Dean's Weekly Message
July 27, 2026
Last week’s clinical chairs meeting was one of the most energizing and inspiring gatherings I’ve recently attended.
I was particularly impressed by the “AI in Action” presentation by Jill Quinn, MBA, Director of Finance and Administration for the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. The presentation offered practical instruction on using Copilot in a way that saves time and offers immediate benefit.
Ms. Quinn showed examples of using AI that helped department leaders understand OR block time for individual surgeons. With simple, conversational prompts, Copilot provided reports that quickly identified reasons and recommended solutions. Without AI, that analysis would have taken weeks or months. Expanding from those individual cases, Ms. Quinn showed how to take a lengthy block schedule management policy and turn it into a dynamic executive dashboard.
This report is exactly the kind of work where I want our school to lead!
I want to add a special shout-out to Becky McGowan, MBA, Vice Chair of Finance and Administration for Emergency Medicine, too. She has brought this same energy to her department. Ms. McGowan partnered with an outside vendor to train EM staff on AI tools, starting with the basics and moving quickly into more advanced use. Staff now use AI daily to speed up routine administrative work, freeing up time for higher-value projects, increasing staff well-being, and investing in our valued department staff to elevate their skills.
Right after Ms. Quinn’s AI presentation, we had another terrific report from Katie Dean, MBA, Vice Chair of Finance and Administration for Orthopedics, outlining our timeline for improved and consistent financial reporting for every clinical department in the school.
As a team, we need improved access to our data so that we can work together to continue our growth trajectory. Ms. Dean has been instrumental in helping us with this work, which is so important for us to boost performance and serve all our missions. More to come on this important work!
Shanta Zimmer, MD, Executive Vice Dean for Education, ended the meeting with a summary of department reports on community engagement, one of the key measures of our work.
We have so many wonderful ways our faculty and staff help our community outside of the clinics, labs, and classrooms. Dr. Zimmer offered impressive examples from Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Family Medicine. So much great work!
After all these amazing presentations, I reflected on the fun discussion prompt we used to open the meeting. We asked everyone to call out popular song titles for our school.
One of my favorites was “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” which was named by one of the chairs, as representing our quest to be Top 10.
We are on our way! Thanks to all for your incredible work!
Transforming Professional Billing Together
Over the past several months, many members of our school and faculty practice plan have participated in evaluating whether CU Medicine could successfully leverage a separate service area on UCHealth's Epic platform for our professional billing operations while preserving our identity, independence, and commitment to excellence.
I am excited to share that the CU Medicine Board of Directors last week approved the capital request necessary to move forward with this opportunity. This approval marks an important milestone in our journey to modernize the technology that supports our providers, patients, and staff. While significant work remains ahead, we can now begin transitioning from evaluation and planning into implementation and readiness activities. Importantly, this transition is focused on CU Medicine’s back-office professional billing and revenue cycle operations and will not change existing provider clinical workflows or the way providers deliver care to patients.
Throughout this process, our teams, leadership, consultants, and partners have worked diligently to understand whether this platform could help us better support the mission of the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. The answer has become increasingly clear. By leveraging Epic's Professional Billing platform, we believe CU Medicine will be positioned to:
- Utilize a modern and widely adopted revenue cycle platform
- Enhance reporting, analytics, and operational visibility
- Improve the patient experience through digital engagement tools
- Reduce long-term technology complexity
- Leverage the scale, innovation, and ongoing development of one of the most broadly used healthcare platforms in the country
- Better support our providers, departments, divisions, and patients for years to come
This is an exciting opportunity to modernize the technology that supports our work while preserving the CU Medicine identity and independence that are so important to our organization.
Introducing the PATH Office
The Office for Faculty Relations has a new name: the PATH Office: Professional Excellence, Accountability, Trust, and Humanism.
This new name represents our shared commitment to the values that strengthen our school’s community and shape our culture. The PATH Office embodies the principles of professional excellence, accountability, trust, and humanism that guide how we work together, support one another, and advance our mission. It also better reflects the office’s evolving role as a trusted resource and partner for faculty and leaders across the School of Medicine.
While the name is new, the office’s commitment to supporting faculty remains the same. Whether providing guidance, resources, or consultation, the PATH Office is here to help foster a respectful, collaborative, and supportive environment where our faculty can do their best work.
We invite you to learn more about the PATH Office, its services, and available resources by visiting the new PATH Office website.
Dr. Miriam Post Named Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Miriam D. Post, MD, as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Post brings nearly two decades of service to the School of Medicine and a commitment to faculty success.
Since joining the faculty in 2008, she has advanced from Assistant Professor to Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, while assuming progressively broader leadership responsibilities, including Vice Chair for Education and, most recently, Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs. With this experience, she has comprehensive understanding of the faculty lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding through promotion, professional development, and retention.
Since becoming Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs in 2023, Dr. Post has led numerous initiatives to strengthen faculty advancement and support systems across the School of Medicine. Her accomplishments include expanding and enhancing the Faculty Promotions Committee, developing structured orientation and mentoring programs for committee members, streamlining promotion review processes, redesigning faculty promotion education programs, advancing important updates to the School of Medicine Rules, and helping guide the Faculty Focused Framework (F3) initiative to modernize faculty affairs systems and processes.
A highly respected educator, administrator, and faculty advocate, Dr. Post has built relationships across departments, faculty governance organizations, and the Anschutz Medical Campus. Her leadership, institutional knowledge, and dedication to creating systems and opportunities that enable faculty success make her well suited for this role.
With Dr. Post’s promotion, we will be recruiting two Assistant Dean positions at 20%-40% FTE each for the Office for Faculty Affairs. These roles will expand the Assistant Dean responsibilities to ensure representation of faculty form across all our missions, including clinical and educational faculty, basic science and clinical researchers, advance practice providers, behavioral and mental health providers, and faculty employed by affiliate clinical organizations.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Post on this well-deserved appointment and wishing her success as she leads faculty affairs initiatives in support of the more than 6,000 faculty members who contribute to the missions of the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine.
Featured News
Using AI to Find Red Flags for Physical Abuse of Children
Daniel Lindberg, MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine, is leading an ongoing research project into using an artificial intelligence tool to improve early recognition of child physical abuse in emergency and urgent care settings.
The project uses natural language processing to analyze clinical records as a way to improve early recognition of child physical abuse. It works by searching for “sentinel injuries” — a combination of specific injuries and patient age groups — that evidence shows are highly indicative of abuse.
“A computer in the background is watching you type your note on a patient, and when you type ‘bruise on the soft portion of the cheek,’ it knows if you're typing that for a 9-month-old or a 9-year-old, and if it’s a 9-month-old, it can prompt you: ‘Hey, do you want to think about abuse?’” Dr. Lindberg says.
Read More About AI Research
Faculty Updates
Thomas Flaig, MD , Vice Chancellor for Research and Professor of Medicine, has been named chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges Biomedical Research Advancement, Training and Oversight Group Steering Committee for 2026-27. In this leadership role, Dr. Flaig will help guide vital discussions shaping priorities around biomedical research impacting academic medicine in the U.S. A recognized expert in clinical/translational oncology research and an experienced research administrator, Dr. Flaig has also served in prominent roles with the National Cancer Institute/National Clinical Trial Network and the National Comprehensive Care Network.
Aimee Pugh Bernard, PhD, Associate Professor of Immunology and Microbiology, has been named inaugural Chair of the American Association of Immunologists Public Outreach Core Committee, effective July 1. Dr. Bernard’s TEDxCU talk, “Confessions of a scientist: Science education needs communication training,” recently was posted on YouTube.
Emily Clennon, MD, MPH, pediatric urology fellow at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, has been named the 2026-2027 H. Logan Holtgrewe Legislative Fellow . This fellowship aims to equip residents, fellows, and early career urologists with a foundational understanding of the legislative processes that shape health policy.
Featured Events
7/28
Faculty Advancement Working Group
Tuesday, July 28, noon–1 p.m.
Zoom
The Faculty Advancement Working Group will hold monthly office hours to provide a forum for faculty and their supervisors to ask questions about promotions among the ranks of Instructor, Senior Instructor, and Assistant Professor. These office hours are virtual only, on the 4th Tuesday of every month from noon–1 p.m. Access the office hours through the Faculty Advancement Working Group zoom link.
7/29
Tattered Cover Talk
Wednesday, July 29, 6 p.m.
Tattered Cover Book Store, 2526 E. Colfax Ave.
Annalise Sturno, PhD candidate, and Kimberley Bruce, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, who are both members of the Pharmacology and Molecular Medicine PhD program, will present “Food for Thought: How What You Eat Drives Brain Health and Disease.” They will discuss emerging insights into how diet and metabolism influence brain health over time, especially in aging and disease.
7/31
Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Poster Session
Friday, July 31, from 10 a.m.–noon
Donald 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.
8/12
Academy of Medical Educators Induction and Reception
Wednesday, August 12, 4:30 p.m.–7 p.m.
Elliman Conference Center, Anschutz Health Sciences Building
The Academy of Medical Educators will induct new members and host a reception. All faculty and guests of the honorees are welcome. Register to attend the AME Induction Ceremony.
8/20
A Tale of Two Hearts Screening, Q&A
Thursday, August 20, from 3–5 p.m.
Mt. Oxford, 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 M. Donson, PhD, Senior Research Associate in Pediatrics; Kathleen Dorris, MD, Adjoint Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Adam L. Green, MD , Associate Professor of Pediatrics; and David M. Mirsky, MD, Professor of Radiology, are co-authors of an article, “A prognostic human brain network for diffuse midline glioma,” published June 10 by Nature.
Lilia Cervantes, MD, Professor of Medicine, is a co-author of an original investigation, “Moral Injury Among Physicians Caring for Immigrant Patients Amid Anti-Immigrant Policies,” published July 20 by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Rui Zhao, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, is corresponding author of an article, “The U1 snRNP protein U1C and Helix H of U1 snRNA are critical for small molecule splicing modulator function,” published July 16 by Nature Communications. Eight co-authors are from our campus.
Edin Nevzati, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, is a co-author of an article, “Integrated device for optoacoustically-guided ultrasound surgery,” published July 21 by Nature Communications.
Michael J. DiStefano, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and member of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities, is corresponding author of an original investigation, “Postshortage Compounded GLP-1 RA Market in 2 States With Potentially High Demand,” published July 17 by JAMA Health Forum. Five co-authors are from our campus.
Lucas E. Orth, PharmD, Associate Professor of Pediatric Pharmacy, is corresponding author of an article, “Caregiver Perspectives on Polypharmacy Management in Children With Medical Complexity,” published July 15 by Pediatrics. Multiple co-authors are from our school, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and the laboratory of co-author James A. Feinstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine.
Kent E. Hutchison, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, and Leigh Perreault, MD, Adjoint Professor of Medicine, are co-authors of an article, “Inhaling high THC cannabis acutely increases inflammation but not insulin sensitivity: a quasi-randomized trial,” published July 16 by Scientific Reports.
Elizabeth Paschal, MPH, Qualitative Analyst for the Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS), is corresponding author of an original article, “Identifying Key Gaps: A Qualitative Exploration of Physicians-in-Training Caring for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,” published July 2 by the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. Six co-authors are from our campus.
Ross Moseley, medical student, is corresponding author of an article, “Pre-existing intracranial arterial stenosis independently predicts delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage,” published July 2 by Neuroradiology. Eight co-authors are from our campus.
Judy G. Regensteiner, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research, and four others from our campus are co-authors of a comment, “Still in the dark: effects of sex differences on statin-associated diabetes risk,” published July 17 by npj Women’s Health.
Lilia Cervantes, MD, Professor of Medicine, is a co-author of an original investigation, “Moral Injury Among Physicians Caring for Immigrant Patients Amid Anti-Immigrant Policies,” published July 20 by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Rui Zhao, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, is corresponding author of an article, “The U1 snRNP protein U1C and Helix H of U1 snRNA are critical for small molecule splicing modulator function,” published July 16 by Nature Communications. Eight co-authors are from our campus.
Edin Nevzati, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, is a co-author of an article, “Integrated device for optoacoustically-guided ultrasound surgery,” published July 21 by Nature Communications.
Michael J. DiStefano, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and member of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities, is corresponding author of an original investigation, “Postshortage Compounded GLP-1 RA Market in 2 States With Potentially High Demand,” published July 17 by JAMA Health Forum. Five co-authors are from our campus.
Lucas E. Orth, PharmD, Associate Professor of Pediatric Pharmacy, is corresponding author of an article, “Caregiver Perspectives on Polypharmacy Management in Children With Medical Complexity,” published July 15 by Pediatrics. Multiple co-authors are from our school, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and the laboratory of co-author James A. Feinstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine.
Kent E. Hutchison, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, and Leigh Perreault, MD, Adjoint Professor of Medicine, are co-authors of an article, “Inhaling high THC cannabis acutely increases inflammation but not insulin sensitivity: a quasi-randomized trial,” published July 16 by Scientific Reports.
Elizabeth Paschal, MPH, Qualitative Analyst for the Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS), is corresponding author of an original article, “Identifying Key Gaps: A Qualitative Exploration of Physicians-in-Training Caring for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,” published July 2 by the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. Six co-authors are from our campus.
Ross Moseley, medical student, is corresponding author of an article, “Pre-existing intracranial arterial stenosis independently predicts delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage,” published July 2 by Neuroradiology. Eight co-authors are from our campus.
Judy G. Regensteiner, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research, and four others from our campus are co-authors of a comment, “Still in the dark: effects of sex differences on statin-associated diabetes risk,” published July 17 by npj Women’s Health.
Social Spotlight
Faculty members from the CU Anschutz Department of Neurosurgery recently participated in the Courage Classic, a two-day annual bicycle event that supports Children's Hospital Colorado. Check out more photos on Instagram!
Announcements
Survey for Medical Educators
We are excited to announce the launch of the Jones Family Collaborative for Educational Excellence and Innovation, a new initiative designed to strategically align the people, infrastructure, and expertise needed to advance medical education across our school. A key part of the collaborative is CU MESA (Medical Education Scholarship Accelerator).
CU MESA supports educators interested in educational research and scholarship through consultation and mentorship, methodological support, longitudinal training, project tracking, and opportunities for funded scholarship. To ensure that CU MESA reflects the needs of our educational community, we invite you to complete our needs assessment survey and help shape the future of medical education scholarship at CU. Connect and fill out the survey here.
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.
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