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Biographies

The Sanford Project is lucky to have the support of a world-class team in its fight against type 1 juvenile diabetes, including Denny Sanford, the revolutionary donator to this project.

Headed by experts in the field of diabetes research, The Sanford Project’s search for a cure starts in the minds of these brilliant leaders and researchers.


Kelby K. Krabbenhoft

President and Chief Executive Officer, Sanford Health Sioux Falls, SD

A native of Mankato, Minnesota, Mr. Krabbenhoft received his BA in Business and Hospital Administration from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where he was a varsity basketball standout. He received his Masters in Business Administration from Minnesota State University Mankato.

Mr. Krabbenhoft has held executive leadership positions in hospital and health system management for more than 15 years. He previously served as President/CEO of Freeman Health System in Joplin, MO, and Executive Vice President of the six-hospital, Sisters of Mary of the Presentation Health System in Fargo, ND. He was formerly President of St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley, IL, as well as Guttenberg Municipal Hospital in Guttenberg, IA.

Mr. Krabbenhoft was chosen Modern Healthcare magazine’s “Up and Comer” in 1994. He joined Sanford Health, formerly Sioux Valley Hospitals & Health System, as President in 1996. He became CEO of the health system when it was launched in May 1997.

Under Mr. Krabbenhoft’s leadership, Sanford Health has experienced exceptional growth, including the integration of physicians through the development of Sanford Clinic, a large physician organization with nearly 370 physicians practicing in a wide range of specialties, and through the creation of a very successful health plan.

Mr. Krabbenhoft has held numerous positions of leadership and authority in state hospital associations and on corporate and civic boards.

David C. Link

Executive Vice President, Sanford Health Sioux Falls, SD

David C. Link has served as the Executive Vice President of Sanford Health since May of 1997. Mr. Link has been with Sanford for more than 24 years and received his Masters in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota. He was a Bush Leadership Fellow and received his Masters in Hospital and Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Link has been a central figure in strategic planning and development for Sanford Health and, among other things, is responsible for the Sanford Initiatives.

Mr. Link is involved in many community associations. Leadership positions include chairing the South Dakota EPSCoR/REACH Committee, the South Dakota Technology Business Center Board of Directors, the Forward Sioux Falls Technology Committee and a past chair of Junior Achievement of South Dakota Board of Directors. He is also a member of the South Dakota 2010 Research and Commercialization Council.

 

M. Benjamin Perryman, PhD

Vice President Research, Sanford Health Sioux Falls, SD

As Vice President of Research for Sanford Health, Ben Perryman, PhD, is responsible for developing the research structure of Sanford Health across all aspects of health care research. Ben is a well respected scientist in the area of pediatric cardiovascular disease, led the technology transfer efforts for the University of Colorado and has been successful in the start up of a bio technology company. Ben will assist Sanford Health in developing an excellent research organization. Ben most recently served as the Executive Director of Sanford Research/USD.

Dr. Perryman holds a BS from Emory University, a MS in Microbiology from the University of Montana and a PhD in Microbiology from Texas A & M.


 

Fred Levine, M.D., PhD

Director, Sanford Children's Health Research Center Sioux Falls, SD

Dr. Fred Levine is Director of the Sanford Children's Health Research Center and professor at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research. Dr. Levine and his co-workers recently demonstrated the existence of endocrine stem cells in the adult human pancreas. The laboratory is pursuing the development of cell therapies for diabetes using a variety of approaches, including high throughput screening.

Dr. Levine has been working in the field of cell transplantation therapies for diabetes and b-cell biology for more than fifteen years. His laboratory was the first to develop immortalized cell lines from the human endocrine pancreas as models of beta-cell growth and differentiation. He has made insights into cellular senescence in the endocrine pancreas, finding that b-cells undergo rapid senescence when stimulated to proliferate.
Prior to joining Burnham, he was a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, where he continues to see children with inherited metabolic diseases. Dr. Levine received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Harvard, his PhD in genetics and his MD from the University of Washington. His clinical training as a pediatric geneticist was at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.