Dean's Weekly Message
October 26, 2026
This week, we highlight our partnership with UCHealth and how we are strengthening collaboration to advance our shared goals. From the launch of our Strategic Initiative Support Fund website to our recent Funds Flow town hall, we are creating new opportunities for investment while building a more transparent and sustainable financial foundation.
Combined with the continued national recognition of our faculty, these efforts reflect the momentum we are building across our clinical, research, and educational missions, as well as our shared commitment to excellence.
Strategic Initiative Support Fund: Application Website Launches
I am pleased to share that we have launched a new website for the UCHA Strategic Initiative Support Fund, an important step forward in our partnership with UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and our shared commitment to advancing clinical care, research, and education.
This fund is designed to support strategic investments that strengthen our institution and accelerate our progress toward becoming a Top 10 academic medical center. Proposals should align with one or more of our five priority areas—neuroscience, oncology, transplantation, musculoskeletal, and heart. These priorities will be supported by cross-cutting capabilities in early-phase clinical trials, big data and AI, imaging, cell therapy, and precision medicine, which will help drive innovation and collaboration across disciplines.
The new website provides information about the fund, its priorities, and the proposal submission and review process. The application window will be open January 15–29, 2027, with reviews taking place in February and March and funding decisions anticipated in April. The website will be updated regularly, so do bookmark it and come back from time to time for updates on the program.
I encourage faculty and department leaders to begin considering opportunities for strategic investment, particularly those that foster collaboration, address important clinical or scientific needs, and create lasting value for our patients and institution. For questions about the program or opportunities, please contact Lucas Holden at [email protected].
Funds Flow Town Hall: Strengthening Our Partnership
Thank you to everyone who joined the School of Medicine town hall with Tom Gronow, EdD, MHA, President and CEO of UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. Our discussion focused on how Funds Flow supports the partnership between the School of Medicine and UCHealth; strengthens our clinical departments; and enables continued investment in our shared missions of clinical care, research, and education.
We didn’t just discuss the distinction between structural and coverage support and how Funds Flow resources are allocated and reconciled; we illustrated the concepts with animations on support models and where exactly the money goes once it flows from the hospital. The conversation highlighted the importance of creating a more transparent, sustainable financial framework and clarified how Funds Flow supports each department’s ability to offer competitive faculty compensation while remaining distinct from the formulas used to determine individual compensation.
Attendees also received a sneak peek at our new co-branded white coats and North Face pullovers, featuring the combined CU Anschutz and UCHealth branding. Eligible faculty should have received an email with ordering information this past Friday.
For those who were unable to attend, or who would like to revisit the discussion, a recording of the town hall is available on the Dean’s Office website.
Anesthesiology's COPE Program Demonstrates the Power of Community Engagement
At our recent Department Clinical Chairs meeting, Shanta Zimmer, MD, Executive Vice Dean for Education, highlighted some remarkable community engagement efforts using the Department of Anesthesiology's Community Outreach and Professional Engagement (COPE) program as an example of how our faculty and students are extending our mission beyond campus.
Through COPE, the department is inspiring future health care professionals through hands-on education, mentorship, scholarships, and community partnerships. More than 27 departmental volunteers supported the 2026 CU Youth Summit, introducing elementary, middle, and high school students to health care careers through airway simulations, ultrasound demonstrations, and neuroscience experiments. The department's anesthesiologist assistant students also visited nine schools in 2025, engaging hundreds of young learners.
In 2025, COPE established a two-year partnership with CU's Undergraduate Pathway Program, providing longitudinal educational experiences, mentorship, and exposure to clinical and translational research. In addition, the department supports aspiring health care professionals through medical student externships and scholarships, including opportunities that help expand access to training in anesthesiology.
What makes this work especially meaningful is the commitment of faculty, students, and volunteers who contribute their time and expertise beyond their regular responsibilities. Their efforts create opportunities for young people to envision careers in medicine and help build a stronger, more inclusive health care workforce.
COPE is just one example of the tremendous community engagement happening across the School of Medicine. Our clinical departments contribute in different ways, whether through educational outreach, partnerships, volunteer service, or other initiatives that address community needs. Together, these efforts demonstrate how our mission reaches far beyond the walls of our classrooms, laboratories, and hospitals to make a lasting difference in the communities we serve.
A Conversation About My Journey in Neurosurgery
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Peter Fecci, MD, PhD, Chair of Neurosurgery, for a conversation hosted by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) for its Leaders of Neurosurgery series. We discussed what first drew me to the field, the mentors who helped shape my career, and some of the breakthroughs that have transformed the practice of neurosurgery.
It was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the people, experiences, and discoveries that have influenced my path in medicine. I hope our conversation offers some perspective on the importance of mentorship, curiosity, and continued innovation in shaping the next generation of physicians and scientists.
Watch our conversation on the AANS YouTube channel.
GME Names Co-Directors of Resident Wellbeing and Experience
Congratulations to Nicole Christian, MD, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology, and Adrienne Mann, MD, Associate Professor of Hospital Medicine, who have been named Co-Directors of Resident Wellbeing and Experience for Graduate Medical Education.
Drs. Christian and Mann bring extensive coaching experience both within the clinical learning environment and resident support and will provide a resident focus that is unprecedented, not only here at CU but across the nation.
Thank you to Bonnie Kaplan, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and GME Director of Education and Innovation, and the GME community who participated in the search. Welcome to your new roles, Dr. Christian and Dr. Mann!
Nominate Speakers for the Dean's Distinguished Seminar Series
The Dean’s Office is seeking nominations for the 2027–2028 Dean’s Distinguished Seminar Series. Each year, this prestigious series brings leading experts to our campus to share insights and foster academic engagement. Previous speakers have included Nobel laureates and directors of leading medical research institutions from across the country.
To nominate a speaker, please complete the nomination form by 3 p.m. Friday, October 30. For questions, contact Judy Sherman at [email protected].
Bridge Funding Applications Due November 18
The Bridge Funding Program provides temporary support to principal investigators who have lost all major grant funding while they prepare and submit new applications. Awards of up to $50,000 are available to full-time faculty at CU Anschutz, Children’s Hospital Colorado, the VA, and National Jewish, including beginning investigators whose start-up funds have ended without independent extramural support.
A 1:1 departmental match, confirmed in a letter from the applicant’s Chair, is required. Applications and letters of support are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 18.
You can learn more about the Bridge Funding Program on our webpage.
Academy Membership Applications Open
Applications for membership in the School of Medicine's Academy of Medical Educators will open November 1 and close March 1. Join a community of educators dedicated to advancing excellence in medical education through collaboration, professional development, recognition, and educational scholarship.
Faculty are encouraged to explore the membership tracks and begin preparing their applications early. Learn more and apply for Academy membership.
Call for Proposals: AME Education & Innovation Symposium
The Academy of Medical Educators invites you to share your innovations and scholarship with colleagues across the medical education community at the next Education & Innovations Symposium, planned for May 5–6, 2027.
Educational abstracts, works in progress, workshops, and panel discussion proposals are being accepted through December 15. Learn more by visiting the Symposium website.
Featured News
CU Anschutz Uveitis Biorepository Fuels Research to Uncover Better Eye Inflammation Treatments
Current treatment options for chronic uveitis, a broad term that refers to a group of inflammatory diseases occurring inside the eye, fail for roughly 50% of patients.
At the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center, more than 2,100 patients have donated samples of blood and/or ocular fluid to the Center for Ocular Inflammation Uveitis Biorepository so that researchers like Lynn Hassman, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, can advance understanding of uveitis and uncover more effective treatments.
“As ophthalmologists, we have an extraordinary ability to observe and describe inflammation in the eye. We can use advanced imaging technology to quantify the amount of blood vessel inflammation, the extent of retinal damage, and the impact on the patient’s visual field,” says Dr. Hassman. “But none of this data reveals the right treatment for each patient. That’s because those clinical descriptions don’t tell us what is happening at the molecular level inside the eye.”
Read More
Faculty Updates
Congratulations to Lilia Cervantes, MD, MSCS, Professor of Medicine and Director of Immigrant Research, on receiving the 2026 Sommer Klag Advocacy Achievement Award from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the American Public Health Association. The award recognizes her leadership in expanding access to lifesaving kidney care for undocumented immigrants, including her pivotal role in changing Colorado's Medicaid policy to provide access to scheduled dialysis rather than emergency-only treatment.
Of her recognition, Dr. Cervantes said, “My career began with patients whose suffering was visible every day at the bedside but largely invisible in policy discussions. The patients and families who courageously shared their experiences taught me what questions mattered most and inspired the work that followed. This recognition reflects the power of partnering with communities to generate evidence that can improve lives and inform policy.”
Dr. Cervantes’ research and advocacy continue to inspire similar reforms across the country.
Congratulations to Kennon Heard, MD, PhD, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Director, Rocky Mountain Poison Center, on receiving the Career Achievement Award from the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, the organization's highest honor. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field and was presented at the North American Congress on Clinical Toxicology on October 22.
Angelo D’Alessandro, PhD, has received the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) 2026 President’s Award. Every year, the AABB president selects a small number of professionals deserving of special recognition for “extraordinary public service and contributions in the health care arena.” Dr. D’Alessandro received this award October 17 during the AABB annual meeting for transformative discoveries in red blood cell metabolism, systems biology, and blood storage science that have advanced transfusion medicine.
Tristan Huie, MD, Professor of Medicine and Program Director for the Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program, has received the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, which recognizes program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their programs and served as exemplary role models for residents and fellows. The award is given to only 10 individuals from across the 13,762 GME programs nationally.
Congratulations to Jennifer Adams, MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Medical Education, on receiving the Curriculum Leader Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). This national recognition honors individuals who have demonstrated exemplary service in advancing medical education curricula through collaboration and innovation. Dr. Adams’ leadership and dedication to educational excellence have been formative to our Trek Curriculum and three-year MD program.
Featured Events
10/29
Pediatric Research Day
Thursday, October 29, 11:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Education 2 South Auditorium and Lobby
The CU Anschutz Department of Pediatrics, Colorado Child Health Research Institute, and Adult & Child Center for Outcomes Research & Delivery Science will host the third annual Pediatric Research Day. This year’s keynote speaker is Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, from the Center for Bioethics and Humanities. Additional events include a panel about AI; a poster session; flash talks; awards; and a mission moment around tapestries made from bowties of the late Steve Berman, MD. Registration for Pediatric Research Day is now open.
11/1
Spark Tank Team Applications Open
Applications due Thursday, November 1
Find more information on the Spark Tank webpage.
The Academy of Medical Educators invites applications for Spark Tank, which is scheduled for February 11, 2027. Team applications are open for those interested in pitching innovative ideas that leverage AI to advance health professions education, with up to $15,000 in seed funding available to help bring winning projects to life.
11/7
City Park Classic
Saturday, November 7, 9 a.m.
City Park
Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research hosts the City Park Classic 5k, 10k, and 1-mile run/walk of hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research. The event highlights that November is Worldwide Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month.
11/19
CU MESA Abstract Review Workshop
Thursday, November 19, 11 a.m.–noon
Fitzsimons E1331
Preparing an abstract for an upcoming medical education conference? Join CU MESA (Medical Education Scholarship Accelerator) for small-group feedback from medical education research leaders. Faculty are welcome to attend even without an abstract to share ideas and learn from colleagues. Register for the Abstract Review Workshop.
Recent Publications
Enrique Soto-Perez-de Celis, MD, PhD, Visiting Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Director for Global Oncology, CU Anschutz Cancer Center, is co-author of a comment, “No cancer research without older adults, from prevention to end of life: a manifesto,” published October 20 by Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.
Marian “Emmy” Betz, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative, is co-author of a Perspective article, “Firearm-Related Discussions as an Age-Friendly Intervention,” published October 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tamara K. Oser, MD, Professor of Family Medicine, is first author of an original article, “Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Non–Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes,” published October 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Co-authors include DFM faculty members Sean Oser, MD, MPH, and E. Seth Kramer, DO, MPH, both Associate Professors of Family Medicine.
Julie Ressalam, MPH, a doctoral student, is first author of an invited commentary, "When Lower Spending Signals Inclusion--Immigrant Health Care Beyond Coverage," published October 23 in the JAMA Network Open. Lilia Cervantes, MD, MSCS, Professor of Medicine and Director of Immigrant Research, is co-author.
Jason Haukoos, MD, MSc, Professor of Emergency Medicine; Sarah E. Rowan, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine; and Emily Hopkins, MSPH, with Emergency Medicine and Denver Health, are co-authors of an original investigation, “Cost-Effectiveness of HCV Screening in Emergency Departments Using DETECT Hep C Trial Results,” published October 19 by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Michael Szarek, PhD, Visiting Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and faculty member of CPC Clinical Research, is a co-author of an article, “Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition and high-density lipoprotein particle composition: consequences for atherogenesis and neurodegeneration,” published October 16 by Scientific Reports.
Jacob Dawson, Research Services Professional in the Department of Surgery, is corresponding author of an article, “The Influence Of Adiposity On Markers Of Aerobic Fitness And Inflammation Following An Exercise Oncology Intervention,” published in the October 2026 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Four colleagues from our campus are co-authors.
Marian “Emmy” Betz, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative, is co-author of a Perspective article, “Firearm-Related Discussions as an Age-Friendly Intervention,” published October 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tamara K. Oser, MD, Professor of Family Medicine, is first author of an original article, “Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Non–Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes,” published October 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Co-authors include DFM faculty members Sean Oser, MD, MPH, and E. Seth Kramer, DO, MPH, both Associate Professors of Family Medicine.
Julie Ressalam, MPH, a doctoral student, is first author of an invited commentary, "When Lower Spending Signals Inclusion--Immigrant Health Care Beyond Coverage," published October 23 in the JAMA Network Open. Lilia Cervantes, MD, MSCS, Professor of Medicine and Director of Immigrant Research, is co-author.
Jason Haukoos, MD, MSc, Professor of Emergency Medicine; Sarah E. Rowan, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine; and Emily Hopkins, MSPH, with Emergency Medicine and Denver Health, are co-authors of an original investigation, “Cost-Effectiveness of HCV Screening in Emergency Departments Using DETECT Hep C Trial Results,” published October 19 by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Michael Szarek, PhD, Visiting Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and faculty member of CPC Clinical Research, is a co-author of an article, “Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition and high-density lipoprotein particle composition: consequences for atherogenesis and neurodegeneration,” published October 16 by Scientific Reports.
Jacob Dawson, Research Services Professional in the Department of Surgery, is corresponding author of an article, “The Influence Of Adiposity On Markers Of Aerobic Fitness And Inflammation Following An Exercise Oncology Intervention,” published in the October 2026 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Four colleagues from our campus are co-authors.
Social Spotlight
The National Academy of Medicine announced the election of four CU Anschutz School of Medicine faculty members to its membership Oct. 19. We are thrilled to recognize Vik Bebarta, MD; Lilia Cervantes, MD, MCSC; Lauren S. Hughes, MD, MPH, MSc, MHCDS, FAAFP; and Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH. Join us in congratulating the inductees on LinkedIn!
Follow CU Anschutz School of Medicine on Social Media
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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