Biography:

Dr. Clark is a neuroscientist and the senior program manager of the University of Minnesota’s Medical Discovery Team on Addiction (MDTA). His work as an electrophysiologist focused on glial cell activation of neuronal G protein-coupled receptors and the impact of this activation on the excitability of neurons. Recently, Dr. Clark has shifted focus to community organizations and expanding the MDTA’s public outreach in general. To this end, Dr. Clark provides presentations on the neurobiology of addiction to several recovery organizations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He also partners with the Twin Cities Recovery Project (TCRP) to visit encampments weekly, providing harm reduction supplies and information on recovery programs and is collaborating with TCRP on a study evaluating the impact of recovery center programs on recovery capital and long-term recovery. With colleagues from Harvard Medical School, TCRP and Black Faces Black Voices, Dr. Clark has also been an integral part of the four person team planning and coordinating the annual Boots on the Ground Summit, a summit focused on community-based programming to reduce stigma and racial disparities in access to substance use disorder services.

Biography:

Karrie Molitor is the MnDRIVE Program Manager for the Discovery and Treatments for Brain Conditions. She manages the program's administrative operations and coordinates neuromodulation events, outreach activities, and fellowship opportunities. She is also the Administrative Manager for the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction and has been with the University of Minnesota Medical School since 2018. Before she came to UMN, she received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Minot State University in North Dakota. She has experience as a pharmaceutical auditing specialist, a family advocacy program assistant for the United States Air Force, and a psychiatric residential treatment advisor for children and teenagers with chronic psychiatric and behavioral health issues. While working at the Dakota Boys and Girls ranch in Minot, North Dakota she assisted with equine therapy and was the summer programing art teacher where she taught therapeutic techniques that improved the residents mental health and coping skills.