Dear Colleague: 

President Todd Saliman last week announced “Dear Colorado,” the university’s exciting new marketing campaign to showcase the ways the University of Colorado loves and supports our great state. Through the Dear Colorado campaign, Coloradans are invited to share what they love about our state.

The campaign website LoveColorado.com is ready for visitors to share what they love about Colorado. The CU community is encouraged to participate in the campaign by using the hashtag #DearColorado and engaging with the CU system social accounts on LinkedIn, Meta, and X platforms. The university also shared awesome social media assets and zoom backgrounds to support the campaign. I encourage you to get involved and spread the love for CU!

CU Featured in Nature Medicine

In a Nature Medicine article about how environmental conditions affect human health, Douglas Fritz, a third-year medical student at our school, offers wise advice for taking care of patients.

“When a patient comes in, regardless of whether or not I think they agree with climate change or see it as a political issue, I just try and keep it very focused on their health,” he says in the article published last week.

Douglas says it’s most important to ask questions, listen, and address patients’ needs. When there’s a heatwave, it’s critical to ask about access to cooling and whether patients can keep their medications at safe temperatures. Another example: higher pollen counts due to warmer weather require asking about allergy symptoms outside the usual season.

The article commends our school as one that has recognized the importance of adapting our curriculum with our changing world. Health risks related to environmental exposures require us to be smarter about how we prepare and deliver care. Many thanks to all the leaders at our school who are making contributions to this crucial effort.

Faculty Updates

Olivia Rissland, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, has been awarded a $1 million grant by the W.M. Keck Foundation to study cells that produce extremely large amounts of a single type of protein. Olivia’s lab plans to use collagen as a test case to explore hypotheses about “ultra-dedicated” production of a single protein. An article in the School of Medicine newsroom includes additional information.

Kelly R. Wolfe, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics, is corresponding author of a research letter published August 5 by JAMA Pediatrics suggesting that children with single ventricle heart disease have ongoing fundamental dysregulation of proteins responsible for development, maintenance, and repair of neurons, that the dysregulated proteins are associated with language development, and that this dysregulation is potentially detectable via routine blood analysis. Six colleagues from our campus are co-authors.

Stephanie Nakano, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, is leading a research team that received funding from the American Heart Association and Additional Ventures to study the immune system of people with single ventricle heart disease. Stephanie’s team is one of five selected to share $13 million for research projects to learn more about the biological mechanisms of this rare congenital heart defect.

Paul J. Christine, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, is corresponding author of an original investigation published August 5 by JAMA Network Open finding that training requirements may not be the primary barrier to expanding buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder.

Matthew D. Galbraith, PhD, assistant research professor of pharmacology, and Joaquin M. Espinosa, PhD, professor of pharmacology, are corresponding authors of an article published June 28 in Nature Communications that identifies distinct molecular and immune subtypes across individuals with Down syndrome, offering new insights that could lead to personalized medicine approaches for the clinical management of this condition. Eleven co-authors are from our campus. An article in the newsroom of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome provides more detail.

Nicholas Cost, MD, associate professor of surgery, has been named chair of the Renal Tumor Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. He is the first surgeon to hold the role. The Children’s Oncology Group is a National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials group and is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research.

Yoni K. Ashar, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, and Joseph W. Frank, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, have received a four-year, $1.9 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Chronic Pain Management Research Program to conduct a randomized clinical trial of a novel treatment for veterans with chronic back and neck pain, described in this report on NBC’s Today Show that features Yoni. The study is a collaboration with the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System and the Denver Research Institute.

Kagan E. Karakus, MD, postdoctoral fellow at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, is corresponding author of a Teachable Moment article published August 5 by JAMA Internal Medicine that describes an encounter with a patient with a case of thyrotoxicosis due to excess exogenous levothyroxine intake in a patient whose weight significantly reduced after being treated with tirzepatide for obesity. Co-authors are Viral N. Shah, MD, and Halis K. Akturk, MD, both from the Barbara Davis Center.

Our basic science department colleagues last week launched a website featuring all six departments. The goal is to give visitors a better understanding of the innovative work they do here at our school. Many thanks to Aimee Pugh Bernard, PhD, assistant professor of immunology and microbiology, for writing, planning, and designing the website.

Staff Honor
Gary Brown, MBA, vice chair of finance and administration for the Department of Pathology, has received the Distinguished Service Award in Pathology Department Administration from the Association for Academic Pathology. Gary recently completed his term as president of APEX (Academic Pathology Executives section) and has spent more than a decade in national service in support of academic pathology departments. Congratulations, Gary!

Mentorship Academy

The Mentorship Academy will be held Monday, Nov. 4, at the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center, 13200 E 14th Pl, Aurora. The all-day, in-person only event will include Ted Talk-style sessions, a keynote speaker, and breakout rooms to facilitate discussion and provide actionable advice and guidance for faculty and staff interested in developing their mentorship skills. Registration for the free event will open in September.

Call for Dean's Distinguished Speakers

The Dean’s Distinguished Seminar Series hosts renowned scientists, physicians, and academic leaders for public lectures and meetings with members of the School of Medicine community. These prominent leaders enrich the academic life of our campus. We are seeking nominees for the 2025-2026 series of speakers. Contact Judy Sherman, judy.sherman@cuanschutz.edu, in the Dean’s Office for information on the nomination process.

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 School of Medicine

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