Dr. Kunisaki completed his MD degree at The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH) and both his residency (combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics) and fellowship (Adult Pulmonary and Critical Care) at the University of Minnesota. He also completed a Masters of Clinical Research degree at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He joined the medical staff at the Minneapolis VA in 2007 where he began his research career and he advanced to the rank of Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. His work has largely focused on leading team science in clinical trials and observational studies, but has also included translational science and implementation science. He was recruited to the Boise VA Medical Center in 2025 as Director of Clinical and Translational Research.
Dr. Kunisaki is an internationally recognized scientist whose work in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has advanced the field's understanding of exacerbations of COPD, particularly in regards to the clinical impact of these common events such as permanent lung function decline and increased cardiovascular events like heart attacks. He participates in multi-center clinical trials aimed at reducing the risk of these events and improving the lives of persons with COPD. He is also interested in how HIV increases the risk for COPD, even in persons who have never smoked. This work has resulted in multiple international collaborations to understand how this chronic viral infection leads to COPD and what can be done to reduce this risk. He was elected to American Thoracic Society Fellow in 2019 and he was awarded the University of Minnesota Department of Medicine Research Excellence Award in 2020. He is Associate Editor of COPD: The Journal of the COPD Foundation and he is a chartered grant reviewer for NIH's HIV Comorbidities and Clinical Studies study section.
Dr. Kunisaki is also an accomplished educator and mentor. He has mentored multiple early-stage investigators on their way to becoming independent scientists and his mentoring accomplishments were recognized by his receipt of the 2022 American Thoracic Society Clinical Problems Assembly Mentor of the Year Award. He has also received other educational accolades such as the Minneapolis VA Outstanding Educator in Research Award (2019) and Education Excellence Award (2011), as well as Teacher of the Year in 2018 from the University of Minnesota Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellows.
When he is not working, you will probably find Dr. Kunisaki outdoors, doing things like mountain biking, rock climbing, snowboarding, hiking with the dog, or camping.
Publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/ken.kunisaki.1/bibliography/public/
Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7LpUvz4AAAAJ&hl=en