Christine Wendt, MD

Christine Wendt, MD, is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Medicine and Faculty in Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep at the Minneapolis VAMC. She became Vice Chair of Research in June 2024 after almost 15 years as Section Chief of PACCS at the Minneapolis VAMC where she was committed to building an academic faculty. In those roles and as a translational physician scientist, Dr. Wendt has extensive experience in mentoring post-doctoral trainees and junior faculty. In recognition of her mentoring, Dr. Wendt has been awarded Teacher of the Year award from the UMN Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship four times, most recently in 2022, and Mentor of the Year for the University of Minnesota CTSI in 2016. She is also a Principal Investigator for research training provided to pre- and post-doctoral trainees through a NHLBI training grant.

Dr. Wendt received her MD from the University of Minnesota, where she also completed her training in Internal Medicine, Chief Residency, and Fellowship before joining the PACCS division as tenure-track faculty. Dr. Wendt has a long-standing career in clinical and translational research in COPD, specifically focusing on biomarkers and pathways of disease with continuous federal funding for over 30 years. Dr. Wendt has extensive involvement with the American Thoracic Society (ATS), including chairing multiple assembly committees, which is a resource for networking and involvement for trainees and junior faculty.