 10 years. He is a member of the UMN Academy of Excellence in Health Research. Although semi-retired he remains actively engaged in research.

Clinical Summary

Fabry Disease; Pediatric kidney transplantation; Pediatric dialysis

Bio

Dr. McEwen is a board-certified pediatric nephrologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. He has a research background where he received a PhD studying the effects of high dietary salt intake on vascular function and later worked as a research fellow studying the role of regulatory T cells in immunological tolerance of organ transplants. His focus has since changed to the clinical care and quality improvement of pediatric nephrology patients where he has special interest in hypertension, critical care nephrology, congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract, and cardiovascular outcomes of kidney transplantation.

Clinical Summary

Clinical Interests:

• Severe Asthma
• Pulmonary causes of Pulmonary Hypertension
• Airway and Bronchoscopy
• Trach/Vent and Technology Dependence
• General Pulmonary 

Bio

Dr. Miller completed his Pediatric residency (2000) and Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship (2003) at the Mayo Clinic. He is a Professor in Pediatric Endocrinology, and has been a member of the division since 2003. Dr. Miller has an interest in the role of the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in normal and abnormal growth in children. Additionally, he is interested in the growth and development of children following adversity including cancer and its therapies, fetal alcohol exposure, and international adoption. Dr. Miller is also interested in the endocrine aspects of abnormal glycosylation in children with Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation. Lastly, Dr. Miller is also interested in Achondroplasia and other skeletal dysplasia conditions.

Research Summary

Growth, Puberty and Bone Disorders, Rare Disease

Clinical Summary

General Disorders of Growth and Puberty; Endocrine problems in cancer and bone marrow transplant survivors; Growth and pubertal disorders in children who have experienced early adversity including International Adoption, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Prematurity and Small for Gestational Age; Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation; Adrenoleukodystrophy; Fanconi Anemia; Neurofibromatosis; Prader Willi Syndrome; Russell-Silver Syndrome; Skeletal Dysplasia including Achondroplasia.

Bio

Dr. Miranda-Dominguez is interested on understanding how mental and neurological disorders affect brain circuitry and how this information can be used to obtain a deeper understanding of the disease and to design model-based approaches to therapeutics, including but not limited to adaptive interventions and non-invasive neuromodulation.

Research Summary

To use brain connectivity to characterize typical and atypical development and to inform treatment in mental health.

Bio

Christopher Moertel is the Kenneth and Betty Jayne Dahlberg Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. He is the Medical Director of the  Katie Hageboeck Children's Cancer Research Fund Clinic and leads the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program and the Comprehensive Neurofibromatosis Clinic. Dr. Moertel joined the University of Minnesota in 2007. Prior to that time, he was the lead physician of the Theodora Lang Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic at Children's Hospital, St. Paul. He served in multiple leadership roles at Children's Hospitals of Minnesota, including Chief of Staff. Dr. Moertel's research interests include treatment of Neurofibromatosis-associated neoplasia, targeted therapy of pediatric brain tumors and immunotherapy of high grade glioma. He has sponsored at least 5 INDs and has conducted multiple investigator-initiated clinical trials. He has research collaborations in cancer genomics, cancer immunotherapy and cancer epidemiology, with a goal of bringing cutting edge discovery from the bench to the bedside. He has spoken at national and international medical conferences and participates in multiple national and international cooperative groups. Dr. Moertel also leads the pediatric neuro-oncology fellowship with the goal of educating future translational experts in neurofibromatosis and/or pediatric brain tumors.

Clinical Summary

Pediatric neuro-oncology; Rare pediatric tumors; Neurofibromatosis-associated neoplasia; Therapy of children with brain and spinal cord tumors

Bio

Professor Antoinette Moran, MD, is a Professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Minnesota. She has been working with patients with diabetes since 1987, performing research and clinical care. Her research in cystic fibrosis-related diabetes resulted in her being named the first annual recipient of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Richard C. Talamo Distinguished Clinical Achievement Award, for "research contributions that have had significant influence on the course of the disease." She is a leader in the field of clinical trials to prevent and cure type 1 diabetes. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and industry. She is involved in global health and has been working with a pediatric diabetes clinic in Uganda for more than 10 years.

Research Summary

Cystic fibrosis related diabetes; Type 1 diabetes prevention; Pediatric diabetes care in East Africa

Clinical Summary

Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes mellitus; Pediatric diabetes; Type 1 diabetes; Pediatric diabetes care in East Africa

Bio

Dr. Branden Moriarity is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology. He graduated from Saint Olaf College in 2007 with a BA in Biology, Chemistry, and Biomolecular sciences. He received his PhD in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics at the University of Minnesota in 2012. From 2012-2014 he was a post doctoral fellow in David Largaespda's lab, where he worked on identifying the genetics of pediatric sarcomas. He joined the Department of Pediatrics Faculty in 2014.

Dr. Moriarity runs a basic/translational research laboratory working to develop novel cellular therapeutics for gene therapy and cancer immunotherapy with the goal of translating new therapeutics to the clinic. To accomplish these goals, the Moriarity lab uses cutting edge genome engineering technologies, including CRISPR/Cas9, base editor technology, transposons, and rAAV. These tools allow for high frequency gene knockout, gene knock-in, induction of targeted sequence changes, and activation and/or repression of endogenous gene expression. Target cells for engineering include T cells, B cells, NK cells, Monocytes, and hematopoietic stem cells. In addition to developing cellular based therapeutics, the Moriarity lab also performs preclinical drug testing for pediatric cancers, such as osteosarcoma, in order to launch new clinical trials using antibody therapies rather than toxic chemotherapy.

Research Summary

Preclinical Drug Testing, Genome Engineering, Gene Therapy, and Cancer Immunotherapy.
Dr. Moriarity runs a basic/translational research laboratory working to develop novel cellular therapeutics for gene therapy and cancer immunotherapy with the goal of translating new therapeutics to the clinic. To accomplish these goals the Moriarity lab uses cutting edge genome engineering technologies including CRISPR/Cas9, base editor technology, transposons, and rAAV. These tools allow for high frequency gene knockout, gene knock-in, induction of targeted sequence changes, and activiation and/or repression of endogenous gene expression. Target cells for engineering include T cells, B cells, NK cells, Monocytes, and hematopoietic stem cells. In addition to developing cellular based therapeutics, the Moriarity lab also performs preclinical drug testing for pediatric cancers, such as osteosarcoma, in order to launch new clinical trials using antibody therapies rather than toxic chemotherapy. 

Bio

Katherine (Betsy) Murray, MD, MPH, is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, working with patients and families in the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Program at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB).
Dr. Murray joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2006 after completing her pediatric residency, pediatric chief residency, Masters in Public Health, and developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellowship at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Murray works with patients and families who are navigating a broad range of behavioral, emotional, and developmental concerns. She is particularly interested in developing child and parent skills and self-efficacy and collaborating with families to create individualized and enduring solutions to complex and challenging problems. Dr. Murray’s research centers on medical education and training the next generation of physicians in the State of Minnesota.

Clinical Summary

Emotional, Behavioral, and Developmental Differences in Children and Youth

Bio

In addition to teaching, Dr. Najera's research interest is in the effects autoimmune diseases have on kidney function. This is particularly important in children, because they seem to have significant renal conditions associated with autoimmune disease.

Clinical Summary

Pediatric nephrology; Autoimmune diseases and kidney function; Pediatric kidney transplantation; Pediatric dialysis

Bio

Dr. Narasimhan is an Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. She received her MBBS from the PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Medical School in India. Dr. Narasimhan completed her internship at Christian Medical College and Hospital in India, a cardiothoracic surgery residency at GKNM Hospital in India and was in general practice in India at CSASS Medical Centre. Dr. Narasimhan completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. She completed the first two years of her pediatric cardiology fellowship at College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York and returned to the University of Minnesota for the third year of her pediatric cardiology fellowship. Dr. Narasimhan joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 2004.
Dr. Narasimhan's clinical interest is imaging which includes transthoracic echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography with emphasis on fetal echocardiography and cardiac MRI. Her research interest is designing a prospective study for fetal intervention such as valvar pulmonary stenosis, valvar aortic stenosis, and also to study the evolution of heart disease in utero during 2nd and 3rd trimester. She is working on analyzing the impact of early fetal diagnosis of congenital heart defect and post natal outcomes.

Clinical Summary

Children with congenital heart disease; Imaging (Fetal, Transthoracic, Transesophegeal) Echocardiogram; Fetal arrhythmia; Fetal diagnosis of congenital heart defect

Bio

Brandon Nathan, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, and joined the division in 2006. He is a graduate of Colorado College and Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Nathan completed his Pediatrics residency training at the University of Wisconsin (2002) and fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Case Western Reserve University (2006). Dr. Nathan's research is focused on the care of children with type 1 diabetes. He has a particular interest in identifying high risk populations for prevention trials, and has collaborated with other prominent researchers across the country in this area. His clinical practice incorporates all aspects of Pediatric general endocrinology and diabetes mellitus.

Research Summary

T1DM

Clinical Summary

Disorders of pubertal development; Thyroid disease; Disorders of growth; Hypoglycemia; Type 1 Diabetes; Type 2 Diabetes; Disorders of water metabolism

Bio

Jennifer Needle is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Critical Care and Bioethics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She earned her MD from Howard University in Washington DC, and a Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Needle completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care at the University Hospitals of Cleveland/Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed her fellowship in Biomedical Ethics at the Center for Ethics in Health Care at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Needle joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 2013 after six years as an Assistant Professor for the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care, at Oregon Health & Science University. She is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in Critical Care and the American Board of Pediatrics. Her academic work focuses on palliative and end-of-life care communication in critical illness. She has been a PI or co-I on grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society studying Adolescent and Young Adult Advance Care Planning in Cancer and Bone Marrow Transplant. Her work has been published in Critical Care Medicine, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Palliative Medicine, and The Journal of Clinical Ethics.

Research Summary

Dr. Needle's research focuses on adolescent and young adult (AYA) advance care planning (ACP) for patients with cancer. She is funded by the American Cancer Society, the Children's Cancer Research Fund, and the National Institute on Nursing Research (NIH). Dr. Needle is utilizing the FACE (Family Centered Advance Care Planning) intervention in patients with cancer and in patients undergoing bone marrow transplants. The goals are to 1) improve congruence between patients and their surrogates in goals of care, 2) assess the impact of the intervention on patient-caregiver-health care provider communication, and 3) to determine the role of AYA ACP on provider moral distress related to end-of-life care.

Bio

Dr. Joseph Neglia is the Head of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Physician-in-Chief of the M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital. He holds the Ruben-Bentson Chair and a joint appointment as Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health in the School of Public Health.

Dr. Neglia's area of research involves the long-term effects of cancer therapy in cancer survivors and the occurrence of second malignancies following childhood cancer. He is nationally and internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of childhood cancer long-term effects. He currently is Principal Investigator at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota for the Children's Oncology Group (COG), and the vice-chair of the Voting Body of the COG. Dr. Neglia is also Principal Investigator of an American Cancer Society Grant investigating neuro-behavioral outcomes of children recently treated for leukemia.

Dr. Neglia has been involved in numerous service activities both within and outside of the University of Minnesota. He is an active member of Children's Oncology Group, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. He regularly reviews manuscripts for numerous journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and Cancer among others. At the University level, he has been elected as an alternate member of the University Senate and developed and directed the original Cancer Center Database.

Bio

Ryan Nelson is a graduate of the MD/PhD training program at the University of Minnesota. He completed pediatrics residency and Allergy/Immunology fellowship training at Boston Children’s Hospital. As a physician-scientist, he provides care for patients with primary immunodeficiencies, immune dysregulation disorders, and allergic diseases. His research interests focus on CD4+ T cell specificity, functional diversity, trafficking, and memory. He aims to build a translational research program using new approaches to define factors influencing human variability in adaptive immunity to pathogens and maladaptive responses to allergens and self tissues. The goal of this work is to uncover pathways that inform better therapies for patients with immune disorders.

Research Summary

My laboratory focuses on two lines of research. The first asks how practicing retrieval or testing on material enhances our ability to retain that material over the long term. Putting information aside that we want to learn and trying to recall that information from memory is one of the most effective ways to "study". We use neuroimaging techniques, primarily functional MRI, to understand how the brain supports this phenomenon. Future research will focus on the development of these neural systems and abilities in school-aged children and adolescents. The ultimate goal is to better understand how children learn most optimally and use this research to inform educational practices. Secondly, we use functional connectivity MRI to map networks and areas in the brain to better understand how neural systems are organized at the individual level. One of the major goals of this line of research is to examine how these systems or connections within these systems change through learning. Applications of precision mapping approaches to brain stimulation, which can be used to treat disorders like depression, are also of significant interest.