Dean's Weekly Message
July 13, 2026
The University of Colorado Anschutz has seen an increase in its total grant awards during the current fiscal year – a remarkable result in uncertain times for other academic medical centers.
Our campus Office of Grants and Contracts reports that through May 31:
- Total awards for the current fiscal year are 8.3% higher compared to the same period last year.
- Reported National Institutes of Health awards through May 2026 are $330.2 million, up 17.7%.
- Industry-sponsored funding increased 28.7%, driven by several large awards within the Cancer Center and Department of Emergency Medicine.
- Other Department of Health and Human Services agencies, such as CDC and HRSA, increased nearly 43%, and International govt/nonprofit/University increased by 30%.
Our team notes that the increase in NIH funding is due in part to unusual timing-related factors rather than solely new funding growth. NIH now is using forward funding, which awards grantees the entire budget upon the initial award. Previously, funding was provided over multiple years. Also, we have received non-competing continuations that were delayed in the prior year. Finally, new Notification of Awards has been very slow to arrive during this NIH’s fiscal year. We are now seeing an uptick in new NOAs, both at CU and nationally, which is welcome news to investigators with proposals scored in the fundable range.
After adjusting for these atypical award timing and funding practices, our campus’ underlying NIH growth is estimated at approximately 5%. While this is remarkable under the circumstances, to achieve Top 10 we need to target 10%-15% growth each year.
Our Grants and Contracts and Government Relations teams remain vigilant about how such changes in funding practices affect our work, but we should all celebrate that we report continued net growth in extramural funding for our research.
Particularly notable is the expansion of industry-sponsored funding. Thanks to several large awards and sponsors, industry-sponsored funding increased 28.7% year over year, based on estimated accruals.
Key contributors include:
- Cancer Center: $72.9 million in FY2026 compared to $46.8 million in FY2025.
> Erin Schenk, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine: Approximately $21 million across seven contracts, including Merck, Eli Lilly, Genentech, BioNTech SE, Zai Lab, and Nuvalent. - Emergency Medicine: $41 million in FY2026 compared to $16.87 million in FY2025.
> Adit Ginde, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research: Approximately $33.6 million, including $28.9 million from Octapharma and $4.7 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (via Advanced Technology International)
CU Anschutz Announces Strategic Alliance with Bayer
Our Office of Clinical Trials, led by Adit Ginde, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, is celebrating a major milestone on our path to the Top 10!
Bayer, a global life sciences company, has announced a new strategic alliance focused on clinical trials collaboration with the University of Colorado Anschutz, UCHealth, and Children’s Hospital Colorado, establishing Bayer’s first alliance of its kind with an academic medical center. The initiative reflects a shared commitment to accelerating clinical research through stronger collaboration between industry and academic medicine.
The alliance is intended to improve clinical trial efficiency, expand patient access to investigational therapies, and advance new medical discoveries. The Office of Clinical Trials worked closely with our hospital partners, CU Innovations, and CPC Clinical Research to form the alliance. The new alliance builds on the long-standing relationship between Bayer and CPC Clinical Research Executive Director Marc Bonaca, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology. Initial focus areas for the alliance will include research studies in oncology, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, cell and gene therapy, women’s health, ophthalmology, and acute care.
The alliance is designed to:
- Expand clinical trials infrastructure to execute more studies faster.
- Facilitate earlier and broader patient access to investigational therapies.
- Foster collaboration among industry, academic researchers, clinicians, and health systems.
The alliance will support innovative approaches to clinical trial design and implementation, enhanced patient enrollment, and expanded research operations. By combining Bayer’s drug development expertise with the extensive academic and clinical strengths of CU Anschutz, UCHealth, and Children’s Hospital Colorado, the collaboration aims to expedite clinical research and bring lifesaving experimental therapies to more patients.
“Bayer is committed to bringing first-in-class or best-in-class therapies to market for the people who need them,” said Christoph Koenen, head of clinical development & operations for Bayer. “Our alliance with this renowned academic medical center brings together several leading organizations to deliver new, innovative ways to advance clinical research for the benefit of patients.”
Learn more about this exciting partnership in the campus newsroom.
$17.25 Million Award to Study Autism
The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado received an award of up to $17.25 million from Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) to join the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network, an international collaborative working to better understand how autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions develop and change over time.
The multimillion-dollar grant will support site project lead Tim Benke, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Neurology, and Otolaryngology, and the Children’s Colorado’s Neuroscience Institute’s autism and neurodevelopmental research over the course of five years.
Dr. Benke, Director of Research for the Neuroscience Institute, and his team will contribute to a short-term natural history and clinical study, called the ARIA IMPACT-Ready Study. The findings may help improve future research and support the development of new treatments to support neurodiverse individuals.
“Through this collaborative study, we can fully understand the diverse experiences of people with neurodevelopmental disorders, helping us to be clinical-trial ready to better serve more children now and in the future,” said Dr. Benke, who is also the Ponzio Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurology Research. "As a nonprofit hospital, Children’s Colorado is fueled by philanthropic giving. Investments from donors and the community help us serve children who need us, and I am grateful to ARIA and all of our community supporters who make our work possible.”
This research team includes colleagues from Children’s Colorado and the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, including:
- Scott Demarest, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology and Chief Precision Medicine Officer, who will serve as site biomarker lead.
- Nicole Tartaglia, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Pediatrics, who will serve as site clinical research lead.
- Ann Reynolds, MD, Section Head of Developmental Pediatrics, who will serve as co-investigator.
Featured News
Investigating How Hospitals Use the ‘Miracle Machine'
Some call it a “miracle machine,” and for good reason. ECMO’s use in trauma care to help save the most critically injured patients is rising. However, there’s little data available on exactly how ECMO is being used across the U.S. trauma-care system, which patients get it, and what the results are.
Those are knowledge gaps that Marianne Wallis, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and her colleagues set out to fill in a new study published online in April by the journal Injury. They examined 8 million trauma patient encounters from a database compiled from more than 900 U.S. trauma centers.
The study found that nearly two out of three trauma patients who received ECMO survived to leave the hospital — an encouraging rate, given how severely injured these patients are.
Read More About ECMP
Faculty Updates
V. Michael Holers, MD, Professor of Medicine, has received the 2026 Carol Nachman Prize in Rheumatology from the City of Wiesbaden. With a prize of 37,500 euros, it is one of the most highly endowed medical awards in Germany and the world’s most highly endowed award in the field of rheumatology. Dr. Holers was honored for his groundbreaking work on complement immunobiology and the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis
Danielle Guez Barber, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Philip R. Dodge Young Investigator Award through the Child Neurology Society. The society recognizes individuals who exemplify excellence within the field of child neurology at the annual conference in October.
Vik Bebarta, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine and founding Director of the CU Anschutz Combat Medicine Research Center, offered remarks at the Colorado Symphony's Independence Eve concert, presented by CU Anschutz. “Whether we're serving our patients, our country, or our neighbors, we accomplish our greatest work together,” said Dr. Bebarta. You can read more about the event in this article. Read more about celebrating service through music.
Featured Events
7/31
Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Poster Session
Friday, July 31, from 10 a.m.–noonDonald Elliman Conference Center, Anschutz Health Sciences Building
Explore cutting-edge cancer research from the 2026 CREU/SURF cohort at this summer’s poster session — see innovation, discovery, and impact in action.
8/20
A Tale of Two Hearts Screening, Q&A
Thursday, August 20, from 3-5 p.m.
Mt. Harvard, Children’s Hospital Colorado Conference Center
A Tale of Two Hearts is a film exploring the intersection of medicine, identity, and artistic expression featuring Jaime Belkind-Gerson, MD, MSc, Professor of Pediatrics. Dr. Belkind-Gerson is a pediatric gastroenterologist, researcher, and visual artist whose work bridges the gap between clinical precision and human emotion. A live Q&A with Dr. Belkind-Gerson will follow the screening.
Recent Publications
Andrew Smith, DPT, PhD, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, is a co-author of an article, “ Rostral lesion shift and tract-specific degeneration drive functional heterogeneity in degenerative cervical myelopathy,” published July 5 by Communications Medicine.
Bradford J. Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at University of Colorado Denver and Assistant Professor of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, is a co-author of an article, “Low PEEP ventilation in TGF-β1 induced lung injury triggers a reversible lung mechanical deterioration without promoting persistent structural damage,” published July 7 by Scientific Reports.
Catherine G. Derington, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, is corresponding author of an article, “Patient out-of-pocket costs for antihypertensive single pill combination products with cost caps,” published July 4 by The Journal of Human Hypertension.
Bradford J. Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at University of Colorado Denver and Assistant Professor of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, is a co-author of an article, “Low PEEP ventilation in TGF-β1 induced lung injury triggers a reversible lung mechanical deterioration without promoting persistent structural damage,” published July 7 by Scientific Reports.
Catherine G. Derington, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, is corresponding author of an article, “Patient out-of-pocket costs for antihypertensive single pill combination products with cost caps,” published July 4 by The Journal of Human Hypertension.
Social Spotlight
Interns with the Department of Surgery recently had the opportunity to participate in a hands-on robotic surgery training with Kristy Hawley, MD, MPH; Ben Mungo, MD; Dan Horwitz, MD; and Ben Jones, PA-C! The orientation covered instruction and firsthand practice for robotic procedures that provide minimally invasive options. Watch the training highlights on Instagram
Have a good week,
John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
Dean, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
The Dean’s weekly message is an email news bulletin from John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA, Dean of the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, that is distributed to inform CU Anschutz School of Medicine faculty members, staff, students and others about issues pertaining to the school’s mission of education, research, clinical care and community service.
Subscribe to the Dean's Message