Directors
Milton “Mickey” Eder
Lead Principal Investigator
Milton “Mickey” Eder, Ph.D., is the lead principal investigator for Science Cafe, which focuses on research derived from the Office of Community Engagement to Advance Research and Community Health within the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. For more than seven years, he has been a notable contributor toward research and teaching in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. He specializes in translational research with the goal of improving health outcomes by enhancing the public’s relationship between healthcare and research. His interest in exploring research ethics, patient engagement and patient safety has been a driving force behind Science Cafe. He aims to deconstruct the discourse of power dynamics between the relationship of healthcare experts and individuals in order to facilitate peer-to-peer learning. He has chaired a biomedical Institutional Review board and served as an Associate Editor for Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action. He earned a Ph.D. from the Committee on History of Culture at the University of Chicago.
Elisia L. Cohen
Co-Investigator
Elisia Cohen, co-investigator for Science Cafe, began her career in health communication research at Saint Louis University. Her work focused on developing innovative community-based outreach strategies to improve cancer prevention and detection behaviors in underserved communities. Prior to her current position as the Director of the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, she chaired the University of Kentucky Department of Communication and led its Health Communication Research Collaborative. With nearly two decades of experience in health communication research, Cohen continues to provide her expertise and leadership toward projects such as Science Cafe. Her research is recognized in peer-reviewed journals with support from the National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research on media reporting and public understanding of disease has appeared in journals such as: Health Communication, Health Education and Behavior, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journal of Communication, Journal of Communication in Healthcare, Journal of Health Communication, Qualitative Health Research, and Prometheus.
Sara Quinn
Co-Investigator
A design consultant and researcher, Quinn was the R.M. Seaton Endowed Chair for Professional Journalism at Kansas State University until joining the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She is also a former president of the Society for News Design and longtime faculty member at The Poynter Institute. Her eyetracking research helps journalists and media professionals determine the best forms for storytelling. As a volunteer board member for the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Quinn has taught numerous workshops for high school and college journalists at the University over the years, and she teaches workshops around the globe. She has a B.A. from Wichita State University and a master’s in illustration from Syracuse University.
Miguel Valdez
Mayo Affiliate
Miguel Valdez's work focuses on assisting community members and researchers in the planning and execution of community-engaged research and research-related events by building sustainable relationships between community members and Mayo Clinic researchers. He also seeks to understand how research may assist in addressing health care issues within the community. In his role he's had the opportunity to develop with his team online educational modules to address the understanding the value of community engagement in an early stage in the research process, as well to keep up with today's technology and social media to reach those who usually don’t get a voice. Over the past 19 years he has made the effort to be involved in his community and this had made his job easy and enjoyable; also he’s been fortunate to be recognize by his peers and community by receiving the Medal of Honor of Community-Wide Services from the Office of the Mayor of Rochester, MN in December 2016.
Dr. Christi A. Patten
Mayo Affiliate
Dr. Christi A. Patten is currently the Senior Research Fellow for the Nicotine Research Center at Mayo Clinic. Her background includes nearly two decades of research regarding nicotine, tobacco, and addiction. Currently, Dr. Patten is the Research core director for the National Cancer Institute-funded grant focusing on American Indians and Alaska Natives. She currently serves as the chair of the Interventions to Prevent and Treat Addiction study session and the director of the Community Engagement Program at Mayo Clinic. Her research focuses on tobacco cessation for adolescents and smokers with psychiatric comorbidities and community-based participatory research to reduce health disparities among underserved populations. Previous to her work with the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Patten earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program. She then completed her Clinical Psychology internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic before her research fellowship at Mayo Clinic.
Collaborators
Abdirahman Mahamud
Program Coordinator, WellShare International
[email protected]
Erika Kennedy
Spanish Translator
[email protected]
Phoebe Chastain
Project Manager/Coordinator, WellShare International
Asha Mohammed
Somali Interpreter
Abdillahi Kahin
Somali Interpreter
Hsaku Moo
Karen Interpreter
Jackie Chan
Karen Interpreter
Christi Patten, Ph.D.
Consultant and Co-Chair, Diversity and Inclusion, in the department of Psychiatry and Psychology, professor of Psychology
Mayo Clinic
[email protected]
Miguel Valdez Soto
Outreach Coordinator and Social Media Manager
Mayo Clinic
[email protected]
Tabetha Brockman
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Research Interventionist
Mayo Clinic
[email protected]
Sarah Deepak
Professor
Mayo Clinic
Tabatha Megal
Mayo Clinic
Graduate Students
Jinhee Cha
Ph.D. candidate, Epidemiology
[email protected]
Hannah Kinzer
[email protected]
262-782-8762
Undergraduate Students
Jessica Gordon
[email protected]
Alexandra Hensrud
[email protected]
Anna Jennissen
[email protected]
Kirsten Koskinen
[email protected]
Amelia Wolff
[email protected]