Dear colleague: 

Matthew Rustici, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, has been named a Macy Faculty Scholar for 2021. The Macy Faculty Scholars Program is a highly selective program for educational innovators in medicine and nursing. Scholars receive salary support up to $100,000 per year over two years to implement an educational change project at their institutions and to participate in a program of career-development activities. Matt, who works clinically at Denver Health Medical Center in the pediatric emergency department and urgent care, will create a curricular materials compendium for Transition To Residency courses, providing free and open access to teaching materials. 

Connie Savor Price, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and chief medical officer for Denver Health, testified before the House Science, Space, and Technology committee last Thursday. In introductory remarks (at the 40-minute mark), Connie, who has previously investigated deadly infectious disease outbreaks in Toronto and in Saudi Arabia, outlines the principles for investigating outbreaks. Later during the hearing (about 1 hour, 8 minutes), she responds to questions from Rep. Ed Perlmutter. He asks about the how to protect against the Delta strain and other variants. “Get vaccinated,” Connie recommends. He also asked about working with officials in other countries to investigate outbreaks. Show respect and build trust, Connie said. Her comments were included in a news report in Homeland Preparedness News. 

Tom Purcell, MD, MBA, associate professor of medicine and associate director of clinical services at the CU Cancer Center, has announced that he is leaving in August to become the chief medical officer of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. In announcing Tom’s departure, CU Cancer Center Director Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, said: “Tom has left an indelible mark on our oncology services and thousands of patients across our region. He brought his passion for exceptional cancer care to many quality initiatives and other successful ventures at the Cancer Center.” We wish Tom well in his new job. 

The Faculty Senate has elected its officers for the new academic year. The senate leaders are President Gregary Bocsi, DO, associate professor of pathology; President-Elect Merlin Ariefdjohan, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of psychiatry; Secretary Amy Clevenger, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics; and Past-President Jaime Arruda, MD, associate professor of clinical practice of obstetrics and gynecology. 

Memorial services for Humphrey Petersen-Jones, a student in our MD/PhD program who died on July 10, are scheduled for Thursday, July 22, at 10:30 a.m. The service will be livestreamed. In a tribute, one of Humphrey’s friends describes hiking with him in the mountains: “As we were climbing, every few minutes he would make us take ‘an appreciation break.’ Together we would look out over the vast landscape and appreciate the beauty of our world.” As we console one another and remember Humphrey, take time to remind your friends, family, and colleagues that you care about them. Thank you to all who have stepped up to help Humphrey’s parents this past week. They have shared their gratitude for the support they have received from our campus community. For members of the campus community seeking support, the Student and Resident Mental Health programis available by calling 303-724-4716 or emailing smhservice@ucdenver.edu. Faculty and staff can find help at the Department of Psychiatry’s Faculty and Staff Mental Health webpage.

Have a good week,

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

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