Dean's Weekly Message
June 8, 2026
Improvements in Patient Safety and Quality
A key part of our journey to being a Top 10 in 10 organization is excelling in quality and safety. I am delighted to share that our safety and quality efforts are yielding impressive results!
The April Quality Dashboard – presented last week at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Quality and Safety Meeting – is showing trends that we can be proud of.
In four of the past six months, we have been among top-decile performers in preventing morbid and lethal infections, including preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI). By adhering to consistent implementation of a group of evidence-based practices designed to prevent these complications, we have significantly reduced infection rates.
We also continue to see results that lead the nation in lowering mortality rates. At the same time, data show we are increasing patient access while providing care to the most complex cases.
I want to express my deepest appreciation to Kristin Mekeel, MD, MS, Chief Quality Officer for UCH, and Aalok Agarwala, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer for UCH, for their partnership and leadership of these and many more efforts to improve our performance. Kudos also to Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, Executive Vice Dean for Clinical, Research, and Quality, for his abiding guidance.
We become a Top 10 institution through persistence and attention to every detail. Keep up the good work.
Happy Retirement to Brian Smith
Brian T. Smith, MHA, Senior Associate Dean of Administration and Finance and Executive Director of CU Medicine, has announced that he will retire on August 5 after seven years of outstanding service to our school and faculty practice. During his tenure, our clinical practice has grown substantially, routinely reporting double-digit revenue growth. He served as a reliable, hard-working, and steadfast colleague to leaders throughout the school while expanding our presence in the community and raising awareness of the CU Medicine name as a top brand in health care. I am grateful for Brian’s dedicated service to the school and faculty practice. We are fortunate that he will continue as Special Advisor to the Dean. We are launching a national search for his successor. Please join me in wishing Brian a happy and healthy retirement.
2026 Class of Boettcher Investigators
Five University of Colorado researchers – including four from our campus – are being honored as members of the 2026 class of Boettcher Investigators, each receiving a $250,000 grant from the Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program.
The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards provide critical early career support and position recipients at leading academic and research institutions to compete for additional private, state, and federal research funding. Each grant supports up to three years of independent scientific research.
This year’s awardees and their projects are:
CU Anschutz
- Alessandra Brambati, PhD, Department of Pharmacology: Regulation of microhomology-mediated end-joining during cell division.
- John Janetzko, PhD, Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Pharmacology, and Pharmaceutical Sciences: All swell doesn’t end well: investigating how GPCR signaling dysfunction affects cell-volume regulation in disease.
- Katherine Kissler, CNM, PhD, College of Nursing: Dynamic digital physiological signatures of impending intraamniotic infection.
- Kentaro Yomogida, MD, Department of Pediatrics: NK cell–fibroblast crosstalk in the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
CU Boulder
- Matthew Olm, PhD, Department of Integrative Physiology, College of Arts and Sciences: How diet and lifestyle shape the infant gut microbiome and immune disease risk.
Featured News
A Battle Plan Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Ukraine
Medical research into ways to prevent and treat infected trauma wounds in Ukraine is vitally needed, says Corey Bills, MD, MPH, an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the lead of its Global Emergency Care Initiative.
However, conducting clinical trials to test new treatments and other interventions in a war-torn country is phenomenally difficult, especially given the typical time frame of several years for a clinical trial.
So, Dr. Bills and his CU Anschutz colleagues have partnered with medical researchers in Ukraine to develop a master protocol — a streamlined platform for multiple clinical trials that takes into account Ukraine’s dire circumstances, and which he hopes can lead to trial results in one to two years.
Read More About the Partnership
Faculty Updates
Jill Landsbaugh Kaar, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, was an invited speaker last month at the National Action Against Childhood Obesity in Athens, Greece. The event was sponsored by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Health Minister of Greece. Dr. Kaar explained that sustainable obesity prevention requires changing communities, not just patients.
Jane EB Reusch, MD, Professor of Medicine, Bioengineering and Physiology, last week delivered the Edwin Bierman Award Lecture at the American Diabetes Association 2026 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. The award and lecture recognize a leading scientist in the field of macrovascular complications and contributing risk factors in diabetes. In May, Dr. Reusch was the 40th Alexander Marble Lecturer at Joslin Diabetes Center.
Sean Oser, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, has been selected to join the 2026 American Diabetes Association (ADA) National Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Committee. In this role, Dr. Oser will work alongside fellow committee members to advance research, promote best practices in care, and support progress in the fight to end diabetes.
Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was the recipient of the Paul B. Magnuson Award from the VA Office of Research and Development. This is the highest honor bestowed on VA rehabilitation investigators. Since 1998, the award recognizes an investigator who exhibits extraordinary dedication to veterans with disabilities and seeks new treatments to help patients regain their independence and quality of life.
Featured Events
6/18
Bite by Byte: AI and Educators Roundtable
Thursday, June 18Zoom
Matt Zuckerman, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, will host the first session in the new series, Bite by Byte: AI and Educators Roundtable. Explore the current landscape of AI in medical education across campus and how faculty and learners are using these tools in real teaching and learning settings. Learn more about Bite by Byte and join the session.
7/9
Postdoc Research Day (PDRD)
Thursday, July 9
Donald Elliman Conference Center, Anschutz Health Sciences BuildingPDRD is an annual event that brings together members of our university community to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of postdocs at CU Anschutz, CU Denver, and affiliated hospitals. This year’s theme is “The Postdoc Collective,” focusing on cross-disciplinary thinking, collaboration, and innovation in research. This event is not just for postdocs! Graduate students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend. Whether you are here to support colleagues, learn something new, or network with emerging scientists, your presence makes a difference.
PDRD Registration & Abstract Submission
Lightning talk abstract deadline May 15 | Poster abstract deadline June 24
PDRD Questions?
Recent Publications
Miriam Post, MD, Professor of Pathology, and Benjamin Bitler, PhD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, are co-authors of an article, “αKG-mediated carnitine synthesis drives DNA repair via histone acetylation,” published May 27 by Nature.
Kelly Wolfe, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, is a coauthor of an original investigation, “Early Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children With Congenital Heart Disease,” published June 1 by JAMA Network Open.
Prateeti Khazanie, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, chaired a national American Heart Association Scientific Statement, "Ethical Considerations for Heart Organ Allocation: Current Landscape and Future Policy Guidance," published May 28 in Circulation.
Tara Hendry-Hofer, Research Scientist in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Vikhyat S. Bebarta, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine, are co-authors of an article, “A pilot study in the swine model of lethal cyanide intoxication indicates efficacy of a platinum-methionine complex countermeasure,” published May 31 by Scientific Reports.
Anna Maw, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine; Aakriti Pandita, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine; and Marisha Burden, MD, MBA, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Hospital Medicine, are coauthors of an article, “Hospitalists Are Already Using AI—Why Implementation Will Determine Its Impact,” published June 1 by the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Harrison Bai, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology, is a co-author of an article, “Superior dorsal nigral hyperintensity depiction at 7 T MRI using CLEAR-DESS improves diagnosis performance of Parkinson’s disease,” published May 28 by npj Parkinson’s Disease.
Diana M. Cittelly, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology, is corresponding author of an article, “Brain FGF2 and NCAM1 contribute to FGFR1-dependent progression of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer brain metastases,” published May 28 by Nature Communications. Eleven co-authors are from our campus.
Kelly E. Faulk, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Kelly Maloney, MD, Professor of Pediatrics; and Maureen M. O’Brien, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, are co-authors of a letter, “Inotuzumab ozogamicin in individuals with Down syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” published June 3 in Leukemia.
Kelly Wolfe, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, is a coauthor of an original investigation, “Early Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children With Congenital Heart Disease,” published June 1 by JAMA Network Open.
Prateeti Khazanie, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, chaired a national American Heart Association Scientific Statement, "Ethical Considerations for Heart Organ Allocation: Current Landscape and Future Policy Guidance," published May 28 in Circulation.
Tara Hendry-Hofer, Research Scientist in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Vikhyat S. Bebarta, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine, are co-authors of an article, “A pilot study in the swine model of lethal cyanide intoxication indicates efficacy of a platinum-methionine complex countermeasure,” published May 31 by Scientific Reports.
Anna Maw, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine; Aakriti Pandita, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine; and Marisha Burden, MD, MBA, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Hospital Medicine, are coauthors of an article, “Hospitalists Are Already Using AI—Why Implementation Will Determine Its Impact,” published June 1 by the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Harrison Bai, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology, is a co-author of an article, “Superior dorsal nigral hyperintensity depiction at 7 T MRI using CLEAR-DESS improves diagnosis performance of Parkinson’s disease,” published May 28 by npj Parkinson’s Disease.
Diana M. Cittelly, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology, is corresponding author of an article, “Brain FGF2 and NCAM1 contribute to FGFR1-dependent progression of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer brain metastases,” published May 28 by Nature Communications. Eleven co-authors are from our campus.
Kelly E. Faulk, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Kelly Maloney, MD, Professor of Pediatrics; and Maureen M. O’Brien, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, are co-authors of a letter, “Inotuzumab ozogamicin in individuals with Down syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” published June 3 in Leukemia.
Social Spotlight
Emmy Betz, MD, received the Public Health Leadership Award at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting. Work like hers helps advance the frontier of emergency medicine for the patients and communities we serve. See the full Linkedin post.
Have a good week,
John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
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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