Petter Bjornstad,
Principal Investigator
Dr. Petter Bjornstad is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, with a second appointment in the Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine. He is a clinician scientist who is committed to patient-oriented research focused on early diabetic kidney disease. His research studies are funded by NIH/NIDDK, JDRF, Thrasher Research Fund, ISPAD, AHA, Boettcher Foundation, CCTSI and Center for Women’s Health Research at University of Colorado.
Dr. Bjornstad also serves as an academic editor for PLOS ONE, editorial board of Diabetes Care, Pediatric Diabetes and Journal of Diabetes and its Complications. He is a recipient of several awards including American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) Young Physician-Scientist Award, JDRF Dr. Robert Goldstein Award, Young Investigator Awards from The International Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes and The Endocrine Society and a Research award from The Society of Pediatric Research. Dr. Bjornstad spends his non-research time seeing patients in Diabetes and Endocrine Clinics.
ResearchGate link
Lynette Driscoll, Research Instructor
Lynette is a physician assistant with longstanding clinical experience from surgery, hepatology, immunology, and oncology. Prior to becoming a PA-C, Lynette worked as a research coordinator. She also has a Masters of Arts in Health Education and Research Design. Lynette is an expert in running hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic and hyperglycemic clamps, as well as iohexol, p-aminohippurate and dextran clearance studies. She serves as a research instructor on the Bjornstad team and is responsible for daily operations and helps the program managers supervise the research coordinators.
Tim Vigers, Biostatistician
Tim received his Masters in Biostatistics from University of Colorado, and previously worked as a research coordinator. He is skilled in biostatistical methods, R, Python and is an excellent coder. Tim has a special interest in multi-omics data and how to integrate it to answer important clinical questions.
Carissa Birznieks, Principal Research Coordinator
Carissa received her bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska and her Master's Degree in Human Anatomy from the University of Colorado - Anschutz Medical Campus. With nearly a decade of experience working on both bench and clinical research studies, Carissa joined the Bjornstad Research team in 2018, and has contributed to a wide variety of studies over the past several years.
She is known for her patient-oriented research skills, including recruitment and participant advocacy. Carissa is passionate about science and committed to research also as an avid research participant. She has also taken an interest in scientific writing and has contributed to 10 manuscripts, including first author publication in Diabetes documenting relative kidney hypoxia in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. She is considering pursuing a PhD in integrative biology.
Lauryn Remmers, Research Coordinator
Lauryn received her Bachelor Science in Kinesiology from Arizona State University. She previously worked as a Patient Care Coordinator at a physical therapy clinic in Tempe, AZ. Lauryn moved to Colorado and joined the Bjornstad lab in July 2022. She coordinates studies in youth-onset type 2 diabetes. Lauryn is passionate about inclusive healthcare and is currently applying to medical school.
Kelly Nash, Research Coordinator
Kelly received a bachelor of science in communication disorders and deaf education in 2022, and previously secured a bachelor of science in journalism with a minor in biology. She is passionate about science, medicine and medical writing.
Allison Hilkin, Program Manager
Allison has worked a research coordinator for over 10 years on pediatric and adult studies and trials. She is an expert in regulatory compliance and coordination of multicenter trials, as well as finances and data management. She is the regulatory expert on the Bjornstad team, and also performs internal audits on each study. Allison is also involved in training and supervising the professional research assistants. Finally, she serves as the program manager and research supervisor for the industry-funded studies of the Bjornstad team.
Susan Gross, Program Manager
Susan received her Masters in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Texas A&M University, College Station TX. She has over 14 years of experience in Human Nutrition Research. Her expertise is providing nutritional and lifestyle counseling to patients and research subjects by developing, designing, and implementing metabolic diets to meet the nutrition aims of study protocols. She has worked as a clinical dietitian and gained the foundation of understanding the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases and the nutritional requirements of patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. As a research dietitian and program manager, she has led and managed over 20 adult and pediatric research protocols. Susan is the program manager of the non-industry funded obesity and diabetes studies of the Bjornstad team.
Alyssa Caldwell-McGee, Senior Research Coordinator
Alyssa has a Master of Science in Microbiology from Colorado State University, with three Bachelors of Science in Engineering and Biological Sciences. Alyssa previously worked as a professional research assistant at CU Anschutz for ClinImmune Labs in stem cell research. She joined the Bjornstad Lab in June 2022. Alyssa is the senior research coordinator for the type 2 diabetes and kidney function industry studies. She has a passion for learning and hopes to continue her education in medicine.
Trent Reinicke, Research Coordinator
Trent graduated from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in 2021 and after serving as an EMT at a non-profit clinic for two years, he found an interest in pursuing type 1 diabetes and cancer research. Trent has previously worked as a research coordinator at the Barbara Davis Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and as a summer intern for Dr. Bjornstad. Trent officially joined the Bjornstad Lab in August 2022 and helps coordinate industry-funded studies. Trent’s has an interest in providing equitable care to underserved populations and one-day aspires to be a physician-scientist. In his free time, Trent can be found mountain biking or hanging with his dogs, Bruno and Bailey!
Co-investigators and Collaborators:
University of Colorado:
Kalie Tommerdahl, M.D.
Laura Pyle, Ph.D.
Michel Chonchol, M.D.
Kristen Nowak, Ph.D.
Bernie Gitomer, Ph.D.
Patricia Ladd, M.D.
Roger Harned, M.D.
Richard J. Johnson, M.D.
Kristen J. Nadeau, M.D., M.S.
Natalie Nokoff, M.D.
Melanie Cree-Green, M.D., Ph.D.
Megan Kelsey, M.D., M.S.
Carlos Roncal-Jimenez, M.S.
Phil S. Zeitler, M.D., Ph.D.
Michal Schafer, Ph.D.
Marian Rewers, M.D., Ph.D.
Arleta Rewers, M.D., Ph.D.
Janet K. Snell-Bergeon, Ph.D.
R. Paul Wadwa, M.D.
Viral Shah, M.D.
Satish Garg, M.D.
Jane Reusch, M.D.
Judy Regensteiner, Ph.D.
Robert Eckel, M.D.
Alex Barker, Ph.D.
Erin Englund, Ph.D.
Lorna Browne, M.D.
University of Toronto:
David Z. Cherney, M.D., Ph.D.
Bruce A. Perkins, M.D., M.P.H.
Farid Mahmoud, M.D.
Julie Lovshin, M.D., Ph.D.
Yuliya Lytvyn, Ph.D.
Leif Erik Lovblom, M.S.
University of michigan:
Matthias Kretzler, M.D.
Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.
Jeff Hodgin, M.D., Ph.D.
Markus Bitzer, M.D.
Jennifer Shaub, M.D.
Abhijit Naik, M.D.
Philip McCown, Ph.D.
Fadhl Alakwaa, Ph.D.
Sean Eddy, Ph.D.
Viji Nair, M.S.
Wenjun Ju, M.D.
Raji Menon, Ph.D.
Jennifer Harder, M.D.
VU University Medical Center, Netherlands:
Daniel van Raalte, M.D., Ph.D.
Stanford University:
David M. Maahs, M.D., Ph.D.
Northshore:
Pottumarthi Prasad, Ph.D.
Lu-Ping Li, Ph.D.,
NIDDK Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch:
Robert G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.
Helen Looker, M.D.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Meda Pavkov, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Poitiers:
Pierre Saulnier, M.D., Ph.D.
mayo:
Timothy L. Kline, Ph.D.
boston medical center:
Sushrut Waikar, M.D., M.P.H.
Northwestern university:
Thomas Inge, M.D., Ph.D.
Anand Srivastava, M.D., M.P.H.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON:
Ian de Boer, M.D., M.S.
Providence healthcare:
Katherine R. Tuttle, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University:
Chirag R Parikh, M.D., Ph.D.
UT HEALTH SAN ANTONIO:
Kumar Sharma, M.D.
University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands:
Hiddo Heerspink, Ph.D.
steno diabetes center:
Peter Rossing, M.D., D.MSc
Frederik Persson, M.D., D.MSc
Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research:
Daniel Gordin, M.D., Ph.D.
Toranomon Hospital, Japan:
Masanari Kuwabara, M.D, Ph.D.
Khon Kaen University, Thailand:
Pattara Wiromrat, M.D.