Meet Our CoPARC Team
Ellen L. Burnham, MD, MS
Dr. Burnham is the director (principal investigator) of CoPARC. For the past decade, she has continuously conducted clinical and translational research in patients with alcohol use disorders and controls while developing and maintaining an infrastructure to recruit these subjects. She has also served as a co-investigator for NIH-sponsored clinical trials in critically ill patients, including those with alcohol abuse. She completed a Master of Science in Clinical Research at Emory University, and was previously PI on an NIAAA/NIH K23 award. She is currently the co-director for the NCRR-sponsored KL-2 training program for the Colorado CTSI, and the medical director of the University of Colorado Hospital’s Medical ICU. Her research interests include explaining the predisposition of patients with alcohol use disorders to develop bacterial pneumonia and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (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 Suzanne 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 the processing, storage, and cataloging of samples collected at the UCD site from all research subjects and patients in the CoPARC biorepository. She coordinates the fulfillment and shipping of CoPARC sample requests to collaborators. She also performs various laboratory procedures and bioassays 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.