March 26-27: 2nd Annual Health & Biomedical Sciences Summit

Tuesday, March 26, 2019
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Opening speaker

Mankato Free Press coverage

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato will hold its second annual Health & Biomedical Sciences Summit on Tuesday-Wednesday March 26-27, with this year’s topic being “The Future of Health Care: Talent, Expansion, Innovation.”

The annual summit is intended to highlight the University’s distinctive academics, research and industry connections in health and biomedical sciences.

The event is open to educators, health and medical practitioners and community members in addition to Minnesota State Mankato faculty, staff and students. For professionals seeking continuing education units (CEUs), the registration fee is $175 for both days or $100 for one day.

Members of the general public and media interested in attending one or two presentations should contact Taylor Schmahl, director of communications and events in the Office of the Provost, by email at taylor.schmahl@mnsu.edu or by phone at 507-389-1798.

The second annual Health & Biomedical Sciences Summit will be held in Minnesota State Mankato’s Centennial Student Union, with featured speakers giving presentations at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. both days. The 9 a.m. presentations will be held in Ostrander Auditorium, and the 12 p.m. presentations will be held in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom.

• The summit’s opening speaker at 9 a.m. Tuesday is Toby Freier, president of the New Ulm Medical Center, a part of Allina Health. Freier will speak on “The Story of New Ulm: A Pursuit of Health Transformation.”
• Tuesday’s 12 p.m. speaker is Barbara Ross-Lee, co-founder and provost, dean and chief academic officer of the Minnesota College of Osteopathic Medicine, a new rural medical college seeking to open in Gaylord, Minn. Ross-Lee will speak on “Osteopathic Medicine—Past, Present, Future.”
• Wednesday’s 9 a.m. speaker is Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald, a multi-time cancer survivor and professional American distance runner who competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials and won the 2014 USA Championship title in the indoor 3,000-meter run. The working title of Grunewald’s presentation is “Experiencing Health Care Treatments of Rare Cancers.”
• Wednesday’s 12 p.m. speaker is Mark Ritchie, president of Global Minnesota. Ritchie will speak on “Global Health Care Access and the Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Innovation, Collaboration, and Courage.”

A complete schedule – along with a list of speakers – is available online at https://www.mnsu.edu/continuinged/biomedicalsummit.html.

Other featured speakers are from Minnesota State Mankato; Gaffey Home Care and Hospice; Lower Sioux Health Care Center; Glen Taylor Institute for Nursing and Society; Camp Sweet Life Adventures, Inc.; AISEC in Mankato; Rocking W. Services; and the Office of U.S. Sen. Tina Smith.

Tuesday’s schedule includes an opportunity to tour classrooms and labs in the University’s Clinical Sciences Building.

“We are proud to host this annual summit at Minnesota State Mankato,” said Marilyn Wells, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “We are excited to showcase the accomplishments of our undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff across the health and biomedical sciences. We are also delighted to have colleagues from throughout the region join us to share their big ideas, so together we can innovate to expand talent. Our continual progress is empowered by our partnerships with clinicians, educators, researchers, executives, policy makers and community leaders.”

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,227 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.