Our team

Research, education, and outreach collaborations currently include a broad range of stakeholders. Faculty and staff from several University of Minnesota schools and colleges, as well state, regional, and national university, laboratory, regulatory, and Tribal partners are involved in lines of neurodegenerative disease research.

Join us:

The University of Minnesota is uniquely prepared to address neurodegenerative diseases. As a comprehensive university with an expansive realm of expertise, the U of M has many of the necessary tools and facilities to safely and efficiently address these diseases.

Our science is grounded by our location at the intersection of three environmental biomes, making our results relevant to much of North America. This multidisciplinary think-tank atmosphere has emerged as a national hub for strategic partnerships in neurodegenerative disease study.

Interested in adding your expertise to the robust network of MNPRO collaborators?

Contact us at mnpro@umn.edu.

MNPRO leadership

Peter Larsen, PhD
Co-director
College of Veterinary Medicine

Tiffany Wolf, DVM, PhD
Co-director
College of Veterinary Medicine

Sang-Hyun Oh, PhDDirector of engineering
College of Science and Engineering

Marc Schwabenlander, MPHAssociate director
College of Veterinary Medicine

Peter Larsen, Ph.D. - plarsen@umn.edu

Co-director

Peter Larsen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Larsen leads a diverse research program that focuses on the discovery of emerging infectious diseases, field-based molecular diagnostics, and the mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. Peter has over 18 years of research experience in molecular biology and genomics. The Larsen laboratory focuses on the application of cutting-edge genomic technologies to critical issues facing Minnesota's food production, economy, and environment. Dr. Larsen is leading a team at the UMN that is focused on the development of advanced diagnostic tools for the detection of Chronic Wasting Disease and he has organized a number of CWD educational and outreach events throughout the state of Minnesota, all aimed at sharing the latest science surrounding CWD research.

Tiffany Wolf, DVM, Ph.D. - wolfx305@umn.edu

Co-director

Tiffany Wolf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine and an Associate Fellow of the Institute on the Environment. She is a wildlife epidemiologist with a strong background in ecosystem health as well as over 10 years of experience in zoo and wildlife medicine as a clinical veterinarian. Her research focuses on multi-host pathogen transmission systems and the adaptation and application of epidemiological methods to study disease and their impacts on wildlife populations in the context of ecosystem health.

Sang-Hyun Oh, Ph.D. - sang@umn.edu

Director of engineering

Sang-Hyun Oh is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Sanford P. Bordeau Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. For over 15 years, Dr. Oh has been leading a multi-disciplinary research team that focuses on developing microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems, nano-optical sensors, and field-portable diagnostic tools. The members of the Oh lab work at the interface between nanotechnology and life sciences toward harnessing cutting-edge fabrication techniques to develop better diagnostic sensors. He joined the MNPRO team at its inception and collaborated on the development of advanced diagnostic tools for the detection of infectious prions. Dr. Oh is a Fellow of Optica (formerly Optical Society of America) and received faculty awards from DARPA, ONR, NSF, ACS, and 3M.

Marc Schwabenlander, MPH - schwa239@umn.edu

Associate director

Marc Schwabenlander is the Associate Director at the Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach. He is a wildlife disease specialist with a background in wildlife management, 15+ years of veterinary post-mortem investigation, public health administration and policy, and a life-long history of hunting and actively participating in conservation groups. Marc's research interests include zoonotic infectious diseases, translational research, One Health, and human dimensions of wildlife and disease management.