man in sleep study

Department of Medicine Research

State-of-the-art Research

Hennepin Healthcare’s Department of Medicine has robust and varied research activity conducted by highly skilled clinicians and basic science researchers across many areas of focus including addiction medicine, cardiology, health services, homelessness & criminal justice, infectious diseases, nephrology, organ transplantation, oncology, and provider wellness. Research and scholarship are a department priority and key support and infrastructure are provided within the department and through the affiliated organizations described below (Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI), Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG), Berman Center, Institute of Professional Worklife (IPW) and the University of Minnesota). For details on divisional research activities, please visit the research section and faculty bios on the divisional pages.

Scholarly Activity Highlights

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute is the research arm that supports and oversees research conducted at Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. (HHS), including research conducted by faculty in the Department of Medicine.

The Research Scientist Track at Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. (HHS) is a service learning, research, and teaching hospital. The Department of Medicine Research Scientist Track was designed to provide a formal framework for post-doc PhD and investigator PhD-level researchers at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute to be integrated into the Department of Medicine.

Department of Medicine Research Programs

Addiction Medicine Research spans clinical pharmacology and pharmacogenetics, clinical trials for the treatment of psychostimulant use disorder, implementation science, and educational interventions.

The Behavioral Health Equity Research Group seeks to improve behavioral health equity by designing and testing innovative behavioral treatments and providing these treatments in modalities and settings that increase access to behavioral health care for underserved communities.

The Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research has been a leader in cardiovascular research and a clinical site for over 100 trials in heart and kidney disease, diabetes, women’s health, cancer, and neurological disorders.

Cardiology Research Program

The Chronic Disease Research Group, a division of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, is an interdisciplinary research group whose work focuses on answering questions related to the experiences of patients with chronic diseases.

The Health, Homelessness, & Criminal Justice Lab studies physical and mental health, substance use conditions, and the overlapping systemic barriers to health that are often driven by structural racism. Their goal is to improve health for people with homelessness or criminal justice involvement, in our community and beyond, through research and collaboration with a broad coalition of partners.

Infectious Diseases Research: from immunity to community at Hennepin is broadly focused on infectious diseases that disproportionately affect the community we serve, involving approaches that span immunology, disease pathogenesis, translational intervention studies, prevention strategies, implementation science, and large-scale clinical trials.

The Hennepin Healthcare Institute for Professional Worklife (IPW) provides support, guidance, leadership, and consultation to individuals and entities who are looking to understand the burnout epidemic and effect change in their institutions.

Nephrology Research spans a wide spectrum from observational studies to clinical trials and from identifying and addressing racial and ethnic disparities to reducing opioid use among patients on dialysis.