April 2026

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According to the National Kidney Foundation, “Chronic kidney disease is when the kidneys have become damaged over time (for at least 3 months) and have a hard time doing all their important jobs. CKD also increases the risk of other health problems like heart disease and stroke. Developing CKD is usually a very slow process with very few symptoms at first.”

One complexity Anne Murray, MD, MSc, explored is why patients with moderate to end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis have two to four times the rate of cognitive impairment and dementia compared to those without CKD. Murray has conducted several studies in hemodialysis patients, patients who receive treatment from a machine that removes waste and toxins from the blood. As the Principal Investigator (PI), she’s led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Aging (NIA)-funded study on the BRain IN Kidney disease (BRINK) study in patients in the Twin Cities with moderate CKD, who have about half or less of their kidney function.

Most people want to live long, healthy lives and age well. As a geriatrician, a doctor specializing in the care of older persons, Anne Murray, MD, MSc, has pursued research to help patients achieve a healthy lifespan, or an independent life without dementia or disability.

Dr. Murray is an internal medicine doctor and geriatrician at Hennepin Healthcare. She is also a dementia epidemiologist, studying how commonly different types of dementia and cognitive impairment (CI) occur in different populations and their risk factors to better understand how to prevent them. She is also Professor of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota, and the Medical Director of Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s (HHRI’s) Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research.

Dr. Murray co-directed an aspirin study called ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE), with collaborators at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The goals of ASPREE were to determine whether daily low-dose aspirin (LDA) might preserve a healthy lifespan or reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and to identify other factors that might prolong healthy lifespan.



What Long-Term Data Reveals About Aspirin and Cancer Risk

The recently published findings in JAMA Oncology, “Cancer Incidence and Mortality With Aspirin in Older Adults: Follow-Up of the ASPREE Trial,” show that taking a low-dose of daily aspirin does not reduce overall cancer rates in older adults, including colon cancer, but increases the risk of cancer-related mortality. Findings of this study suggest that starting a long-term aspirin strategy to prevent cancer is not recommended for older adults. Learn more.



Turning Up the Volume on Brain Health in Older Adults

As part of a sub-study of the ASPirin Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial, the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP) focuses on the physical, behavioral, social, economic, and environmental factors that positively and negatively impact the health and quality of life of older adults. As part of the ALSOP study, researchers found that always listening to music, compared with never, rarely, or sometimes listening to music after the age of 70, was associated with a 39 percent reduction in dementia risk and a lower risk of memory loss. The study included more than 10,800 older adults. Learn more.

Spotlight

The Healthy Aging in the Senior Years (HATS) study explores why older Black adults have twice the risk of dementia compared to older white adults in the United States. The study is one of the current aging and dementia research projects at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute's (HHRI) Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research.

Recognizing Excellence

Recent Awards & Honors

• Malaria researcher and immunologist Kristina Burrack, PhD, won this year's University of Minnesota Robert-Hebeel Early-Stage Investigators (ESI) Award. This award allows Dr. Burrack and other ESI awardees to showcase their work alongside the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Minnesota. As part of the award, Dr. Burrack was given a platform to speak on "IL-15 and CD40 agonist therapies improve resident memory T cell formation and function following genetically attenuated Plasmodium vaccination," at the Robert P. Hebbel Research Day on April 29.

• Geriatrician Kerry Sheets, MD, is the 2026 recipient of the American Geriatric Society's (AGS) Health in Aging Foundation's New Investigator Award. This award honors her advancements and innovative contributions to the field of geriatrics.
  
• Physician-scientist at Hennepin Healthcare and Infectious Diseases Division Director, Jason V. Baker, MD, MS, has been appointed as the Nongovernment Co-Chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents with HIV. Dr. Baker's infectious disease research has a strong focus on HIV medicine with the long-term vision of improving health outcomes for persons living with HIV, preventing new infections, and contributing to the development of a cure.

Recent Publications

• Vascular neurologist Behnam Sabayan, MD, MSc, PhD, FAHA, recently co-authored a publication in The Lancet, Healthy Longevity, on "Risk factors for early-onset and late-onset dementia: a prospective cohort study." The study explores the under-researched comparison between the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with early-onset and late-onset dementia.

• Internist, pediatrician, and Co-Director of the Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab (HHCJ) Tyler Winkelman, MD, MSc, co-authored a publication in the Community Mental Health Journal on "Arrest Status, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Moderating Social Factors: A Cross-sectional study of a U.S. Sample (2015-2019)." The study examined the link between suicidal ideations/attempts and arrest status. In particular, it explored the link between social determinants of health (SDOH) and financial insecurities, such as not receiving government welfare, among individuals who were arrested within the last 12 months.

• Past and present HHCJ researchers and staff, as well as Quorum members, co-authored a publication in the Journal of General Internal Medicine on the "Experiences of Adults Managing Cardiovascular Health While in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH): A Qualitative Study." In the study, HHCJ and Quorum staff interviewed former homeless individuals with cardiovascular diseases, now equipped with access to PSH, and examined how stable housing or a lack thereof impacts their ability to adhere to cardiovascular health-promoting behaviors such as healthy sleep, nutritious diets, etc.

In the Media

• Addiction medicine researcher and North Star Node Principal Investigator (PI) Gavin Bart, MD, PhD, was interviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune's op-ed, "Roper: Is now the right time for Minneapolis to loosen its drug laws?" The article analyzed Minnesota's 2023 decision to legalize drug paraphernalia to curb the spread of HIV from drug users reusing needles and to prevent future opioid overdoses in Hennepin County. Dr. Bart advised that the rinse-and-repeat drug treatment systems in place aren't working and need a major overhaul, including better accessibility options for underserved communities.

Driven by Data, Guided by Purpose: The HHRI Transplant Team

by Mona Shater, Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG)

When it comes to innovative analytics that help heal and save lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation, no one gives a data-driven push like the HHRI (CDRG) Transplant Team.

“To improve the system is to improve the outcomes; to improve the outcomes is to save a life,” said Allyson Hart, MD, MS, Deputy Director of HHRI Transplant. “Through our partnership with patients, we take a very grounded approach to making the data work for them. We focus on data, but we never forget that the data is made up of the patients we serve through the work that we do.”

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