Dear Colleague:  

Children’s Hospital Colorado was again recognized among the top 10 in the country in ratings released last week by U.S. News and World Report. Bravo!

To be listed on the Best Children’s Hospitals 2024-2025 Honor Roll, hospitals must be highly ranked in multiple specialties. Nationally, Children’s Colorado was recognized as exceptional in all ranked specialties, with six of those among the Top 10, including:

• Diabetes and endocrinology at No. 5
• Pulmonology and lung surgery at No. 6
• Cardiology and heart surgery at No. 6
• Urology at No. 6
• Gastroenterology and GI surgery at No. 7
• Cancer at No. 8

In addition to its national status, Children’s Colorado was named the No. 1 pediatric hospital in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. We are exceptionally proud of our faculty and colleagues at Children’s Hospital and their combined achievement in making it one of the best in the country. Keep up the great work!

Faculty Updates
Mike McDermott, MD, professor of medicine, has been named the inaugural chair holder of the Lucas Family Endowed Chair in Diabetes and Endocrinology. The fund will significantly bolster Mike’s teaching and research endeavors. Many thanks to benefactors Steve and Shelley Lucas and to the teams in the Office of Advancement and Department of Medicine for their partnership.

Jennifer K. Richer, PhD, professor of pathology and dean of the Graduate School at CU Anschutz Medical Campus, is corresponding author of an article published October 6 by npj Breast Cancer that reports results of a randomized phase II trial with neoadjuvant fulvestrant alone or in combination with enzalutamide given preoperatively for four months to patients with primary, untreated breast cancer. Fifteen colleagues from our campus are co-authors.

Jordan Jacobelli, PhD, associate professor of immunology and microbiology, is corresponding author of an original research article published October 3 by Frontiers in Immunology. The manuscript identifies distinct cellular mechanisms by which the cytoskeletal proteins mDia1 and FMNL1 regulate T cell migration, in part by facilitating nucleus deformation to enable migration though confined environments. Four colleagues from our campus are co-authors.

Kristine M. Erlandson, MD, professor of medicine, is corresponding author, and Maheen Z. Abidi, MD, associate professor of medicine, is first author of an original investigation published October 7 by JAMA Network Open that studied a cohort of 389,288 solid organ transplant recipients to understand whether area-level social deprivation may play an independent role in cytomegalovirus seropositivity. Five colleagues from our school are co-authors.

Amit K. Reddy, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology, is corresponding author of a brief report published October 8 by the Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection that describes the case of an 80-year-old female with cytomegalovirus chronic retinal necrosis, a rare viral retinal infection that occurs in mildly immunocompromised people. Six co-authors are from our school.

Jennifer K. Richer, PhD, professor of pathology and dean of the Graduate School at CU Anschutz Medical Campus, is corresponding author of a research article, “Blocking tryptophan catabolism reduces triple-negative breast cancer invasive capacity,” published September 23 by Cancer Research Communications. Twelve colleagues from campus are co-authors.

Jay Lemery, MD, is corresponding author of a discussion paper, “Opportunities for Strengthening Climate Education for Clinical Health Professionals,” published September 23 by the National Academy of Medicine’s NAM Perspectives.

Alumni Awards
The annual Silver & Gold Alumni awards banquet is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, December 5, in the Elliman Conference Center. The event celebrates the role our MD and housestaff alumni have played in transforming the art and science of medicine. Please plan to join us as we honor six incredible alumni for their remarkable contributions to medicine and their community. Register by November 22 at www.cuanschutz.edu/SilverandGold. Honorees at this year’s banquet are:

• Marianne Neifert, MD ’72, Silver & Gold Award
• Taylor Triolo, MD ’13, Richard Krugman Distinguished Service Award
• Paul Overlie, MD ’74, Distinguished Achievement Award
• Larry Chan, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, Faculty, Humanitarian Award
• Shawnecca Burke, MD, Residency ’22, Recent Graduate Achievement Award
• Carlie Field, MD ’15, Recent Graduate Humanitarian Award

John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, University of Colorado School of Medicine