Program Leadership
A Program Advisory Committee comprised of dedicated leaders for each program/sub-program within the Center for Lung Science and Health has been established. The Program Advisors meet regularly with the executive leadership to provide expertise, direction and oversight for their program area as well as the Center as a whole. In addition, the Center actively seeks out expertise and input from professionals, patients and their family members out in the community to better understand and meet their needs and concerns regarding lung health and patient care. Chronic Lung Disease Asthma and Allergies Lung Health & Disease Prevention Complementary Medicine
Cystic Fibrosis 
Jordan Dunitz, M.D.
Associate Professor
of Medicine
| My main clinical interests are cystic fibrosis (CF) and lung transplantation. I developed and direct the University of Minnesota Adult CF Program and am co-director of our CF Center. In addition to CF, I am interested in the management of other bronchiectatic lung disease including Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. I am involved in the pre-transplant evaluation and post-transplant management of patients referred for lung transplantation for both CF and other end-stage lung disease. My involvement in lung transplantation has led me to develop expertise in interventional bronchoscopy for both transplant-related and non-transplant airway disease. I am experienced in balloon dilation, stent placement and airway laser treatment. I also perform whole lung lavage for alveolar proteinosis. In the in-patient arena I mainly focus on CF and lung transplantation, but also participate in general pulmonary consultation and all aspects of intensive care management. In addition to my direct patient care responsibilities, I participate actively in continuous quality improvement activities in the Adult CF Program. Projects have included: - Accelerating initiation of care for CF patients admitted to the hospital.
- Optimizing nutrition for adult CF patients.
- Optimizing adherence via annual studies.
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)/
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
Dennis Niewoehner, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
| Dennis Niewoehner, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, is the Chief of the Pulmonary Section at the V.A. Medical Center in Minneapolis. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, completed his residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland, and his Pulmonary Fellowship at Case Western Reserve University. He is an internationally recognized leader in chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) who has published landmark studies which has impacted the understanding of COPD disease and clinical practice. His primary research focus has involved clinical trial evaluation of prevention and treatment measures for COPD, although he has also made significant contributions in acute lung injury and lung cancer research as well. He was the Principal Investigator (PI) for the VA Cooperatives Studies Trial that first demonstrated the benefits of systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of COPD exacerbations. He is currently the co-chair of another VA Cooperative Studies Trial investigating whether self-management can keep reduce hospitalizations for high-risk patients. He is a PI for the NHLBI-sponsored COPD Clinical Research Network and is involved in a large-scale clinical treatment trial to assess reduction in COPD exacerbations. He serves on the editorial board for the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and was recently featured as Who’s Who at ATS by the American Thoracic Society. He is a Program Co-leader for the COPD Program within the University of Minnesota Center for Lung Science and Health along with Dr. John Connett. | 
John Connett, Ph.D.
Professor of Biostatistics | John Connett, Ph.D., Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Minnesota, received his Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Maryland. He is the head of the Biostatistics Division within the School of Public Health and co-leads the COPD Program along with Dr. Niewoehner within the University of Minnesota Center for Lung Science and Health. He is the Principal Investigator for the NHLBI-sponsored Data Coordinating Center for the COPD Clinical Research Network. He has been the PI for the Data Coordinating Center for the Feasibility of Retinoid Therapy for Emphysema Trial, Trial of Early Intervention for COPD (Lung Health Study I), Inhaled Corticosteroid Study (Lung Health Study II), and the Long-Term Follow-up of Participants in the Lung Health Study I. |
Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)/Pulmonary Fibrosis 
Craig Henke, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
| Clinical Activities
Clinical activities and interests include: sub-specialty pulmonary clinic focusing on interstitial lung diseases and attending in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. Research Activities
The focus of my research program is pulmonary fibrosis. IPF is a progressive and lethal fibrotic lung disorder. It is characterized by the replacement of the alveolar airspace with proliferating fibroblasts and their major connective tissue product: type 1 collagen. We have obtained an NIH Program Project Grant to study the molecular pathways that regulate the pathologic behavior of the IPF fibroblast. |
Pulmonary Hypertension 
Monica Colvin-Adams, M.D.
Assistant Professor
| Medical Director of Cardiac Transplantation & Pulmonary Hypertension
Clinical Interests - Advanced heart failure & cardiac transplantation
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Management of LVAD recipients
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Lung Transplantation Respiratory Failure and Critical Care 
Marshall Hertz , M.D.
Professor of Medicine
| Marshall Hertz , M.D., a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, is the Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program and the Director of the Center for Lung Science and Health. He has served on the Board of Directors for American Society of Transplantation and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISLHT). He is also the Medical Director of the ISHL International Transplant Registry. Dr. Hertz received his medical degree at the University of Michigan and completed both his Internal Medicine and his Pulmonary and Critical Care training at the University of Minnesota. Over the past two decades Dr. Hertz has actively contributed to the clinical lung transplant and research literature. His research interests include obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), acute and chronic lung rejection. He is currently working with others to identify genes and new protein biomarkers of lung rejection using the latest state-of-the art technology. For over a decade, he has been involved in research collaborations using home-monitoring technology to track the status of lung transplant recipients and signs for early detection of OB, a hallmark of lung rejection. |
Respiratory Failure & Critical Care
David Ingbar, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics
| David Ingbar, M.D. is the Director for the Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota and is Director of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview. In 2007, he became the Executive Director for the Center for Lung Science and Health within the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Ingbar obtained his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, completed his Residency at the University of Washington and his Fellowship at Yale University. He is a nationally recognized leader in the pulmonary and critical care field. He was elected into leadership for the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and served as the President of ATS from May 2007 to May 2008. ATS is the largest professional, educational and scientific society focused on respiratory, critical care and sleep medicine with about 18,000 members worldwide. | Asthma and Allergy
Malcolm Blumenthal, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
| Malcolm Blumenthal, M.D. received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota and did his internship and residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO. He did further residency training at the University of Minnesota. He received his fellowship training from the University of Michigan and is ABIM- and ABAI-certified in Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Blumenthal is a Fellow in the AAAAI and ACAAI and a member of many other professional organizations. His research interests include asthma, atopic disease, and immunogenetics. He has led an active research program including an NIH-funded investigation of the genetics of asthma, an American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Center (ALA-ACRC), and has participated or initiated international collaborative efforts involving Taiwan, Georgia, and India. These investigations have identified some novel asthma and atopy susceptibility loci, evaluated outcomes of various medical regimes involving asthma, and assessed the epidemiology of asthma and atopy. Dr. Blumenthal is also involved in direct allergy education and the delivery of clinical allergy and asthma health care. |
Sleep Medicine 
Conrad Iber, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
| Clinical Interests
- Sleep Medicine, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Sleep and Neuromuscular Disease
- Pulmonary Medicine Including Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Interstitial Lung disease
- Critical Care Medicine Including Acute and Chronic Ventilatory Failure
Research Interests
- Sleep and Breathing; Sleep Apnea
- Mechanical Ventilation and Ventilatory Failure
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Lung Cancer
Occupational & Environmental Lung Health
Tobacco Cessation and Control
Dorothy Hatsukami, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry
| Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry at the University Minnesota, is also an Adjunct Professor within the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. She is a program co-leader for the Prevention and Etiology Research Program, a program leader for the Tobacco Cessation and Control Program within the Center for Lung Science and Health, and is Director of the University of Minnesota Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC), one of seven NIH-funded TTURCs. Her research interests involve nicotine addiction and treatment, focusing on understanding mechanisms associated with reducing tobacco toxin exposure. She is a national leader and has served on numerous national committees as well as advisory panels for other federal, non-profit and international organizations. She is Past President of the Society on Nicotine and Tobacco and Past President of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. |
Complementary Medicine 
Linda L. Chlan, Ph.D, R.N.
Associate Professor
| Teaching Areas
Nursing Research
Clinical Foundations
Adult Critical Care Nursing Research Interests
Specialty areas are outcomes and effectiveness of nursing interventions; testing non-pharmacologic relaxation and anxiety management techniques with critically ill patients; music intervention. |
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