Introduction & Keynote Speakers
Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, is the dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and UW–Madison’s vice chancellor for medical affairs. She also serves as rotating chair or vice chair of the board of the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority and is a professor in the Department of Surgery. Ahuja holds the Robert Turell Distinguished Chair in Medical Leadership. A renowned surgeon-scientist, she has held top roles at some of the nation’s leading research universities and health systems.
Ahuja is a cancer-care innovator whose treatment approaches and research have garnered international recognition. She is an expert in the treatment of sarcomas and complex gastrointestinal cancers, and her innovative surgical and heated chemotherapy approaches have drawn patients from around the world seeking treatment for difficult metastatic cancers.
A passionate advocate for interdisciplinary approaches to medicine and translating discoveries into treatments, Ahuja has a long history of leading collaborative and cutting-edge research aimed at improving cancer outcomes. Her research laboratory identifies and develops biomarkers to allow early detection of pancreatic and colorectal cancers using patients’ genetic information. She has published more than 300 scholarly articles and book chapters to advance both the surgical and basic science fields.
ICTR Executive Director Allan Brasier, MD, is also a senior associate dean in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Brasier joined ICTR in 2018. He received his MD degree from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed a clinical and research fellowship in adult endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is dually boarded in internal medicine and endocrinology/metabolism. He was founding director of the Institute for Translational Science at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he developed systematic approaches for advancing translational research. This work in translational teams is now being applied and advanced at ICTR. It has led to the development of approaches to enhance reproducibility in science and skills-based training in research leadership.
In addition to his contributions to translational teamwork, Brasier is internationally recognized for his original and high-impact research on mechanisms of innate inflammation and its role in advancing pulmonary and cardiovascular disease. His pioneering work applies systems-level bioinformatics to integrate information from high-throughput studies to generate novel mechanistic insights about innate inflammation and its central role in organ fibrosis. These studies inform translational research programs in viral induced inflammation, airway remodeling, and inflammatory bowel disease.
In advancing the ICTR strategic plan, Brasier is responsible for working with partners at the Marshfield Clinic and six UW schools and colleges (the Schools of Medicine & Public Health, Education, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine, and the College of Engineering) to expand university and academic partnerships.
He spearheads the Precision Medicine Strategic Alliance Program in partnership with the SMPH Human Proteomics Program, and leads development of the Leadership and Skills Enhancement for Research (LASER) training program.
ICTR Executive Co-Director Elizabeth Burnside, MD, MPH, is also an associate dean in the School of Medicine and Public Health and a professor of radiology.
Burnside holds an MD combined with a master’s in public health as well as a master’s degree in medical informatics. As a result, Burnside’s research investigates the use of computational methods to improve decision-making in the domain of breast imaging in the pursuit of improving the population-based screening and diagnosis of breast cancer. This multidisciplinary research is facilitated by affiliate appointments in the UW Departments of Industrial Engineering, Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, and Population Health Science.
Burnside’s research has secured continuous NIH funding since 2006, garnering a total of $4.6 million in extramural funding. She served as a charter member on the Biomedical Imaging Technology (BMIT) Study Section at the NIH. Burnside is a subspecialty-trained breast imager with an active clinical practice providing all imaging and interventional procedure utilized for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. In addition to her role as a clinician scientist, Burnside has developed a track record of mentoring clinician scientists and trainees from translational disciplines, also supported by NIH funding.
Geoffrey (Geoff) Curran, PhD, is Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Adjunct Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Limerick, Ireland.
His broad research area has been health services research, with a focus on the diffusion of innovation in a variety of health care settings (e.g., pharmacy, specialty care, primary care, and community settings). Curran is a medical sociologist. For the past 20+ years he has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health (U.S.), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and other funders. Curran also has written widely on research design and methodology in implementation science.
He directs the UAMS Center for Implementation Research, which is devoted to developing and testing implementation strategies across a wide range of service contexts and training the next generation of implementation scientists.
Lightning Talks
Erika Anna, MS, RDN, CD, is an outreach specialist and health equity coordinator in the Office of Community Health within the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.
Key to her role is facilitating community-clinical connections by enhancing community health worker capacity and supporting Food is Medicine strategies. Anna is entering her third year as a doctoral student at UW-Madison affiliated with the ICTR ADEPT Program. Her doctoral work in the Civil Society and Community Research program within the School of Human Ecology is informed by her experience in public health and clinical nutrition as a registered dietitian nutritionist. Her research focuses on the social and biological factors influencing nutritional status, and includes the exploration of foodways, nutrition security, and community-based participatory research. Central to Anna’s scholarly endeavors is the cultivation of robust community-academic partnerships to improve health outcomes through community-led strategies.
As the ICTR Director for Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Casper Bendixsen, PhD, provides leadership across ICTR initiatives for Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) faculty and staff. As the Site Principal Investigator, he oversees ICTR programs within MCHS including staffing, budgetary decisions, program evaluation, and research initiatives. Bendixsen facilitates integration of programs at MCHS with UW-Madison and actively works with ICTR Co-Directors to create the necessary interdisciplinary interactions needed for substantive collaborations.
Bendixsen’s experiences as a researcher and a leader have primarily been on studying and improving the human condition with rural and agricultural environments. These varied initiatives have included the methodological and philosophical contributions possible for anthropologists in the field, attitudes towards vaccination in rural communities, efforts to further translate research findings into useful technologies and educational programs, exploration of the agricultural microbiome, and pediatric injury prevention research.
Originally from rural Kansas, Jakob Hanschu, MA, is a research specialist and sociocultural anthropologist at the National Farm Medicine Center. He works closely with Casper Bendixsen, PhD, on projects at the intersection of agricultural health and safety and anthropology. Hanschu earned a master’s degree in sociocultural anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied the relationship between nutrient pollution, hydrological infrastructure, decision making, social organization, and human and ecological health in the rural Midwest. He also holds a master’s degree in critical theory and politics from the University of Nottingham, which was funded by a Fulbright Scholarship. In his role as a research specialist, he aims to apply insights from social theory, ethnography, and philosophy to the practical and conceptual problems of agricultural health and safety.
Laurel Legenza, PharmD, PhD is a new tenure-track assistant professor starting at the UW-Madison School of Nursing in fall 2025. Legenza received her PharmD from the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy and her PhD in Pharmacy from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. She completed an ICTR TL1 Postdoctoral Fellowship. She was also funded as a UW Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (NIH BIRCWH) fellow. She received a prior ICTR pilot award and is currently the UW-Madison co-PI on the UW ICTR Marshfield Clinic-UW Madison Collaborative Research Pilot award. Her collaborative research with Marshfield is examining antibiotic resistance and risk factors across Wisconsin and includes rural farming communities. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes, specifically addressing antimicrobial resistance with action-oriented data for treatment decisions. She leads research projects on antimicrobial resistance geographic mapping and developing clinical decision support tools for infectious diseases.
Susan Racine Passmore, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing who provides guidance and training for researchers on community engagement.
She brings to her role significant experience in community-engaged research and improving health for all. As a cultural anthropologist and mixed methods researcher, Passmore focuses her scholarly work on the social construction of trust and the practical application of this knowledge to create innovative approaches for building researcher “trustworthiness.” Other community engagement work includes service-based approaches and the use of human-centered design to support adoption of health interventions.
Andrea Swenson, PhD, is trained in human development and family science. Swenson’s research focuses on intersections between family relationships, individual development, and social environments. Swenson is currently the director of the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. Her research areas include rural and agricultural health and safety, rural family experiences, youth employment, and program evaluation.
Workshop presenters
Anne Buffington, MPH, joined ICTR in 2025, where she serves as a Research Project Navigator for both the Research and Protocol Development Program (RaPD) and the Recruitment and Retention Resource Center (RRRC). Prior to her role at ICTR, she worked as a Program Manager and Researcher for projects in the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Department of Surgery. She brings extensive expertise in managing multi-site studies, leading qualitative research projects, and overseeing study data management.
Michelle Chui, PharmD, PhD, serves as director of ICTR’s Community and Collaboration Component and faculty lead for its ADEPT program.
She is also a professor in the School of Nursing. Chui is a pharmacist and health services researcher whose specific expertise is in applying human factors engineering approaches and using a systems perspective to improve medication safety in the outpatient setting. She has published over 100 papers on medication safety topics ranging from the impact of technology implementation, to the effect of subjective workload, to barriers to health care provider collaboration.
Jen Merems, PhD, is a seasoned scientific editor with over eight years of experience supporting academic research. She specializes in editing and refining manuscripts, grant proposals, research protocols, posters, presentations, and digital and print media.
Driven by a passion for advancing science, Merems collaborates with research teams to amplify the impact of their work through clear and compelling storytelling. Dedicated to enhancing broad participation in clinical trials, she focuses on fostering accessibility and broad dissemination of research. Merems is committed to helping researchers effectively communicate their findings for greater visibility and success.
She is a graduate of the University of Arizona (BS), the University of Idaho (MS), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD).
Alexandria (Ali) Moellner, MPH, holds a joint position at ICTR, where she serves as both the Recruitment & Retention Navigator for the Recruitment & Retention Resource Center (RRRC) and as a Multisite Research Project Manager for the Multisite Research Support Service. In these roles, Moellner provides expert consultation to research teams, supporting strategic planning and implementation across all phases of the research process. Her background spans a diverse range of topics, including women’s health, aging, infectious diseases, and substance use. She brings valuable experience from both clinical and community-based research settings.
Leigh Ann Mrotek, PhD, is ICTR’s Research Navigator and a trained neuroscientist who manages ICTR’s Research and Protocol Development Program (RaPD). In this role, Mrotek assists investigators in planning their research studies and preparing their regulatory documents, with a focus on protocols.
Before joining ICTR, Mrotek was a professor and chair in the kinesiology department at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where she led the Motor Control Laboratory. Her research focused on the speed at which we adjust our eye and hand movements to respond to environmental changes, highlighting how our ability to navigate the world depends on quickly and accurately adapting to unexpected changes–like a football defender responding to a receiver or adjusting one’s gait in a crowded hallway.
Mrotek has experience being PI on multiple NIH and NSF grants related to the control and learning of motor behaviors and altering movements to match the environment.
Christine Pfund, PhD, is a distinguished senior scientist with and deputy director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pfund earned her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology, followed by postdoctoral research in Plant Pathology, both at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pfund’s work focuses on developing, implementing, documenting, and studying interventions to optimize research mentoring relationships across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). Pfund co-authored the original Entering Mentoring curriculum and co-authored dozens of papers documenting the effectiveness of this approach. Pfund is director of the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experience in Research at UW-Madison (CIMER). She is also director of Mentorship Initiatives with ICTR and was the principal investigator of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Coordination Center. Pfund is a member of the National Academies committee that published the consensus report and online guide, The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM.
Chad Shorter, PhD, is the Training and Education Project Manager for the Workforce Development team at ICTR. He leverages a versatile skill set that he has developed over more than twenty years in higher education. He combines his experience in evaluation and practical research, faculty development, and instructional technology support with the critical analytical skills acquired in his academic training to help coordinate Workforce Development’s programs and projects. Chad completed a PhD in Italian Literature at UW–Madison with an MA (University of Virginia) and BA (Brigham Young University) in Italian Language and Literature.
Whitney Sweeney, PhD, is a scientist with ICTR’s Team Science Program. She holds a PhD in cognitive and biological psychology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Leveraging over 20 years of experience in higher education, she empowers teams to establish effective processes that lead to enhanced communication, psychologically safe team cultures, and innovative collaborative problem-solving.
Panel presentation
Anjon (Jon) Audhya, PhD, is the Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research, Biotechnology, and Graduate Studies at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. He is responsible for the leadership and direct management of the research enterprise within the School. He leads research program development and provides oversight of the school’s research programs, centers and institutes, such as the Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine, the UW Carbone Cancer Center, and the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute.
Audhya joined the UW-Madison faculty in 2008 and is now a professor in the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, where he leads a research program focused on mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease and cancer.
Joshua Lang, MD, is a professor of medicine and is a medical oncologist with expertise in prostate cancer treatment and in molecular and cell biology. He is the Associate Director of Translation Research in the UW Carbone Cancer Center and the Co-Director of the UW Physician Scientist Training Program. He has trained in the field of molecular biology since 1997 as a graduate student in kinesiology under the mentorship of Dr. Karyn Esser. He then pursued medical school with subspecialty training in medical oncology, followed by postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Douglas McNeel in prostate cancer tumor immunology.
Lang joined the faculty in 2012 with an independent laboratory focused on biomarker development in prostate cancer for the clinical translation of epigenetic targeting therapies. He’s had continuous federal funding since 2012 and has authored or coauthored 100+ publications since that time, in journals such as Cancer Discovery, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Research, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Science Translational Medicine, Molecular Cancer Research, Nature Genetics, and Lab on a Chip, among others. He has served on multiple NCI study sections and holds national roles as a voting member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Prostate Cancer Working Group, the NCCN Oncology Pathway. Additionally, he is the Director of the UWCCC Circulating Biomarker Core, which provides development and integration of novel liquid biopsies for translational research and clinical trials.
Scott Reeder, MD, PhD, is the John H. Juhl Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He came to UW-Madison in 2005 from Stanford University where he completed his radiology residency and a fellowship in abdominal and cardiovascular imaging. Previously, he completed medical school at Johns Hopkins University, where he also received his master’s degree and doctorate in biomedical engineering. Originally from Canada, he earned his bachelor of applied science (engineering physics) at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
In addition to his clinical and administrative duties, Reeder is also the director of the UW-Madison Liver Imaging Research Program, an active NIH-funded group that performs research in technical development and translation of new imaging methods, particularly quantitative imaging biomarkers, to assess liver disease. Specific areas of research interests include development of new MRI methods for quantification of abdominal adiposity, liver fat, liver iron overload and other features of diffuse liver disease, quantification of perfusion in liver tumors, hemodynamics of portal hypertension and the use of new contrast agents in liver and biliary diseases. Reeder has authored over 350 manuscripts, is the inventor of over 40 inventions describing his clinical research and technical innovations, and has been awarded more than $22 million in extramural funding as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI.
Srinu Sonti, JD, is a principal of Lewis-Burke Associates LLC, which is based in Washington, DC. Sonti is a seasoned health policy and communications professional who provides clients with unique insights into the inner workings of Congress and regulatory agencies. With years of experience on Capitol Hill and in the private sector, Sonti helps clients achieve their goals by listening to their complex issues and developing a strategy for success. His primary focus is on health policy, and he is passionate about reforming the nation’s delivery system to ensure quality access to care.