Awards and Recognition

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a Cooperative Agreement to establish the Bioindustrial Manufacturing And Design Ecosystem, or BioMADE, as the 16th federally-sponsored Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) within the Manufacturing USA network. It will be the ninth such institute sponsored by DoD. BioMADE will be located on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus with satellite offices in Berkeley, CA, and Cambridge, MA. The institute will be dedicated to boosting nonmedical bioindustrial manufacturing in the United States and will be supported by a seven-year award that includes at least $87.5 million in federal funds and is being matched by more than $180 million in cost sharing from non-federal sources.

The Heinz Family Foundation named health services researcher Katy B. Kozhimannil the recipient of the prestigious 25th Heinz Award in the Public Policy category. Kozhimannil is driving policy change through research that examines the rising rate of maternal mortality in rural, low-income communities and among women of color; the impact of doula care on birth outcomes; and the impact of structural racism on individual and community health.
As part of the award, Kozhimannil will receive an unrestricted cash award of $250,000.

Daniel Weisdorf, professor of Medicine and deputy director of the Clinical and Translational Institute, has received the 2020 Charles Bolles Bolles-Rogers Award from the Twin Cities Medical Society Foundation (TCMSF). The Charles Bolles Bolles-Rogers Award is given to a physician nominated by his colleagues and who, in the opinion of the members of the TCMSF selection committee, by reason of his/her professional contribution to medical research, achievement or leadership, has become the outstanding physician of this and other years.

Lynda Lahti Anderson and MacDonald Metzger have received a $277,792 grant from the U.S. Embassy Kinshasa (Congo) of the U.S. Department of State. The project, “Supporting the Full Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Kisangani,” will collaborate with Congo's Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action & National Solidarity to work with local and regional government staff and with health and services provider agency staff to increase their awareness of the rights and abilities of people with disabilities.

ESPN has named the U of M Twin Cities one of the top five Unified Sports schools in the country. The program is a collaboration between the U of M's Recreation and Wellness department, the U of M Special Olympics club, and Minnesota Special Olympics. Over 200 student athletes from the University of Minnesota and the Special Olympics community compete each year in four sports (flag football, basketball, bowling, and soccer).

Erika Lee is quoted in the Smithsonian Magazine about the long history of blaming immigrants during pandemics; Ryan Demmer is quoted in The Wall Street Journal about why Covid is spreading again; Anatoly Liberman is quoted in Discover Magazine about the odd terms for baby animals; Mitch Kluesner is interviewed at CBS Local about a new Disney film about “Clouds” songwriter Zach Sobiech’s battle with osteosarcoma; Frank Douma is quoted in a Wallet Hub feature about the fastest growing cities in America; Amy Karger is interviewed in a KARE 11 story about a national network studying COVID-19 immunity; Joshua Page is quoted in the Sacramento Bee about how a surge in domestic violence is saving the bail bond industry; Heidi Kitrosser is quoted in a New York Times story about the DOJ suing an ex-aide over a book about Melania Trump; Alik Widge is interviewed at KSTP about a first-of-its-kind brain chip to treat mental disorders; Annette Nijjar is quoted in a Star Tribune story about hospice care helping Minnesotans say goodbye; Jon Hallberg is interviewed at Minnesota Public Radio about The New England Journal of Medicine saying that the U.S. has “failed at almost every step in pandemic response”; Kaz Nelson comments at KARE 11 about COVID fatigue.

The Medical School’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology has been selected to participate in a new national network dedicated to serological sciences as one of four Capacity Building Centers in the country. As part of the Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet), the team received a five-year, $6.7 million grant to support their part of the network's research effort

A new $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health Chemical Countermeasures Research Program (CCRP), administered via the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) “Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT)” program, will aid researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School in identifying better ways to treat acute intoxication by fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs. These opioids, according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are considered public health threats and potential chemical weapons. Led by Marco Pravetoni, an associate professor in the Medical School’s Department of Pharmacology and member of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, the grant supports the development of antibody-based medical countermeasures against toxicity and death after exposure.

A grant from METAvivor for $500,000 over three years will allow Carol Lange, a professor in the Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, to analyze the biological mechanisms behind breast cancer, particularly how steroid hormone receptors impact the disease.

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing was one of only 11 American Association of Colleges of Nursing member schools and 46 institutions nationwide to receive the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine. This marks the fifth consecutive year the school has received the HEED Award, which honors U.S. nursing, medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, veterinary, and other health schools and centers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.