University of Minnesota Medical School

05/29/2026

The future of physical therapy! 💪🎓Our newest DPT graduates are ready to change lives! Congratulations, Class of 2026!

05/29/2026

The Neurosurgery Interest Group hosted a skills night! 🧠 Thank you to Drs. Cramer, Peterson, Yekula, and Peña Pino for supporting the event!

05/28/2026

Early detection matters. New research from the UMN Medical School found that blood tests screening for potential signs of prostate cancer likely reduce the risk of dying from the disease.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3PLkVKc.

05/27/2026

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Meet Dr. Joshua Stein! As Chief of Medical Staff at PrairieCare, Dr. Stein is dedicated to expanding mental health care, education and resources for families across the Twin Cities!

Raised by a therapist and a clinical social worker, he grew up surrounded by conversations about human behavior and mental health, which inspired his lifelong passion for psychiatry.

“In today's 24-7 hectic world, it's very easy to lose track of things, we all need tune-ups, and we all need oil changes. We have therapies that work, that have been studied intensely, we have supplements, we have medications, we have the ability to just connect and let things off your chest, and it's amazing how valuable that can be."

Read Dr. Stein's story: https://bit.ly/4uA2JT2.

05/26/2026

The Department of Urology's Aliabadi-Kazim Scholars Program students gained hands-on experience in robotic surgery and pediatric urology procedures!

05/22/2026

Can art make you a better doctor? 🎨 Our new “Visual Art + Medicine” course is reshaping how future physicians are trained!

Medical students are stepping into the Weisman Art Museum not just to study art, but to sharpen the skills that make great physicians: observation, empathy, communication, and creative problem-solving.

“Research shows us that incorporating arts and humanities into medical education helps us train more thoughtful, resilient physicians,” says Dr. Maren Olson.

🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/4tiz4wv.

05/21/2026

Big news: A UMN Medical School research team joined an international Parkinson's disease research effort through a $6 million grant from Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research!

“We still do not fully understand how Parkinson’s disease develops and progresses, and we don’t have effective treatments for preventing or slowing the progression of this disease. We are excited to join the global research network built by ASAP and MJFF to help address these questions through team-based collaboration and open science,” said Michael Koob, PhD.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4a45HXs.

05/20/2026

Several Medical School faculty have been recognized through the McKnight Professorship program!

While not all awardees are pictured, please join us in congratulating:

McKnight Land-Grant Professorship recipients—awarded to early-career assistant professors as they advance their academic careers:
Carolyn Bramante, MD, MPH (Medicine)
Jacqueline Palmer, PT, DPT, PhD (Family Medicine & Community Health – Physical Therapy)
Xiao D**g, PhD (Genetics, Cell Biology & Development)

Distinguished McKnight University Professorship recipients—awarded to outstanding faculty who have recently achieved the rank of full professor:
Aaron S. Kelly, PhD (Pediatrics)
Jen Poynter, MPH, PhD (Pediatrics)
Lin Yee Chen, MBBS, MS (Medicine)
Doug Mashek, PhD (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics; Medicine)

McKnight Presidential Endowed Professorship receipient—awarded as one of the University’s highest honors, recognizing faculty whose achievements and leadership elevate the institution:
Genevieve Melton-Meaux, MD, PhD (Surgery)

Congratulations to all on this well-deserved recognition!

05/19/2026

Meet pediatric trauma surgeon Dr. Elissa Butler from the UMN Medical School & M Health Fairview. She says children aren’t just “small adults.” Pediatric trauma care requires different training, equipment, and decision-making. Read more about Dr. Butler: https://bit.ly/4tzHwY1.

05/18/2026

At the UMN Visible Heart Lab, donated human hearts are reanimated so Medtronic engineers can test devices in real time. 🫀 The partnership began after Earl Bakken built the first wearable pacemaker there in 1958. Read more: https://bit.ly/4uewZ5I.

Visible Heart Laboratories

Medtronic supports the U of M’s Visible Heart Lab in exchange for the chance to test devices on donated human hearts.