The
Joint Degree Program Advisory Board is a group of lawyers, physicians, and policymakers whose work directly involves an area covered by the Joint Degree Program. Board members serve as mentors to Joint Degree Program students and have been instrumental in funding events and scholarships. The Advisory Board meets twice per year and holds a reception each fall in honor of the Joint Degree Program students.
Current board members are:
Martha Brand, JD, now retired, was most recently Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), a nonprofit organization working to protect Minnesota's natural resources, wildlife, and the health of its people. Prior to being selected as Executive Director of the MCEA, she completed a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellowship and served as an environmental consultant, after having been a partner at the Minneapolis-based law firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard practicing environmental law from 1981 to 1998. She earned her JD at Boston University.
Amos S. Deinard, Jr., MD, MPH, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, and School of Public Health. His long career has focused on aiding underserved communities in the Twin Cities. He worked for 15 years (1969-84) as the Pediatric Consultant to the Minneapolis Health Department's Maternal and Child Health program, followed by 15 years as Director of the Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC). CUHCC serves uninsured and underinsured patients of all ages in the Phillips neighborhood which is one of the poorest in the city and consists of a highly diverse community of Native American, Hispanic, Southeast Asian, Somali, and white residents. Prof. Deinard has received numerous awards, including the 2008 Distinguished Service Award of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the University of Minnesota's Award for Outstanding Community Service, the Minneapolis Award for Contributions to the City of Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Department of Health Betty Hubbard Maternal and Child Health Leadership Certificate of Recognition. He received his MD and MPH from the University of Minnesota.
Brian Dorn, JD, PhD, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, practices patent law with an emphasis on patent prosecution and client counseling (U.S. and foreign). His practice is concentrated in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Dr. Dorn has prosecuted patents and worked on opinions regarding stem cells, humanized antibodies, siRNA, small-molecule pharmaceuticals and therapeutic uses, pharmaceutical delivery systems, antimicrobials, therapeutic peptides, diagnostic and immuno-assays, phage display systems, microarrays, therapeutic medical device coatings, and transgenic animals. Recently, he has been a CLE speaker on the topics of gene patenting and biosimilars. Dr. Dorn has also authored multiple, peer-reviewed scientific publications relating to his research in microbiology, human and microbial genetics, and cell biology. He received his PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Microbiology/Immunology and his JD magna cum laude from the University of Florida.
Mark Ellinger, JD, PhD, Senior Principal, Fish & Richardson, Twin Cities office. Fish & Richardson is a leading global law firm with 400 attorneys and technology specialists practicing intellectual property strategy and counseling, intellectual property litigation, and business litigation. His practice emphasizes patent prosecution, opinions, due diligence investigations, licensing and counseling in the medical biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and medical science fields. Dr. Ellinger is a frequent speaker on intellectual property aspects of biotechnology and is a treatise co-author and lecturer for the Patent Resources Group's course "Pharma and Biotech Strategies for Patent Prosecution, Hatch-Waxman, Litigation and Licensing." Dr. Ellinger received a PhD in developmental biology from the University of Minnesota and a JD from Harvard University Law School. Prior to law school, Dr. Ellinger was a tenured Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University and a Visiting Scientist at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories.
Erin Furlong, JD, MPH, is Associate General Counsel to OptumHealth. Ms. Furlong's career has been in-house, with a practice focus on general health, life sciences, and corporate law, having worked in the manged care and medical device industries. While practicing, Ms. Furlong also taught first year legal writing for two years at the University of Minnesota Law School. Ms. Furlong is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Law, Health and Life Sciences Joint Degree Program. She was awarded the '02-'03 Harold M. Fredrikson Memorial Scholarship and a full tuition waiver from the School of Public Health for her MPH coursework. While in graduate school, Ms. Furlong held positions as an Executive Pathways Intern and Management Analyst with the Minnesota Department of Human Services in the Aging and Continuing Care for the Elderly Divisions; clerked for the Elder Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association; was a Borchard Foundation Intern at the American Bar Association's Commission on Law and Aging; and was a student Moot Court Director, Legal Writing Instructor and Admissions Ambassador.
Keith J. Halleland, JD, is a founder and shareholder of Halleland Habicht. He also co-chairs the health law practice. Keith focuses his practice in the areas of regulatory compliance, business transactions and health care policy. He serves as general counsel for the Health Care Compliance Association and chairs the Advisory Council of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Keith's experience in the health care arena also includes mergers and acquisitions of large hospitals, long-term care, and managed care organizations. He serves as general counsel to the largest high risk insurance pool in the country, and previously created an integrated health system involving seventeen hospitals and a health plan with over one million members, as well as an integrated network of community clinics. Prior to HH, Keith co-founded Halleland Lewis Nilan Sipkins & Johnson PA in 1996.
Hubert (Skip) H. Humphrey, III, JD, is a Senior Fellow in Public Health Policy and Law in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University's School of Public Health, Of Counsel ACE Panel member at Tunheim Partners, currently serves on the national board of directors of AARP, the Advocates for Human Rights, and board of trustees of Shattuck-St. Mary's schools. He is a former State Senator and Minnesota Attorney General. As a longtime advocate for non-smoking, Mr. Humphrey was the first attorney general in the nation to bring an antitrust and consumer fraud lawsuit against the tobacco industry, reaching a landmark settlement. In 1999, he was awarded the Tobacco-Free World Prize by the World Health Organization. Mr. Humphrey holds a BA degree from American University and a JD from the University of Minnesota.
Ryan Johnson, Esq., JD, is a member of Fredrikson & Byron's Health Law, Life Sciences, Corporate, and Medicare Fraud and Abuse Groups. Among his clients are hospitals, physician groups, medical device companies, physician management companies, and other health care professionals and businesses. Mr. Johnson's experience includes representation of buyers and sellers in health care mergers and acquisitions; representation of health care providers in structuring joint ventures and strategic alliances; representation of physician groups and hospitals in civil and criminal investigations; analysis of physician self-referral (Stark), fraud and abuse, and other federal and state regulatory issues in operational matters affecting health care providers; and advising health care providers, health plans, and device manufacturers regarding patient privacy issues, including compliance with HIPAA. Mr. Johnson received his JD at the University of Minnesota.
Rep. Phyllis Kahn, PhD, MPA, is a member of the Minnesota legislature serving her 19th term. Her legislative interests include pension and investment policy, science and technology (most recently, DNA testing and the role of biotechnology in agriculture), information policy, natural resources, and women's rights. She has been the chief author of the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act (controlling smoking in public places), computer crime and computer virus laws, and legislation on nuclear safety, radioactive waste disposal, field tests of genetically modified crops, and infectious waste disposal. Rep. Kahn has also authored laws to require gender equity in athletics and laws prohibiting discrimination based on age or disability. She has been instrumental in obtaining funding for parks, trails, historic preservation, art-enhancement of state buildings, and the expansion of community and urban forests. She has served on many national committees, particularly in the field of science and public policy. She has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Chair of the AAAS section on "General Interest in Science and Engineering." Rep. Kahn received a PhD in Biophysics from Yale and a MPA from the J.F.K. School of Government at Harvard University.
Vanessa Laird, MA, JD, is currently General Counsel, Enterprise Services, United HealthGroup. She was previously Vice President and Senior Counsel for Medtronic's Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management and Neuromodulation businesses, as well as Senior Legal Counsel (based in Tolochenaz, Switzerland) for Medtronic Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to Medtronic, she practiced U.30 S. and international law in the Legal Advisor's Office at the U.S. Department of State. Earlier in her career, she taught law at the University of Sheffield in England and clerked for Judge Stephen S. Trott of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Ms. Laird holds a BA in English and political science from Williams College, magna cum laude with Highest Honors in English; a BA and MA in politics, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University (Worcester College); and a JD from Stanford University.
Kenneth A. Liebman, JD, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, is chair of the firm's Medical Technology Industry Team and a member of the firm's management committee. Mr. Liebman was recognized among the world's best life sciences patent litigators in the first-ever publication of "IAM Life Sciences 250: The World's Leading Life Sciences Patent Litigators." The publication highlighted his work in medical device litigation. He served as lead counsel for the University of Minnesota in its patent licensing litigation with Glaxo Wellcome over the AIDS drug Ziagen. The case settled with the defendant recognizing the validity of the University's patents and agreeing to pay royalties estimated to be $300 million over the life of the patents. The settlement is reported to be the largest ever obtained by any public university in patent license litigation. He has also been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and William Mitchell Law School. Mr. Liebman received his JD from Yale Law School. For more information, visit http://www.faegre.com/showbio.aspx?Show=1361
David R. Melloh, JD, chairs Lindquist & Vennum's Health Law practice group. He has advised healthcare providers such as hospitals and integrated delivery systems, physician group practices, pharmacies, and long-term care organizations for his entire career. In doing so, he has developed a national reputation in structuring hospital-physician joint ventures and other health industry transactions. Mr. Melloh specializes in devising strategies to solve complex problems and ensure compliance with applicable laws (such as the Stark and anti-kickback statutes) while helping his clients meet their business objectives. He earned an BA from Carleton College, an MA in Political Science at the University of Minnesota, and received his JD from Vanderbilt University, where he was an editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.
Ruth A. Mickelsen, JD, MPH, MA is currently an Affiliate Faculty Member of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. Ruth recently obtained a MA in Bioethics and Health policy from the Neiswanger Institute, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago. She is also member of the Adjunct Faculty at William Mitchell College of Law where she teaches a seminar in Bioethics and the Law. Previously she was Vice President and Ethics Advisor for Allina Hospitals and Clinics, a non-profit hospital and clinic organization. She practiced health law in the public sector, in private practice and as in house counsel for over 20 years. She was appointed a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at William Mitchell College of Law during the 1999-2000 academic year and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of William Mitchell, where she chairs the Academic Affairs Committee. Ms. Mickelsen is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics (ASLME) and a past president of ASLME. She is also an Associate with the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics and serves on several hospital based ethics committees in the Twin Cities. Ms. Mickelsen is co-author of Law and Mental Health Professionals, American Psychological Association and is a frequent lecturer on issues of health law, policy and ethics. Ms. Mickelsen was awarded a Bush Leadership Fellowship in 1985 and has been named a leading Health Law Lawyer by the Minnesota Business Guidebook Law and Leading Attorneys. She received her Masters of Public Health 1986, cum laude from the Harvard School of Public Health and her Juris Doctor in 1981, cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law.
Kim Otte, JD, MA, has been Legal Counsel at Mayo Clinic Rochester since 2002. Ms. Otte focuses her practice on regulatory compliance issues, including HIPAA, Medicare, and fraud and abuse. She is also a member of the Mayo Ethics Consult Service and the Mayo Reproductive Medicine Advisory Board. Ms. Otte participates in education of the medical school students, residents, and nurses at Mayo. Ms. Otte is an active member of the Fraud and Abuse Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association. Prior to joing Mayo Clinic, Ms. Otte worked for Medica Health Plans in their legal and public policy department and for Halleland Lewis in their Health Law Practice Group. Ms. Otte has been an adjunct professor of Health Law at the University of Minnesota, William Mitchell College of Law, and Hamline University School of Law. Ms. Otte holds a JD from the University of Minnesota and a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota, with areas of expertise in biomedical ethics and feminist philosophy.
Winthrop A. Rockwell, JD, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, concentrates on commercial and product liability litigation. He is a member of Faegre Baker Daniels' Management Committee, where his responsibilities include practice development, strategy and international matters. Mr. Rockwell served for 6 months in 1979 as Associate General Counsel of President Carter's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island. He has served as a board member of various Minnesota nonprofit organizations, is a current member of the Minnesota Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land, and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Mr. Rockwell is a Fellow of the British-American Project founded by the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Before law school, he worked on the foreign desk of the New York Times and as an Assistant to the President of Dartmouth College. Mr. Rockwell received his JD from New York University.
Mark Rotenberg, JD, MA, MPhil, has served as the University of Minnesota's General Counsel since 1992. Previously he was a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, specializing in employment litigation and labor law. He served in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal counsel to the President, White House staff, and heads of the Executive Departments. Mr. Rotenberg also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Patricia M. Wald, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. He earned his BA magna cum laude, from Brandeis University, and his MA, MPhil, and JD degrees from Columbia University, where he also served as an Editor of the Columbia Law Review. He is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI), and is an Adjunct Professor in both the Law School and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.
Ann L. Russell, JD, MSW, is a lawyer with 25 years of experience in advising health care entities. Now retired, she was most recently an Associate Counsel for Catholic Health Initiatives, a national nonprofit organization with over 78 hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities, she has also represented the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic and Hennepin County's Medical Center and Community Health Department. Ms. Russell has extensive experience in advising health care providers on transactional, operational, regulatory, and patient care matters as well as ethical dilemmas. She is currently a member of the Ethics Committees of the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, and Hennepin County Medical Center, and serves on the Ethics Advisory Committee to the Archbishop of St. Paul, MN. She served for 10 years on the Advisory Board to the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. Ms. Russell teaches biomedical ethics at William Mitchell College of Law. Prior to practicing law, Ms. Russell was a psychiatric social worker in Hennepin County's Mental Health Center.
Paul Savereide, JD, PhD, earned his JD and PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Savereide is Of Counsel with Viksnins, Harris & Padys PLLP and was recently a Senior Associate at Patterson, Thuente, Skaar, and Christensen, a Minneapolis law firm specializing in intellectual property law. Previously, he was a Senior Intellectual Property Attorney at Cargill, Inc. and Corporate Patent Counsel for Chiron Corporation in Emeryville, CA. He also worked as an Associate with the Minneapolis office of the Dorsey & Whitney law firm. He is a member of the Minnesota Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Attorney.
Byron E. Starns, JD, is a shareholder and partner at the firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard, practicing in the areas of environmental and public law, energy, and regulated industries. He chaired the firm's Litigation Division from 2002-08. Mr. Starns served as Minnesota Chief Deputy Attorney General (1974-79) and Deputy Attorney General for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (1973-74). He is admitted to practice in the State of Minnesota, the State of Illinois, before the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. He earned his JD at the University of Chicago and his BA at Duke University.
Martin Stillman, JD, MD, practices internal medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center and is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is both a Fellow and elected Board Member of the American College of Legal Medicine and is currently serving a second term as President of the Minnesota Medical Alumni Society. His academic work includes teaching of medical error, malpractice, and risk management to second-year students at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and he serves on the Advisory Committee for the monthly publication, Minnesota Medicine. Dr. Stillman graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1993 and the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1997. He completed his training in internal medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in 2000 and then served one year as Chief Resident. During his residency, he was recognized as an outstanding teacher, winning a Minnesota Medical Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award.
Margo S. Struthers, JD, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP, is Chair of the firm's Health Law Practice Group. She represents a variety of health care clients, including hospitals and other health care providers, provider associations, managed care and other insurance companies, and medical manufacturers. Her practice involves organizational structure and other issues affecting nonprofit, professional, and business organizations in health care. She also has substantial experience related to health care contracts, institutional and professional licensure, HMO and insurance regulation, fraud and abuse and other compliance issues, director and officer liability, conflict of interest and tax exemption issues, medical staff bylaws and credentialing, bioethical issues, and health information and confidentiality issues. In addition to being an active member and past-Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Health Law Section, she is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and is a past-President of the Minnesota chapter of the former American Academy of Healthcare Attorneys. Ms. Struthers has also written and lectured extensively on a variety of health care, third-party payment, tax exemption, and other nonprofit organization issues. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School teaching a seminar on Health Care Fraud and Abuse. She received her JD at the University of Minnesota.
Robert L. Thompson, JD, LLM, joined Lindquist & Vennum in 2006 and focuses his practice on corporate and business law, mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust law, with particular emphasis on the life sciences industries. Mr. Thompson chairs Lindquist & Vennum's life sciences group and serves on the board of directors of LifeScience Alley. He has more than 30 years of experience as a lawyer and international business executive in the Twin Cities and in New York, Boston and India. Before joining Lindquist & Vennum, he served as vice president and general counsel of Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. in Cambridge, MA, and prior to that as president of Novartis India in Mumbai. In his early career, he represented agribusiness, pharmaceutical, nutrition, and specialty chemical companies in a wide range of business law matters and strategic transactions. He earned an LLM at New York University School of Law and received his JD from the University of Oregon School of Law.
Judith Walker, JD, is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. Ms. Walker is accountable for providing leadership on regulatory compliance issues and for maintaining the company's compliance and ethics program. She has held several positions at Blue Cross since joining the company in 1988, most recently serving as Deputy General Counsel. Prior to joining Blue Cross, Ms. Walker worked for the Minnesota Department of Health in HMO regulation and taught undergraduate students at the University of St. Thomas. Ms. Walker serves on the Advisory Board of the Health Law Institute of Hamline University School of Law. She has participated in the mentoring programs of the University of St. Thomas Law School and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Ms. Walker received her undergraduate degree from St. Mary's University in Winona, MN and her law degree from Hamline University School of Law.