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Meet Our CoPARC Team
Ellen L. Burnham, MD, MS
Dr. Burnham is the director (principal investigator) of CoPARC. Dr. Burnham’s research centers on investigations delineating the relationship between alcohol and substance misuse and critical illness, including pneumonia and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Her work focuses on understanding fundamental alterations in lung immunity related to substance misuse that predisposes individuals to develop severe pulmonary infections. Her research highlights the importance of identifying substance use (particularly alcohol misuse) as a common modifiable risk factor driving pulmonary infections and lung injury. Since 2011, Dr. Burnham has served as the PI for CoPARC to support clinical and translational research for investigators across the US, including fellows and junior faculty. She has also received additional extramural research support to examine the intersection between alcohol and cannabis use, and the impact of alcohol misuse on outcomes in COVID-19 associated ARDS. Finally, she has been the site PI for a number of NIH-funded clinical trials investigating therapies for sepsis and ARDS.
Morgan Martin, BS
Morgan has a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from the University of Denver. She is a Research Services Professional who is in charge of screening, enrolling, and scheduling CoPARC study participants. She also assists with study procedures, sample processing, and data analysis.
Sarah Jolley, MD, MSc
Dr. Jolley is an Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. She received her medical degree at Louisiana State University prior to completing her Internal Medicine Residency, Chief Residency and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Washington. While at the University of Washington, she obtained a Master’s degree in Epidemiology and subsequently a Master’s degree in Clinical Research Methods from Tulane University. Dr. Jolley serves as Director of the ICU Recovery and Long COVID clinic at Anschutz Medical Center. Her research evaluates various aspects of post-ICU recovery with particular interest in physical functional recovery, biomarkers of neuromuscular injury and the impact of alcohol misuse on neuromuscular function.
James P. Maloney, MD
Dr. Maloney is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine and has been the Data and Safety Officer for alcohol-related projects with CoPARC since 2006. He is co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the CTRC at the University of Colorado Denver. He is extensively familiar with reviewing and critiquing safety issues that surround clinical investigations.
Suzanne Slaughter, MS
Suzanne Slaughter is the CoPARC Laboratory and Biorepository Manager. She holds a Master of Science Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and has over 15 years of laboratory experience in both industry and academia. She is responsible for biospecimen processing, storage, and cataloging of samples collected at the UCD site from all research subjects and patients in the CoPARC biorepository. Suzanne coordinates Investigators' requests and CoPARC sample fulfillment. She also performs various laboratory procedures, immunoassays, cell culture experiments and RNA extractions as needed.
Isabella Nowakowski, BA, MPH
Isabella graduated from the Colorado School of Public Health located on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus with a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Health Systems, Management, and Policy. She also graduated from the University of Colorado Denver with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Minors in Public Health Demography, Sociology, and Behavioral Cognitive Neuroscience. She is a Research Services Professional responsible for researcher outreach, website management, biorepository organization, inventory management, and assisting with the processing of clinical specimens.
Jeffrey McKeehan, RN, MSN
Mr. McKeehan manages regulatory and compliance for all COPARC studies, and serves a liaison between the PI and the institutional review board.
Kelsey Hills-Dunlap, MD
Dr. Hills-Dunlap is an Instructor in the Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine. She received her medical degree from Stanford University and completed her Internal Medicine Residency, Chief Residency and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Dr. Hills-Dunlap’s research interests are at the intersection of substance use and critical care, with a focus on improving outcomes for ICU patients with alcohol misuse and facilitating entry into treatment for ICU survivors with alcohol misuse. She is currently funded by the NIAAA/NIH with an F32 award to develop an alcohol treatment patient decision aid for ICU survivors.