Roni Evans, DC, MS
Associate Professor
Dean of Research, Northwestern Health Sciences University
Director, Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies

Dr. Evans received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Winnipeg in 1989 and her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in 1993. She was the recipient of the Foundation of Chiropractic and Education's Peter Bommarito Research Residency Award (1995-1998) and completed her Master of Science degree in Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health in 2000.

Dr. Evans is the Dean of Research and the Director of the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies (WHCCS) at Northwestern Health Sciences University. She has extensive experience implementing clinical research, and has managed study teams for over a decade. Dr. Evans has been co-investigator and coordinator of several randomized clinical trials investigating physical treatments for low back, neck and headache disorders, and has participated in several systematic reviews. She is the principal investigator of qualitative studies investigating patient beliefs, expectations, and preferences.

Dr. Evans has played a pivotal role in the design, grant-writing, and successful acquisition of five, on-going federally funded randomized clinical trials in collaboration with Dr. Bronfort and investigators from the Berman Center at Hennepin County Medical Center and the University of Minnesota. Her main areas of focus have been on multi-methods study design, grant acquisition and study implementation in the areas of back, neck pain and headache. She is also interested in applying research findings to clinical practice through the integration of evidence based health care into Northwestern's curricula and clinical settings.

Timothy Hammer, DC
Clinical Research Associate

Dr. Hammer received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) in 2000 and his Doctor of Chiropractic degree in April 2002. He has worked as a Clinical Research Associate at the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies (WHCCS) since January 2004. Dr. Hammer's focus has been on the evaluation and treatment of study participants in several randomized clinical trials and he has assisted with the preparation of several proposals for funding. He is a Fellow in the NIH funded Minnesota Consortium for CAM Clinical Research Program where he is pursuing a Masters of Science degree in Clinical Research.

Jacob Herbst, MA
Exercise Therapist

Jacob received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 and his Master of Arts degree in Exercise Physiology in 2003, from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. He joined the WHCCS in 2004, where he serves as an Exercise Therapist/Research Assistant for several federally funded randomized clinical trials. In this role, he performs initial eligibility screening and informed consents with potential participants and provides supervision and guidance to patients in supervised rehabilitative exercise and home exercise programs.

Kayla Kelly, BS, MA
Exercise Therapist
Research Assistant

Kayla Kelly earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Northwestern College in Roseville, MN, majoring in Kinesiology and Bible with minors in psychology and counseling. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Exercise Physiology from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. While a graduate student, she was a SHAPE UP supervisor, creating exercise programs for students, faculty, staff, and the Sisters on campus. She completed her internship in cardiac rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital, MN. Kayla joined the WHCCS in 2007 as an Exercise Therapist. In this role, she performs balance, strength, and mobility tests for research participants in federally-funded randomized clinical studies of musculoskeletal conditions, and she supervises their rehabilitative exercise programs and patient self-education sessions. She also conducts phone screening and informed consent interviews of potential research participants.

Claire Legendre, BA
Research Assistant/Patient Coordinator

Claire Legendre received her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire in 2000. After that she worked as an Administrative Coordinator and Materials Manager at the Science Museum of Minnesota: Adult Computer Education Center. From 2004-2005, Claire was the Research Administrative Assistant for the WHCCS. She then assumed the roles of Research Assistant and Patient Coordinator. She is responsible for several study related activities including conducting informed consent and qualitative interviews, transcribing qualitative data, and coordinating and scheduling evaluation and treatment visits for patients in several randomized clinical trials.

Michele Maiers, DC, MPH
Associate Dean of Research and Knowledge Transfer

Dr. Maiers is an Assistant Professor at the WHCCS. She received both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees from Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) in 2000. Dr. Maiers completed her Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health in January 2006. Since her employment at the WHCCS in 1999, she has worked on several research studies at NWHSU. Notably, she served as Project Manager of a randomized clinical trial of chronic back pain funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Currently, Dr. Maiers is the Project Coordinator for the Best Practices Initiative Pilot Study, which is integrating evidence based health care into NWHSU's clinical systems. She is also a co-investigator of two randomized clinical trials investigating chiropractic and exercise for seniors with low back and neck pain, and is a lead investigator on the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Data Collection Project. Dr. Maiers is also a co-investigator of unique qualitative research studies evaluating patient perceptions and expectations of treatment for back and neck conditions.

As the Associate Dean of Research, she will be providing leadership and management for knowledge transfer related activities including design and pursuit of funding for new programs and projects, supervision of faculty/staff related to CAM Research Education Partnership Project, Best Practices, and other future projects. She will continue in her role as study investigator for on-going projects.

Dr. Maiers has been the recipient of several awards including the 2001 ACC ChiroLoan Research Scholarship and a Foundation for Chiropractic Education & Research (FCER) Fellowship in 2001-2002. Also in 2001, she was named a post-doctoral fellow in the Minnesota Consortium for CAM Clinical Research funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Dr. Maiers' research interests include combining qualitative and quantitative research methods for the investigation of CAM therapies and the integration and application of research into CAM clinical practice.

Eileen holds Associate and Bachelor degrees in Nursing from Golden West College (Huntington Beach, CA) and Viterbo University (La Crosse, WI). In 2006 she received her Masters degree in Oriental Medicine from Northwestern Health Science University's (NWHSU) Minnesota college of Oriental Medicine (MCAOM). Since 1992 she has practiced nursing in various clinical and cultural settings, including Cameroon, West Africa. In 2004 she completed a NIH funded clinical research pre-doctoral fellowship at NWHSU's Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies, where she worked on a data collection project for the Edith Davis Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Student Clinic. She remained with the WHCCS as a research assistant and in 2007 joined the faculty as a Clinical Research Nurse. Eileen is currently the project manager for a unique study evaluating integrated care for low back pain, funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Michael Przeslawski, DC
Professor
Research Clinician

Dr. Przeslawski received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Eastern Michigan University and his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Northwestern College of Chiropractic. From 1984 to 2004, he served as a full-time faculty member in the Clinical Sciences Division at Northwestern, actively integrating the latest research literature into his coursework. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he also worked part-time for the WHCCS, performing dynamic spinal motion, strength and endurance assessments of study participants in several federally funded randomized clinical trials. In 2004, he was invited to join the WHCCS as a full-time Associate Professor of Research. Since that time he has played a critical role in clinical trial implementation, evaluating patients for eligibility, providing chiropractic treatment, leading self-care sessions, and refining study protocols. His interests include spinal biomechanics and the integration of research into Northwestern's curriculum.

Craig Schulz, DC
Assistant Professor

Dr. Schulz received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University in 1999. He was in private practice in Maui, Hawaii, and joined the WHCCS in 2001 as a Research Fellow. In 2002, Dr. Schulz was awarded a fellowship from the Minnesota Consortium for CAM Clinical Research through funding provided by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. He is currently completing his Master's degree in Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota as part of his fellowship training. Dr. Schulz has worked on several randomized clinical trials in various capacities, and was the project coordinator of a randomized clinical trial investigating spinal manipulation, rehabilitative exercise and self-care for chronic neck pain, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). He is currently a co-investigator of two federally funded randomized trials investigating manual treatments and exercise for seniors with back and neck pain. His research interests include investigating the biomechanical mechanisms related to back and neck pain, and assessing the effectiveness of commonly used conservative treatments.

Barry Taylor, DC
Assistant Professor

Dr. Taylor received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of North Dakota in 1996 and his Doctor of Chiropractic from Northwestern Health Sciences University in 2004. He is a member of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association, the American Chiropractic Association, the Minnesota Public Health Association, the American Public Health Association, and is a founding board member of World Altering Medicine. Dr. Taylor is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota.

Blong Vang, DC, FACO
Assistant Professor

From September 2002 to 2006, Dr. Vang worked at the Wolfe Harris Center for Clinical Studies as an Objective Examiner and Research Associate performing phone screening, biomechanical exams, and physical exams for several of their clinical trials. Since January 2004, Dr. Vang has practiced chiropractic in his St. Paul clinic. He rejoined WHCCS in January 2008 as an Assistant Professor and currently performs phone screenings, evaluates patients for eligibility, and conducts dynamic spinal motion, strength, and endurance assessments in the WHCCS biomechanics lab. Dr. Vang is Fellow of the Academy of Chiropractic Orthopedists, and a member of the American Chiropractic Association.

Kristine Westrom, MD
Associate Professor

Dr. Westrom received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 and her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota in 1985. She completed a three year Family Practice residency at Bethesda hospital in Saint Paul in 1988. From 1988 to 2002, Dr. Westrom worked as a family physician in Saint Cloud, MN, where her interests led her to combine complementary and alternative therapies with traditional family practice. In 2002, she was awarded a fellowship from the Minnesota Consortium for CAM Clinical Research through funding provided by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. She is currently completing her Masters degree in Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota.

Since joining the WHCCS in 2006, Dr. Westrom has participated in two federally funded studies investigating back and neck pain in seniors. She is also a participating clinician in the recent Back-Related Leg Pain Study, funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and a co-investigator of the innovative Integrated Care for Low Back Pain Study, also funded by HRSA.

Dr. Westrom is a member of the American Holistic Medical Association and Board Certified in Family Practice.

Sarah Zwagerman, BS
Research Clinic Administrator

Sarah Zwagerman received her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology from the College of St. Scholastica in 1997. Prior to joining the WHCCS team, she worked as a therapist in fitness and sports medicine settings and was an Assistant Director of therapeutic recreation in St. Louis Park , MN until October 2001. Sarah joined the team at the WHCCS as an Exercise Therapist and a Project Manager for an NIH-funded randomized clinical trial investigating medical care, spinal manipulation, and self-care for acute neck pain. In 2002, Sarah was named Extramural Clinics Coordinator, assuming responsibility for study implementation at non-WHCCS clinic sites. Drawing on her previous experience working with older populations, Sarah was an exercise therapist on two recently completed senior studies funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. In addition, Sarah coordinates and manages clinic related activities including clinic scheduling, clinic resources, supervision of staff (PCs) and coordination with outside clinics.