Dear Colleague: 

Victories for Faculty
I am pleased to announce overwhelming support for amendments to the CU Medicine bylaws that will allow our faculty to be better rewarded for their expertise.

This summer, based on a review of financial viability, efficiency, and long-term impact, the CU Medicine Board of Directors asked the members of the faculty practice to vote on two amendments that will make a major impact:

• Amendment No. 1 allows members to directly contract and collect for medical/legal activity. The vote received 92% approval with 1,062 Yes votes and 90 No votes.
• Amendment No. 2 authorizes the CU Medicine Board to explore the option of CU Innovations, rather than CU Medicine, performing the contracting, billing, collecting, and distributing of other consulting revenue generated by members. That vote received 86% approval with 982 Yes votes and 161 No votes.

This is an outstanding result and a huge victory for our faculty! These changes recognize important contributions of our faculty and create new opportunities to strengthen CU Medicine. I’ve directed the teams to work as quickly as possible to enact these changes.

Thank you for your continued commitment and for advancing work that strengthens CU Medicine and our broader academic mission.

Abridge
Late last year, we issued a call for clinicians to test Abridge, which turns patient-clinician conversations into structured real-time clinical notes. More than 100 signed up.

Since our colleagues began testing Abridge this spring, we’ve seen impressive improvements. At a CU Medicine Board meeting this summer, Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, interim Executive Vice Dean - Clinical | Research | Quality, presented some of the early results:

Time in Notes Per Appointment decreased for Abridge users. Abridge users spend about 25% less time in notes per appointment compared to their counterparts.

Diagnosis coding increased substantially. Total diagnoses coded by Abridge users increased by 13.8% compared to the same period the previous year. And during the pilot period, Abridge users had a 62.6% increase in diagnoses compared to their peers in the control group.

Clinicians using Abridge reported lower rates of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and burnout compared to their non-Abridge-using peers in the control group.

These are extraordinary outcomes! The use of technology improves care for our patients, makes clinical visits more efficient, and helps lower stress for our clinicians. I call that a win-win-win!
 
The smart use of technology is vital for our future, so I’m excited to announce that the CU Medicine Board, with strong support for our departmental leadership, has approved turning this pilot into a permanent solution. The use of Abridge and similar tools is necessary to attract and retain the best faculty. And having the best faculty is the key to sustaining our growth.
 
Major thanks to Karen Chacko, MD, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Clinical Outreach, Adult Health, for organizing our Abridge AI Pilot, and to everyone who has been testing it for the rest of us. 

Recent Publications
Jay Hesselberth, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, and Laura White, PhD, Instructor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, are corresponding authors of a research article, “Nanopore sequencing of intact aminoacylated tRNAs,” published August 20 in Nature Communications. Four co-authors are from our campus.

Liselotte N. Dyrbye, MD, MHPE, Professor of Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Chief Well-being Officer, is corresponding author of an original investigation, “Smartwatch Use and Physician Well-Being: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” published August 18 by JAMA Network Open.

Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology, is corresponding author of an article, “Re-identification of patients from imaging features extracted by foundation models,” published July 22 by npj Digital Medicine. Five co-authors, including Naresh Mandava, MD, Chair of Ophthalmology, are from our campus.

Tianjing Li, PhD, MHS, Professor of Ophthalmology, is corresponding author of an invited commentary, “Semaglutide and the Eyes—A Literature Glut, but Little Clarity,” published August 14 by JAMA Ophthalmology. Co-authors are Riaz Qureshi, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, and Prem S. Subramanian, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology.

Adam Green, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, is a co-author of an article, “A review of diffuse hemispheric glioma, H3 G34-mutant disease development, DNA repair, microenvironment, and treatments on the horizon,” published August 14 by npj Precision Oncology.

Suchitra Rao, MBBS, MSCS, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, is a co-author of an article, “Clinician Preferences for Oseltamivir Use in Children With Influenza in the Outpatient Setting,” published August 13 by Pediatrics.

Judith M. Gault, PhD, Associate Research Professor of Neurosurgery, is corresponding author of an article, “Ethical considerations of deep brain stimulation for treatment refractory schizophrenia: surveying stakeholders,” published August 19 by BMC Psychiatry. Five co-authors are from our campus.

Faculty Updates
Corey Lyon, DO, Professor of Family Medicine and Program Director of the CU Family Medicine Residency, is recipient of the American Academy of Family Physicians 2025 Exemplary Teaching Award for Medical Education. The award acknowledges exemplary teaching skills, outstanding educational program implementation, and innovative teaching models.

Donald Nease, MD, Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Community Engagement for the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute, has been inducted into The Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship. Inductees are recognized as outstanding leaders who unite academics and communities to create meaningful societal impact.

James DeGregori, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Deputy Director of the CU Cancer Center, is featured in an article posted August 19 by the National Institutes of Health that describes his research team’s study of how respiratory viruses may trigger dormant cancers. The study appeared in Nature on July 30.

The AB Nexus program announced its 2025 seed grant awards to four research teams from CU Anschutz Medical Campus and CU Boulder. Collectively, the winning teams will receive $750,000 in funding to advance cutting-edge research that improves human health and well-being. The 2025 AB Nexus awardees include two quantum-focused teams, each receiving a $300,000 seed grant, and two teams of early career scientists, each receiving $75,000 in funding. The principal investigators and their projects are:

• Harnessing AI-Quantum Computing for Colorectal Cancer Therapies
  • Daniel LaBarbera, PhD, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Karolin Luger, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at CU Boulder
• Using Quantum Sensing to Detect Pneumonia and Asthma in Children
  • Lilliam Ambroggio, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, and Jun Ye, PhD, Professor Adjoint of Physics at CU Boulder
• Optimizing Beneficial Fungi to Support Infant Gut Health and Prevent Infection
  • Jennifer Hill, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at CU Boulder, and Kyla Ost, PhD, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Microbiology 
• Studying How Baby Diets Shape Their Microbiomes—and Future Allergy Risk
  • Julia Dunn, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and Matthew Olm, PhD, Assistant Professor of Integrative Physiology at CU Boulder

New Faculty Welcome and Onboarding
Registration for the School of Medicine New Faculty Welcome and Onboarding Event, to be held on October 15 and 16, is now open. This two-day, in-person event will feature informational material, career-tailored breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. The Offices for the Faculty Experience has posted a link with more information and registration.

Welcome Reception for New Faculty and Trainees
The School of Medicine Office of Health Opportunities and Professional Engagement will be hosting a welcome reception at 5:30-8 p.m., Thursday, September 11, at the Benson Faculty Club. All new faculty and trainees with a start date in 2025 are invited. RSVP by September 1.

Wellbeing Night at Denver Botanic Gardens
The Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab from our campus is collaborating with the Denver Botanic Gardens to host a wellbeing night for health care professionals on Monday, September 8, from 5-7 p.m. The event is free for health care professionals in the Denver area. Attendees can participate in a creative arts session (music, writing, visual art, movement, mindfulness walk) or wander the gardens on their own. Spaces are limited, so registration is encouraged.

Campus Block Party
The CU Anschutz Medical Campus Block Party returns for year 11 on Wednesday, September 10. Open to CU Anschutz faculty, staff, students, trainees, and campus affiliates, this annual end-of-summer celebration is a fun-filled opportunity to learn about all the amazing things happening here and within the neighboring Aurora community. Join your colleagues in Bonfils Circle for a fun gathering!

Ribbon-Cutting for New Mural on Campus
The Colorado Area Health Education Center program is hosting a ribbon-cutting event at 2-4 p.m. September 4, at Research One North, 2^nd Floor, for the “Let Your Light Shine” mural by Denver artist Max Coleman. You can get a preview by watching this video.

Governmental Updates
Keep up on governmental news affecting our school at the CU System Federal Updates and Actions webpage and the CU Anschutz Federal Updates webpage.

To address changes in federal funding and the impact on the state budget, the Colorado General Assembly convened in a special session starting August 21. The Farley Health Policy Center plans to offer an update on the special session on Monday, September 8, from noon to 1. To attend the updates, complete their Zoom registration form.

No Message Next Week
There will be no message next week 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