Emergency Medicine
When you think of the emergency department, you usually think of…emergencies. And our emergency departments care for more pediatric emergency and trauma patients than any other health care system in our region. We are proud to have the area’s only Level I pediatric trauma center in a hospital dedicated only to kids.
But our teams are are also known for our research. We perform our own studies to make our emergency care better and share that knowledge through publications. We perform safe clinical trials to see how much better new treatments can be. And we work together with other top hospitals and universities to perform large collaborative studies.
We are part of important research networks, including the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee and Pediatric Emergency Research Network. We regularly work with institutions such as Boston Children’s, the University of Minnesota, and Alberta Children’s.
With our focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, many of our studies are geared toward improving access and outcomes for all children and families who seek medical care at Children’s Minnesota.
Current clinical trials
If you or your child is eligible, you could be part of one of these ongoing studies.
Principal investigator: Anupam Kharbanda
Distal Radius Interventions for Fracture Treatment (DRIFT)
Principal investigators: Kelly Bergmann
A Phase 2/3, Interventional safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy, open-label, multi-center, single-arm study to investigate orally administered PF-07321332 (Nirmatrelvir)/Ritonavir in nonhospitalized symptomatic pediatric participants with COVID-19 who are at risk of progression to severe disease
Principal investigators: Kelly Bergmann
Cast or Operation for Medial Epicondyle Fracture Treatment in Children (COMET)
Principal investigators: Kelly Bergmann
Our focus areas
Our major research areas include:
- Diabetic emergencies
- Appendicitis
- Concussion
- Trauma
- Point-of-care (“bedside”) ultrasound
- How to identify new predictors of illness
- Resource utilization
- Other areas of emergency care
Emergency medicine research staff
Kelly Bergmann, DO grew up in Minnesota and attended medical school at Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He returned to Minnesota for his residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, which included additional certification in global health. He completed a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Minnesota, and an Emergency Ultrasound fellowship at Hennepin County Medical Center. Outside of medicine, Dr. Bergmann enjoys biking, camping, and just spending time with his three children and wife, who practices as a pediatrician in Richfield.
Robert Sicoli, MD is the medical director of the Children’s Minneapolis and St Paul emergency departments. He attended medical school at the State University of NY – Buffalo School of Medicine and completed his pediatrics residency at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals of Cleveland. Rob completed a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and joined Children’s Minnesota in 1993. Under his leadership, Children’s has become a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, three satellite ED services have been added, the ED Tele-medicine program was started, and the Children’s Critical Care Transport program was established. He is married and has two adult-aged children. Each summer, he leads a 15- to 20-member team on a medical mission trip to Zambia, and he and his wife provide medical direction to a summer camp in northern Minnesota for adults with autism and cognitive disabilities.
Anupam Kharbanda, MD is clinical vice-president, chief of critical care services, as well as a pediatric emergency physician. He oversees the cardiac and mother-baby service lines. Anupam attended medical school at the University of Iowa and completed his residency in pediatrics and served as Chief Resident at Columbia University. Anupam completed a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and was an attending physician at Columbia University for five years before relocating to Minneapolis in 2010. Dr. Kharbanda has published numerous articles on pediatric appendicitis and developed a clinical score for appendicitis called pARC. He is nationally recognized for his work on clinical pathways for managing children in the emergency department. He has written textbook chapters on abdominal pain, pediatric appendicitis, and pediatric trauma. Anupam is married and has two children in high school.
Manu Madhok, MPH, MD joined the Emergency Department at Children’s Minnesota as Staff Physician in 2002. He was the director of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship for 10 years. Dr. Madhok attended medical school at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India. He completed residency in Pediatrics at Dupont Hospital for Children, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He did fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Toxicology at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, St. Louis University. He also completed a Master’s in Public Health at St. Louis University. He has presented at national and local meetings and has many publications. His research focus has been in pain management, quality improvement, toxicology, simulation, procedural training, and medical education. He is also an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota.
Henry Ortega, MD attended medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin and a fellowship in Emergency Medicine at Columbus Children’s Hospital (now Nationwide). He is interested in injury prevention and conducts trauma research at Children’s MN. His research has resulted in several publications. He also is involved in the pediatric emergency medicine fellowship program and enjoys teaching. In his spare time, Dr Ortega enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, fly fishing, and running around the lakes in Minneapolis.
Rachel Weigert, MD
General ED Research
Rachel hails from Milwaukee originally, completed her undergraduate training in Biology and Spanish studies at the University of Minnesota, medical school at the University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health, and pediatrics residency and Chief year at Children’s Hospital Wisconsin. After completing her Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship at Childrens Minnesota, she chose to stay on in our emergency department. Her research interests span many topics including diversity, equity, and inclusion, female physician’s rights in the workplace, and firearm injury prevention. She enjoys mentoring fellows and residents in their research endeavors and career planning. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys trying new restaurants, rock climbing, yoga, knitting, reading, and spending time with her husband, two daughters, and two stepchildren.
Ling Zhong, PhD
Clinical Research Manager
Ling grew up in Michigan and obtained her Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She worked as a clinical research compliance specialist at the UW-Madison Carbone Cancer Center before her role as a Quality Improvement Advisor at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin. Ling is a member of the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA). She is passionate about improving patient care through scientific advancement and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in clinical research. Outside of work, Ling enjoys hiking, swimming, traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband and two boys.
Elizabeth Collins-Dippel
Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
Liz’s background is in program evaluation and clinical research. She has a BA in psychology with a minor in statistics from Macalester College. She has experience in market evaluation, literature synthesis, research program development, project management, data collection and quality control, and research dissemination. Outside of work, she spends her time reading, chasing her preschooler, and going to theater.
Shea Lammers, MS
Biostatistician I
Shea’s area of specialty encompasses early childhood development and parenting best practices. She obtained her Master’s degree in Developmental Science while working in the Infant Cognitive Development Lab and as an Extension Associate. Her research skills include study development, data collection, data analysis (quantitative and qualitative), and various research dissemination techniques. Her favorite hobbies involve spending quality time with family and friends outdoors, such as traveling, hiking, camping, and gardening.
Katie DeWitt
Clinical Research Coordinator
Katie joined the ED research team in 2022 as a Research Assistant before being promoted to Clinical Research Coordinator. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, studying psychology and neuroscience, and is currently in her last year of her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities with a specialization in Maternal & Child Health. Katie’s research background is in developmental psychology and her primary interest is understanding how trauma experienced in childhood impacts one’s psychological wellbeing and outcomes across the lifespan. Outside of work, Katie enjoys yoga, reading thriller novels, and playing with her chinchilla, Chester.