Dear colleague:

The United States last week recorded its worst week yet in the pandemic, with more than 500,000 new coronavirus cases. While officials are identifying more cases because testing is more available than in the spring, the higher number is a sign that the spread continues unabated and that everyone should remain on alert about risks of exposure. In Adams County, where our Anschutz Medical Campus is based, state public health officials have moved the county to Level 3 on its Safer at Home dial, effective last Wednesday. Details about what that means for the Anschutz Medical Campus are described in a campus announcement. The impacts of that change in status are relatively limited thanks to the thoughtful plans and protocols put in place by our Environmental Health and Safety team and others involved in the campus safety programming, and thanks to the compliance our colleagues with those guidelines.

This is a good time to review those protocols and remind yourselves of the shared responsibility we have in taking steps to reduce the spread of this coronavirus. All previous rules still apply: All work that can be done at home should be done at home, keep your distance when around others, wear a mask. For those who have been invited to be on campus, there is a daily health questionnaire that must be completed accurately. If you have any symptoms, do not come to campus and expose others. While on campus, you must maintain social distancing, stay close to your designated workspace, and wear a mask. Listen to the experts, make informed decisions, and show concern for those around you.

Margaret Wierman, MD, professor of medicine and chief of endocrinology at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, has been selected as the next chair of the International Society of Endocrinology (ISE) for a two-year term. ISE is an international federation of Endocrine Societies representing over 90 countries. Its goals are to promote global scientific and educational exchange and advocacy.  

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has issued a call for judges for the 35th Annual Student Research Forum. The forum is a research showcase for students from all schools on campus. The research forum poster presentations are Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, and will be held virtually. Two sessions will be held, with Session 1 from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. and Session 2 from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. Faculty judges can sign up on the online call for judges. Students interested in presenting can sign up using the Call for Abstracts Form. Questions should be sent to coloradoresearchtrack@cuanschutz.edu.

Adam Finney and Mallory Pridy have been named this year’s recipients of the School’s annual Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program Coordinator Excellence Awards. Adam is coordinator for programs in Child Neurology and Adult Epilepsy and Mallory works with the Pain Medicine Fellowship in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Adam has also been named a recipient of the 2021 Program Coordinator Excellence Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This national award is presented to up to five program coordinators in recognition of their in-depth understanding of the accreditation process, participation and leadership in local and national associations, and presentations or publications toward improving GME programs.

The teams participating in the 2019-2020 class of the Leadership for Innovative Team Science (LITeS) presented their reports on Friday October 30. LITeS is a yearlong program focused in the development of leadership and team-building skills and the cohorts work on projects of mutual interest that can benefit the entire campus. Among this year’s presentations were recommendations for improving career transitions for women in academic medicine and for enhancing science communication from academia to lay audiences. Two other teams focused on work that is more specific to their areas – hospitalists reviewed workplace issues and stress, and a team of clinicians and laboratory-based investigators discussed how to build cooperative and motivated research teams. Thanks to all who organized this year’s LITeS events and to the faculty participants.

Tomorrow is Election Day and I would encourage anyone who is eligible to exercise their right to vote. In Colorado, you can register to vote and vote in person up to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Have a good week,

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

The Dean’s weekly message is an email news bulletin from John J. Reilly, Jr., MD, Dean of the CU School of Medicine, that is distributed to inform University of Colorado 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.  For clinical news and patient stories from UCHealth, please visit UCHealth Today

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