Congratulations to Jacqueline Turner, a first-year student in our Medical Scientist Training Program, on receiving a Hertz Fellowship. Jackie is one of 11 researchers, selected from a pool of more than 840 applicants, to receive up to five years of academic support valued at up to $250,000. As an undergraduate at University of Colorado Boulder, Jackie studied biochemistry and integrative physiology. In our program, Jackie credits William Robinson, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, and Kasey Couts, PhD, assistant research professor of medicine, for fueling her scientific curiosity and a love for clinically translational research. For her PhD, Jackie is working with Isabel Schlaepfer, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology, and Raul Torres, PhD, professor of immunology and microbiology, to investigate the role of immunological and metabolic processes in cancer. Her goal is to develop methods that will have an impact on the treatment and prevention of tumor formation. The Hertz Fellowship is a highly prized award that recognizes talented young scientists who move on to highly accomplished careers. 

Congratulations to Stephanie Nwagwu, an MS3 student in the MD program, who was elected director of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Region III, which includes Colorado and six other states. Along with her election, Stephanie last weekend presented a workshop sharing her curriculum on racism in medicine called “What Happened and Why” at the SNMA Annual Medical Education Conference in Philadelphia.  

Congratulations to Ernest E. Moore, MD, Distinguished Professor of the University and professor of surgery, who was awarded the Medallion for Scientific Achievement at the American Surgical Association in Dallas last week. The medallion is the highest recognition of the Association and has been given only 29 times in the association’s 139 year history. 

Our campus transition to a new home on the internet is underway. Chancellor Don Elliman announced last week the launch of our new home page, www.CUAnschutz.edu, from his new email address, Chancellor@CUAnschutz.edu. This process has been more than a year in the making and it is ongoing. The transition of email addresses for faculty, staff, and students will occur in batches from May through August. The School of Medicine is mostly later in the schedule. A link to the schedule is available in the chancellor’s announcement. The email addresses currently used by most of the campus – ending in ucdenver.edu – will continue to remain valid indefinitely. The changeover for websites will take longer and information about that transition is posted in this transition schedule. While change can be challenging, this change is critical to our future as a campus because it solidifies our identity and presents to the world our own name. 

The Art Gallery at the Fulginiti Pavilion will hold a gallery opening reception on Thursday, April 25, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. for show, “Penumbra: Watercolors by H.C. Dodd, 1990-2007.” Helen Carolyn Dodd was born in 1924 in Greenwich, Conn., and died in Houston, four days before her 90th birthday. She and her husband, Gerald D. Dodd, Jr., MD, had seven children and she focused on caring for her growing family. In 1990, at the age of 67, she enrolled in watercolor classes at the Art League of Houston and the Glassell School of Art. Her paintings have been shown in more than 400 national and international juried exhibitions. The opening reception will feature a conversation between Simon Zalkind, curator of exhibitions, and Gerald D. Dodd III, MD, professor and chair of the School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology. 

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is part of a team of researchers that has received a $3.6 million grant for the SPROUT-CTSA Collaborative Telehealth Research Network. This five-year grant will support the development of telehealth research efforts, metric development, identification of best practices, and the development of collaborative policy and advocacy materials across the country. It builds on work underway as part of the SPROUT (Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes and Utilization of Telehealth) collaborative, an established network of institutions and pediatric providers operating within the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is a sub awardee of the grant. 

The School of Medicine Faculty Senate is seeking nominations for the Faculty Professionalism Award to recognize a full time faculty member who has served as a role model representing the scope of professionalism defined in the School’s rules: “civil and courteous behavior; respect for teachers, students, supporting staff and colleagues; service to the community; dedication to lifelong learning; and, for clinicians, empathy, altruism, compassion and other attitudes and behaviors which represent the core traditions of the profession of medicine.” Nominations may be submitted by any student, resident faculty, or other member of the School and University. Nomination forms are available on the Faculty Professionalism Award website. Nominations are due at 5 p.m. Friday, May 31, and should be submitted to Cheryl Welch, director of faculty affairs. 

On Thursday, April 18, the Anschutz Medical Campus hosted its annual donor memorial ceremony to honor people who died and donated their remains for medical research and education. The service features families and friends of donors who share memories of their loved ones. It is also a time for students to explain to those families and friends how the donor’s gift has had an impact on them. Physical therapy student Megan O’Connor said she has now added her name to the donor registry. “Because of the depth of knowledge and understanding provided by your loved ones, friends, and family members, I am inspired to pay it forward in a similar fashion,” she said. “I hope to live a full life that leaves students wondering who I was, who I cared for, who I loved, what each day was like for me.​” 

Have a good week,

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine