Dear Colleague: 

I had the pleasure earlier this month of welcoming to our campus the attendees of the 2024 CU-CSU Summit. What a terrific crowd it was! The gathering, hosted by the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, brought us together to discuss the use of artificial intelligence for improving human health.

Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and chief of the department’s Division of Artificial Medical Intelligence and the CCTSI’s director of health informatics, outlined how AI has been used to improve access, quality, safety, and efficiency of care.

There is great promise in AI, but there are also points where it trips up. In an article about her talk, Jayashree explains that she used ChatGPT to create a professional biography. It did great until she asked it to add her undergraduate degree. “It made that up completely,” she said, and when she pointed out the error, the technology made up sources that did not exist.

The article is worth checking out. I’m sure we’ve got a great future ahead of us with these powerful tools, but improvements are needed to make sure these tools have integrity and improve quality. If you were unable to attend the summit, you can check out many of the presentations on the CCTSI’s website.

Faculty Updates
G. Todd Alonso, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and director of education for the pediatric service at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, is corresponding author of a From Research to Practice article in Diabetes Spectrum published August 15. The article, “Standardizing Diabetes Care in Colorado School: Nearly Two Decades of Success,” is powerful proof of how collaborations between members of our campus community and public health leaders in Colorado have improved care for school children with type 1 diabetes.

Suchitra Rao, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, is corresponding author of an editorial, “Uncovering Long COVID in Children,” published August 21 by JAMA. The editorial addresses findings from an original investigation characterizing long COVID in children and young adults, also published August 21. Suchitra writes that the study emphasizes the need to evaluate chronic conditions across the life spectrum because there are clear differences between children, adolescents, and adults.

Sean P. Colgan, PhD, professor of medicine, is the corresponding author of a mini-review published August 19 by the American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, that explores how the physiologic hypoxia profile interfaces with short-chain fatty acids to benefit host mucosal tissues.

Risha Gidwani, DrPH, associate professor of medicine, is corresponding author of a research article published August 13 by Health Services Research that finds exempting telehealth from high-deductible health plan deductibles could help reduce the gap in access to care for chronically ill persons enrolled in those plans. Recent-but-expiring federal legislation exempts telehealth from those plans’ deductibles for care provided in 2023 and 2024.

Angela L. Rachubinski, PhD, assistant research professor of pediatrics, and Joaquin M. Espinosa, PhD, professor of pharmacology and executive director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, are corresponding authors of an article published August 8 by eLife that reports the initial results of a first-in-kind clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of a JAK inhibitor to decrease the burden of autoimmune conditions in people with Down syndrome. Nineteen co-authors are from our campus. An article in the Crnic Institute newsroom describes the research.

Matthew D. Galbraith, PhD, assistant research professor of pharmacology, and Joaquin M. Espinosa, PhD, professor of pharmacology and executive director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, are corresponding authors of a report published August 8 by Cell Reports that reports important differences in oxygen physiology and red blood cell function in individuals with Down syndrome. The study is part of the ongoing Human Trisome Project, a large and detailed cohort study of the population with Down syndrome. Thirteen co-authors are from our campus. An article in the Crnic Institute newsroom describes the research.

Anna Neumeier, MD, associate professor of medicine, and Tristan Huie, MD, associate professor of medicine, have been named co-mentors of the 2025 APCCMPD and CHEST Medical Educator Scholar Diversity Fellowship. The fellowship provides support and funding for fellows who intend to pursue a career in medical education and whose experiences significantly contribute to the diversity of the medical educator community. APCCMPD is the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors and CHEST is the American College of Chest Physicians.

Dean's Distinguished Seminar
Bruce Freeman, PhD, professor and chair of pharmacology and chemical biology at the University of Pittsburgh, will deliver the Dean’s Distinguished Seminar lecture , “Metabolic and Inflammatory-Derived Nitro Derivatives Reveal New Drug Candidates,” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, September 10, in Hensel Phelps West Auditorium. A reception in the first-floor atrium will occur after the lecture. The Dean’s Distinguished Seminar Series brings notable scholars to campus to discuss their work. All are invited. You can find more information about this and other events on the campus events calendar, where you can also  sign up for event notifications.

There will be no message on Monday, September 2, due to the Labor Day holiday.

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