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2022 Joseph Addison Sewall Award recipient
As a researcher and program leader, Lori Sussel, PhD, has made extraordinary contributions to the University of Colorado that inspire, expand, and improve the work of her colleagues.
Dr. Sussel is a professor of pediatrics and cell and developmental biology at the School of Medicine, director of basic and translational research at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, and associate vice chancellor for basic science research on the Anschutz Medical Campus. She is also the inaugural recipient of the Sissel and Findlow Family Endowed Chair.
Dr. Sussel was a member of the School of Medicine faculty from 1999 to 2007. An accomplished researcher of international renown, she was recruited to Columbia University, where her lab made important discoveries related to pancreatic development. She returned in 2016 to the CU School of Medicine, where she has served as an effective, visionary, and dynamic academic leader.
Since Dr. Sussel’s return, she has continued to be a productive scientist, currently holding five National Institutes of Health Research Project Grants. Her scientific work focuses on the genetic instructions that set the course and drive pancreatic development.
As a campus leader, Dr. Sussel built bridges between strong research programs so that the Anschutz Medical Campus in 2020 was once again recognized by the NIH as a Diabetes Research Center. By incorporating the breadth of diabetes research conducted on campus, the center is a model for collaboration and the foundation for a bold effort to create a Diabetes Across the Lifespan Initiative.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Sussel stepped forward to serve as a COVID official and as a faculty advisor to campus leadership. She provided a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach that helped bring researchers back to their laboratories in a safe and productive environment.
That role served as a proving ground for a new campus position: associate vice chancellor for basic science research. The position was created to ensure that the needs and interests of the basic science research community were represented and protected. Dr. Sussel has served in an exemplary fashion.
Dr. Sussel has been instrumental in the creation and implementation of multi-institutional efforts that link programs in ways that strengthen all. In 2020, she helped start an initiative to promote research interactions between the Anschutz and Boulder campuses. She also has helped to develop a unified program on the Anschutz campus that offers central support for multi-investigator grants.
A valued colleague, thoughtful designer of academic programs, and accomplished problem-solver, Dr. Sussel is an outstanding recipient of the Joseph Addison Sewall Award, which recognizes University of Colorado faculty members who make exceptional contributions of leadership and vision to the health sciences.
Congratulations, Dr. Sussel!
