Kristin Colling MD FACS is a trauma, critical care surgeon and the trauma research director at Saint Mary's Medical Center, a level 1 Trauma Center in Duluth, MN. In addition to her clinical care, Dr. Colling is an assistant professor with the University of Minnesota Surgery Department, and a member of the Translational Center for Resuscitative Trauma Research at the UMN. Her research focuses on rural trauma systems, including methods to improve pre-hospital care, improve equity of trauma care access, and studying special populations that are disproportionately represented in rural areas. More than 1.2 million Minnesotans live in rural communities, and rural Minnesotans are at higher risk of death due to injury compared to urban residents. Dr. Colling's research aims to improve these disparities in health outcomes in rural populations.

Rural areas have a disproportionate amount of older adults compared to urban areas.  However, older rural adults are often under represented in research evaluating outcomes after injury or other emergency hospitalizations. Dr. Colling has significant interest in improving outcomes in older adults after injury, with a focus on patient-centered outcomes and maintaining quality of life after injury.