Health In Action

Dr. Colin Combs is senior associate dean for research at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. After a decade of leading the university’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, Combs is now Chair of the new SMHS Office of Research Affairs & Compliance. He joined Dean Marjorie Jenkins to discuss how the new office is helping with current and future research at the School, including his own studies into Alzheimer’s disease.

Paula Termuhlen, M.D., FACS, MAMSE, is the Vice Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Termuhlen comes to UND amid a distinguished leadership career in accreditation and graduate medical education. She sat down with her long-time colleague, Dr. Marjorie Jenkins, to talk about the future of the School’s Primary Care Accelerated Track (PCAT), recognizing residency partners across North Dakota, and the discovery of an iconic Grand Forks sweet treat.

Emily Evers, assistant director of admissions and recruitment for the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and Jay Metzger, Ph.D., chair of UND's Physician Assistant (PA) program, meet with Dr. Jenkins and recap their first year of efforts for 'North Dakota 85,' the goal of increasing enrollment of North Dakota natives in the school's M.D. and PA programs by 2030.

Dr. Jenkins speaks with Aerica Nagornyuk, a graduate student in UND’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. A North Dakota native, Nagornyuk chatted with Dr. Jenkins about getting hooked on research early and how you don’t need to be from someplace big to accomplish big things.

Richard Van Eck, Ph.D., is the David and Lola Rognlie Monson Endowed Chair for Medical Education at UND’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences. In his role as chair of the School's Artificial Intelligence Committee (AIC), he spoke with the School's Dean Dr. Marjorie Jenkins about the transformational changes that artificial intelligence and machine learning have already produced in health care and health care education, and the challenge of integrating AI as it continues to evolve.