Directors Bio's

Dr. Pat Walker, MD, DTM&H, is the Associate Medical Director for the Global Health Pathway. She trained at MayoMedicalSchooland in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, and received her Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She has a Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Traveler’s Health, from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, as well as a Certificate of Knowledge from the International Society of Travel Medicine. She has worked extensively in refugee and immigrant health care since medical school, and in refugee camps primarily in Thailand, where she grew up.  Her primary interests are in clinical care, education, and health system change to improve outcomes for refugee and immigrants to America. She chaired the State of Minnesota Immigrant Health Task Force, whose recommended best practices are being used nationally, and is co-editing the first textbook of Immigrant Medicine, to be published in 2007.She has received many awards, most recently being named one of 100 Influential Health Care Leaders in Minnesota by Minnesota Physician in 2004.

She directs the Travel Medicine program at HealthPartners, as well as the Center for International Health at Regions Hospital in St Paul, Minnesota, which was established in 1980 and serves refugee and immigrant patients from over 30 different countries. This unique clinic has received national awards for its care delivery model, based on 4 simple principles: hire bilingual/bicultural staff, use professional interpreters, hire providers with expertise in refugee and immigrant health, and have a multidisciplinary program staff. That staff includes four internists and medicine-pediatrics physicians, three psychiatrists and psychologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and a midwife. Approximately a dozen additional support staff and almost 20 full-time interpreters help ensure that top-notch care is delivered to patients whose native language ranges from Tigrinya to Pelle to Oromo to English. The Center for International Health has received more than $1.4 million dollars in foundation support for its work, and continues to be an ideal training site for residents throughout our program. Dr. Walker is thrilled to be involved with this innovative program, designed to provide an outstanding educational experience in global health for internal medicines residents at the University of Minnesota.Email: Pat Walker

Bill Stauffer, MD, DTM&H, completed his Masters in Science in Public Health at the University of Colorado prior to undertaking medical school at the University of Minnesota. After graduation he completed an internal medicine and pediatric residency, as well as a chief resident year at the University. In 1999, Dr. Stauffer completed his Diploma of Tropical Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Public Health and went on to practice tropical and travel medicine in the United States and overseas. He carries his Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical and Travel Medicine from ASTMH. He subsequently completed a three-year pediatric emergency medicine fellowship prior to beginning his adult infectious disease fellowship. He currently co-chairs the Global Health course with Dr. Walker, and works in the Travel Medicine Program at HealthPartners. He has a part-time appointment at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Division of Migration and Quarantine and is directing projects to improve the care of refugees after US arrival. He is the primary convener of the Twin Cities Tropical and Travel Medicine Seminar, a popular evening seminar series. He has written extensively on pediatric travel medicine, lectures nationally, and is currently pursuing research in malaria,  although his main topic of research is mucosal immunity and Entamoeba histolytica with Dr. Jonathan Ravdin. He, too, is thrilled to be leading the Global Health Pathway at the University of Minnesota. Email: Bill Stauffer