Meet the Research Team that has your Back

The University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing's Integrative Health and Wellbeing Research Program is a multidisciplinary team of scientists, clinicians (think chiropractors, physical therapists, advanced practice nurses), and mindfulness experts with expertise in complementary and integrative pain care. Together with the community, they investigate non-drug therapies for pain management and wellbeing. Currently, some of this team is working on the Partners4Pain study to increase access to no-cost, non-drug approaches for those who are marginalized due to race, ethnicity, or income.

"As a nation, we spend more healthcare dollars on back and neck pain than any other condition. We know that racially and ethnically minoritized populations living with less income receive worse care for their pain, have worse health outcomes, and experience more disability from their pain than white and more affluent patients," says Dr. Douglas P. Kennedy. "Research has not done a good job in engaging with populations that experience these disparities in healthcare, nor including their voices within the research process, despite having decades of research on why and how to effectively do it."

Dola Greene, Research Assistant, MA Student

What do you do on the team?

As a research assistant, I've been getting more acquainted with the world of integrative practices and research, which requires work to be done in a completely new way.

An important part of community-based research is understanding that there are so many barriers that might prevent people taking part in research. For the most part, people are doing the best they can, given their circumstances. Even as a Black woman who has experienced my own trials and tribulations, I have to be mindful of my assumptions.

Your parents are from Nigeria and had a different perspective on medical care. How did that influence you?

Many integrative practices are rooted in traditional medicine that has been around for ages. For me, pursuing research was really impactful in terms of putting scientific backing to integrative practices that were so real for me growing up.

Who are you outside work?

I've taken on more leadership roles at my church, which is a huge thing for me. This year, all of my family is back together under one roof, and it makes me feel so good.

Linda Hanson, Assistant Research Professor, Assistant Director Integrative Health & Wellbeing Research Program

What do you do?

I've worked with this team since February 2010, implementing all aspects of complex, multi-center complementary and integrative health (CIH) clinical trials for pain management and health behaviors. This includes researching federal funding, developing study protocols and procedures, collecting outcomes data, and working with study oversight bodies (institutional, state, and federal) to maintain regulatory compliance and maximize safety and other protections for our participants.

What surprised you?

Working with the community has encouraged me to reflect on what I believe to be true and why. As a result, I've had to "unlearn" things ingrained in me during my training; unbeknownst to me, some of what I was holding onto was actually creating barriers.

In your spare time, you're a storm chaser. What was one of your more memorable experiences?

The Morton, Texas tornado (May 23, 2022) was a superb tornado intercept "high yield" day. We were in perfect position, in what was a very dusty storm, to watch a large wedge tornado form from a stationary wall cloud less than 0.5 mile away. It was a slow-moving supercell in an area with a reliable road network; there was very little to no damage and no one was injured.

Dr. Douglas P. Kennedy, Assistant Professor

Say more about relationships.

We've cultivated bi-directional research partnerships with community organizations, formed a Community Advisory Team (CAT) with a collaboratively developed charter, co-created presentations for academic conferences, established equitable pay rates for community and scientific consultants, appeared on community media to talk about our work, and spent lots of volunteer hours in the community.

If you want to have research that is representative of communities and be effectively implemented, then it is essential to build these relationships and research processes. These relationships and collaborative processes take time and resources to develop; they don't happen overnight or without intention and planning.

What has surprised you?

The thing that I find surprising is when I hear other researchers talk about how communities don't want to be involved in research or that community-engaged processes are not compatible with rigorous research. We've seen that people are enthused about participating, sharing their stories, and learning more about research.

Outside of work, you play guitar. Who's your favorite?

I can say that for what I'm playing right now Joan Jett, Tom Morello, and Kim Thayil figure in pretty large. I like the percussive sound and energy that each of them brings to their playing.

Brent Leininger, DC, MS, PhD, Associate Professor

Why are we experiencing so much chronic neck and back pain and why must we address it from a whole-person perspective?

That's a big and complex question. We do know that there are multiple factors that are associated with chronic pain, including biophysical factors (muscle strength and coordination), psychological factors (depression, avoiding activity due to fear), and social factors (workload, education, income). Given the multifactorial nature of chronic pain, management strategies that first recognize "who is the person with the pain" and how their life intersects with factors that will make pain management easier or harder are fundamental to addressing it.

Our team just completed a large study of 1,000 participants looking at how well medical care, spinal manipulation (given by chiropractors and physical therapists), or a supported self-management program delivered by chiropractors and physical therapists work for preventing acute episodes or flares of back pain from becoming chronic and impactful pain. We also have a couple of large studies just getting started which will examine ways to improve access to pain management for individuals from populations that experience health disparities.

Tell us about you outside work.

My non-work talents include baking a wide variety of cheesecakes that I share with friends and neighbors, and the ability to identify the species of mosquito that may be bothering you, as I worked on a mosquito surveillance project during my undergraduate studies at South Dakota State University.

Team Member: Blong Lee Vang, Post-Doctoral Associate

Tell us about the team.

I have been with this excellent research team for more than 20 years because of its outstanding leadership. Most importantly, we care about each participant not as a research subject but as an individual, with the understanding that each research participant is an individual suffering from chronic neck and back pain seeking answers to his or her suffering.

What has excited you about the study?

More than 80 percent of the participants "used the exercises they were taught, felt their pain improved, and liked what they learned in the program." This makes me excited and curious to learn what the more extensive study will find, and if this study could contribute to future non-drug self-treatment programs for patients with chronic back pain.

Tell us about life outside work.

I personally suffer from chronic lower back pain from a car accident. My favorite hobbies are spending time with my family and enjoying nature.

Team Member: Amy McGarness, Researcher

How has your personal and professional background informed your research?

I've worked in fitness and wellbeing since 2007. Before I joined this team in 2021, I worked for our current P4P community partner, the YMCA of the North, as a group exercise teacher and personal trainer, specializing in older adults, yoga, and Pilates. My own journey exploring yoga and Pilates as a way to manage (effectively, for me) my low back pain led me to become a fitness professional.

I don't have a degree in research or a related field; I don't have a lot of letters behind my name. You don't have to feel like an academician or scientist to work in research. Research—at the least the type this team does—is really about helping people live better lives.

What have you learned that's surprising or a source of hope?

People are very willing to try the techniques we include in the educational programs; they show up regularly, despite their high-impact pain and challenges caused by their marginalization or income; they support one another in the group sessions and show appreciation to our team, even when we're "just doing our job."

Tell us about your outside work.

I'm a mom and recent empty-nester with two children. My spouse and I are working to figure out what this new phase of life looks like for each of us. I love to cook, travel, read, garden, and do pretty much anything active outside. My past work in acting and theatre complements my research work surprisingly well in many areas and is something I want to get back to.