2023 Minneapolis Speakers

Dr. Harris is a clinical cardiologist and echocardiographer with clinical and research interests in aortic disease and aortic dissection, valvular heart disease, and heart disease in athletes. He trained at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center and was previously Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Harris helped create the HCMC/MHI Cardiology fellowship program in 2011 and is the Site Director at Abbott-Northwestern hospital.  He is also a member of the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD). In 2005, he brought together the MHI multidisciplinary aortic dissection team, a standardized care approach for acute dissection, which was a new paradigm for the treatment of this high risk condition, now being replicated at other centers nationally. His research  which is recognized nationally includes over 110 scientific manuscripts. Most of all, he enjoys the complete spectrum of cardiovascular care from prevention of disease to acute illness. He values the privilege to build relationships with patients and families on a continuing basis.

Dr. Beckmann received a 6 year medical degree from Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Germany, and then a Master of Biotechnology from University of Pennsylvania. He completed his Cardiac Surgery residency at Hannover Medical School, in Hannover, Germany. Dr. Beckmann additionally completed an advanced fellowship in Adult Cardiac Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

He developed a robust clinical and research practice at the Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany where his appointments included; Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery (German: ‘Privatdozent’) and Director of Research, Interdisciplinary Aortic Center. 

Dr. Beckmann has published over 50 peer reviewed articles primarily focused on surgical treatments of aortic pathology as well as numerous presentations.

As part of the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute, his practice includes cardiac surgery at Abbott Northwestern and United Hospitals.

Dr. Buckler is a clinical cardiologist and Director of the Minneapolis Heart Institute’s TeleHeart program which has been at the forefront of providing telemedicine services to outlying areas since 2014. After finishing medical school and residency at the University of Michigan, Dr. Buckler completed his training at the University of Washington in Seattle and went on to practice in the region for 9 years, eventually becoming Chief of Cardiology at Swedish Medical Center. Wishing to return to the Midwest, Dr. Buckler and his wife, along with their 3 children, moved to the Twin Cities where he joined MHI in 2018. He assumed the role of Director of TeleHeart Services in 2022 where his interest in technology met his passions for customer service and quality care. His clinical interests are in atrial fibrillation and telemedicine and practices out of the Abbott Northwestern, Chaska, Waconia, and Glencoe offices. 

Danielle is the Community Health Education Coordinator for NAMI Minnesota, where she  advocates for more comprehensive mental health practices through health education and creating spaces of support. Danielle leads NAMI’s smoking cessation efforts by working with community members and mental health professionals to provide education on the connections of tobacco use and mental health. She holds a B.S in Public Health and Community Health Education and is a current MPH student in Global Public Health at St. Catherine University. Danielle continues to use her education and diverse public health experiences within disaster relief efforts, the mental health campaign “Make It OK,” and the Crisis Text Line to uplight the mission of NAMI.

Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Materials Science

University of Minnesota

Prof. Tranquillo received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 1986 from the University of Pennsylvania.  He was a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Mathematical Biology at Oxford for one year before beginning his appointment in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science at the University of Minnesota in 1987. He served as the head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering from its inception in 2000 until 2019. Prof. Tranquillohas used a combined modeling and experimental approach to understand cell behavior, in particular, directed cell migration, and cell-matrix mechanical interactions.  More recently, his research program has focused on the role of these cell behaviors in cardiovascular and neural tissue engineering applications with a focus on clinical translation. His research program has resulted in over 120 peer-reviewed original research publications as first or senior author, being recognized with his selection for the TERMIS-AM Senior Scientist Award in 2015.  Resulting intellectual property for a cardiovascular regenerative material platform technology was licensed by Vascudyne, Inc in 2017. His research has been continuously funded by NHLBI R01 grants since 1998 and major funding also currently includes a DoD CDMRP TTDA grant and Regenerative Medicine Minnesota grant. He currently also co-directs an NHLBI T32 cardiovascular engineering training program. Prof. Tranquillo is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Biomedical Engineering Society, and he is also a Distinguished McKnight University Professor.

Meghan Holmes is a grateful heart patient, having lived with a congenital aortic valve defect (unicuspid), which was replaced with a mechanical valve at the age of 42. She grew up in Canada, has lived in mining and farming towns, a police station, Princeton, and the University of Cambridge, but calls Minnesota home. She holds an M.Sc. in Microbiology and Immunology, is an at-home parent and community volunteer, and is a person that stutters.  She takes what her care team at the Minneapolis Heart Institute has accomplished throughout her heart journey as a true human gift and tries to honor this by working towards the best health she can personally achieve. She hopes to share her experience living with aortic disease, and her experience leading up to her open-heart surgery and recovery process. Meghan lives in Chanhassen with her husband Russ and two daughters.