Scope - April 2025

Dean's Welcome Message

It’s April, and the 2024–2025 academic year is already moving quickly toward its close. Just two weeks ago, we celebrated Match Day, a powerful reminder of why we do this work. Watching our students take the next step in their journeys toward becoming physicians is always inspiring.
Next month, we’ll turn our attention to commencements and all the celebrations that come with them. But before we get there, I want to pause and recognize the incredible effort that each of you—our faculty and staff—put into teaching, mentoring, and supporting our students, residents, and fellows. Your commitment is what makes their success possible.
On behalf of the Medical School, thank you.

Featured Stories

Contributing to Primary Care on Match Day

On Friday, March 21, our fourth-year medical students took their first official step into becoming physicians when they found out where they will complete their residencies. At the U of M, 51% of students matched into primary care, filling an important need in communities within Minnesota and beyond. See more Match Day stats here.
Rural Upbringings Inspiring the Next Generation of Physicians

On Match Day, three University of Minnesota Medical School students carried more than envelopes revealing their residency placements; they carried the voices, stories, and needs of the rural communities that shaped them. Whether training in a bustling metro or a regional hub, Austen Ott, Barrett Bukowiec, and Madeleine LaFond are grounded in their rural roots and driven to serve communities that too often fall through the cracks.
Serving Community Through Artistic Outlets

With funding from the Center for the Art of Medicine's John Song Student Awards, third-year medical student Dannah Nephew spends her free time making ribbon skirts - traditional articles of handmade clothing typically worn for traditional ceremonies or celebrations in tribal communities.

Congratulations

Dr. Jean-Paul Noel
Sloan Research Fellowship
Dr. Jean-Paul Noel was awarded the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship, designed to support fundamental research conducted by early-career scientists. The fellowship will support the Noel Lab's innovative approach to studying how brains process and combine information to understand our environment.
Drs. Jonathan Sachs and Beau Webber
NIH Grant
A U of M research team, led by Drs. Jonathan Sachs and Beau Webber, was awarded a five-year, $3.8 million grant from NIH to develop a new cell therapy to combat Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Rebecca Shlafer
U of M President's Community-Engaged Scholar Award
Dr. Rebecca Shlafer received the President's Community-Engaged Scholar Award, the highest recognition for community-engaged scholarship at the U of M, for her work in developmental child psychology.

News Around the Med School

Research Faculty Spotlight: April Wilhelm, MD, MPH
Department of Family Medicine & Community Health
Critical Care Ultrasound Enabling More Robust Clinicians
Department of anesthesiology
New Study Reveals How Brain Stimulation Improves Cognition, Decision-Making in Mental Health Disorders
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health
Enhancing Access to Pain Management Education in Low-Resource Settings
Department of Anesthesiology
M Health Fairview Clinics and Surgery Center Earns ACR Prostate Cancer MRI Center Designation
Department of urology
Homeward Selected to Receive Award for up to $12 Million from ARPA-H's PARADIGM Program
Department of Medicine
New Documentary Produced by University of Minnesota Medical School Team Set to Premiere at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival
Center for the Art of Medicine
The Value of Presence: The Role of In-Person and Virtual Medical Interpretation on Patient Care
Department of Family Medicine & Community Health
ASCP Fellowship Gives Mohamed Insight Into Global Health Challenges
Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology