Dear Colleague: 

CU Cancer Center Research in Nature
Congratulations to a CU Cancer Center research team led by James DeGregori, PhD, on its high-profile paper in Nature last week.

THIS IS HUGE. Nature is the top journal in the field!

Dr. DeGregori, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Deputy Director of the CU Cancer Center, is corresponding author of the article, “Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs.”

He is also featured in a Nature news article and interviewed on Nature podcast. (Tune in at the 11:45 mark of the podcast.)

From left, CU Cancer Center researchers Mercedes Rincon, PhD; Felipe Pereira, PhD;
Bryan Johnson, PhD candidate in Cell Biology, Stem Cells, and Development Program;
and James DeGregori, PhD.

In this excellent article by the CU Cancer Center communications team, Dr. DeGregori explains that their studies show that infection of animal models with either flu virus or SARS-CoV2 led to massive expansion—more than 100-fold—of previously dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs.

These results prompted the team to reach out to collaborators who could analyze human data to see if there were similar connections. Though only breast cancer was modeled in the mice, Dr. DeGregori said that the findings are likely applicable to other types of cancer. 

“Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames,” Dr. DeGregori said.

Notably, this research was the result of a collaboration by a large team that included researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York, and Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Key collaborators from Colorado include CU Cancer Center members Mercedes Rincon, PhD, Professor of Immunology and Microbiology; Dexiang Gao, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics; Felipe Pereira, PhD, Research Scientist with Immunology and Microbiology; Junxiao Hu, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Andrew Goodspeed, PhD, Assistant Research Professor of Biomedical Informatics;  James Costello, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology; and Thomas (Tem) Morrison, PhD, Professor of Immunology and Microbiology.

“This complex and multidisciplinary study truly took a village,” DeGregori said.

Bravo to all involved!

Coach Prime Knows the Score
Last Monday, University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders announced he had been treated for bladder cancer at CU Anschutz Medical Campus by Janet Kukreja, MD, Director of Urologic Oncology at the CU Cancer Center and UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital.

Dr. Kukreja is one of a small group of surgeons in the U.S. who perform robotic removal of the entire cancerous bladder—called a radical cystectomy—and complete robotic reconstruction of the organ. Kukreja performs over 150 radical cystectomies annually, using the Da Vinci Surgical System. UCHealth and the CU Cancer Center lead the nation in the number of procedures.

Janet Kukreja, MD; Coach Prime; and Lauren Askevold, an assistant athletic trainer
at CU Athletics, enjoy a light moment at the July 28, 2025, press conference about his
bladder cancer treatment at CU Anschutz. Photo by Derek Marckel/CU Athletics.

For Coach Prime, the treatment was a complete success.

“I am pleased to report that the results from the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,” Dr. Kukreja said at a news conference with Sanders.

“It was dynamic. It was tough. It wasn’t a cakewalk. It wasn’t easy,” Sanders said at the news conference. “That was a fight, but we made it.” And now he’s back and ready to coach the Buffaloes for another season!

Dr. Kukreja described her work last May in this article in the Department of Surgery’s newsroom, covering the surgical procedure and her patient-first approach to care.

“The University of Colorado is a leader in this area, and we do a lot of these surgeries,” she said. “We have a great program around the surgery too—our inpatient nurses, our after-care nurses, our nurses in clinic—we have a comprehensive multidisciplinary program.”

Best Hospital in Colorado
Thanks to excellent patient care, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus is the No. 1 hospital in the state for the 14^th year in a row, according to this year’s U.S. News rankings.

U.S. News ranks University of Colorado Hospital among the nation’s best in four specialties:

• Pulmonology and lung surgery (shared with National Jewish Health)
• Cancer
• Diabetes and endocrinology
• Obstetrics and gynecology

University of Colorado Hospital also ranked high in treatments for acute kidney failure; heart conditions, including stroke, arrhythmias and heart failure; spinal fusion; and hip fractures. This good news comes while we work together on ways to elevate all our programs to the top 10 in 10 years.

Tom Gronow, EdD, MHA, President and CEO of University of Colorado Hospital, made it clear this is a team effort in the UCHealth announcement: “I’d like to express my gratitude for our staff members, nurses, physicians, and advanced practice providers who deliver such excellent care each day. Through our close collaboration with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, we are the state’s only academic medical center and are able to bring the latest treatments and innovations to our patients, while also maintaining our focus on exceptional quality.”

We’re proud of our partnership with UCHealth and we are excited to continue working together to push even higher in the rankings.

Major Win: $29 Million Grant for Clinical Trial
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will lead a groundbreaking national clinical trial—supported by a $29 million grant from Octapharma—to evaluate whether early replacement of fibrinogen, a critical blood-clotting mechanism in the body, can improve outcomes for trauma patients experiencing life-threatening bleeding. This investigator-initiated study is one of the largest clinical trial grants in campus history.

The EFFECT Trial (Early Fibrinogen for Endotheliopathy and Coagulopathy in Severe Trauma) is a multicenter and randomized trial that will enroll 800 participants across 12 top-tier trauma centers across the country, including multiple UCHealth trauma centers. The study is a major collaboration between CU Anschutz and Octapharma, the global biopharmaceutical company that manufactures Fibryga, the fibrinogen concentrate involved in the trials.

“This is the first U.S. clinical trial to rigorously evaluate early fibrinogen replacement with fibrinogen concentrate as a frontline intervention in trauma,” said Adit Ginde, MD, who is principal investigator of the grant and Professor of Emergency Medicine and interim Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research. “It has the potential to redefine resuscitation practices and save lives by targeting one of the leading, and most preventable, causes of early trauma death: hemorrhage.”

Recent Publications
Yoni K. Ashar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, is corresponding author of a research letter, “Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: 5-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial,” published July 30 by JAMA Psychiatry. Two co-authors are from our campus.

Michael J. Zuscik, PhD, Professor of Orthopedics, is a co-author of a research article, “NFIA regulates articular chondrocyte fatty acid metabolism and joint homeostasis,” published July 30 by Science Translational Medicine.

Erin Wright-Kelly, DrPH, MA, Research Associate in the Injury and Violence Prevention Center in the Colorado School of Public Health, is corresponding author of a research letter, "Perceived Access to a Loaded Firearm Among Youths in Colorado," published July 25 by JAMA Network Open. Five co-authors are from our campus.

Nicole Tartaglia, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, is corresponding author of an article, “Quantifying the Spectrum of Early Motor and Language Milestones in Sex Chromosome Trisomy,” published July 24 by Pediatrics. Nine co-authors are from our campus.

Jeffrey G. Jacot, PhD, Associate Professor of Bioengineering at CU Denver and member of the University of Colorado Center for Bioengineering, is corresponding author of an article, “Amniotic fluid collected from vaginal birth as a source of stem cells for clinical applications and disease modeling,” published in the July 2025 issue of Stem Cells Translational Medicine. Ganna Bilousova, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, contributed equally to this work. Four co-authors are from our campus. A recent article in the Washington Post highlighted the work.

Cleveland Piggott, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Vice Chair for Departmental Engagement, is a co-author a research article, “Everything Old is New Again,” published in the July 2025 issue of The Annals of Family Medicine.

Faculty Update
Soham Roy, MD, Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, has earned a 2024 Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. The award, which is one of the academy’s highest honors, recognizes meritorious service and leadership.

Gates Grubstake Fund Applications
Applications are being accepted through September 15 for the 2025 Gates Grubstake Fund. Each year, Gates Institute awards up to $1.5 million in total funding to support multiple investigator-led projects. Projects should focus on the research and development of cell/gene therapy, protein biologics and regenerative medicine-related technologies including therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, and manufacturing solutions. Gates Institute partners with CU Innovations on the selection process. To register for an informational webinar at 1 p.m. on August 15 and to apply, check this Gates Grubstake Award Program webpage.

Governmental Updates
At our clinical chairs meeting last Tuesday, we received good news: Our grants and contracts team reports that nearly all NIH grants that had been cancelled earlier this year have been reinstated in response to a federal court’s order. Note, though, that the situation could change quickly. The Trump administration has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its bill to fund the Department of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education by a bipartisan vote of 26-3. The legislation includes $47.201 billion for NIH’s base budget, including funding provided through the 21^st Century Cures Act and $1.4 billion in Public Health Service evaluation tap transfers. If passed, this would represent a $400 million increase over FY 2025 levels. The bill also maintained language that would prohibit the federal government from setting standard facility and administrative cost rates and included new language that would prevent the forward funding of NIH grants. More information about what was included in the proposed bill can be found here.

While there are still more steps to take related to protecting our grant funding, please know that school leaders, including me, are doing everything we can to protect this crucial funding for our talented and hard-working researchers.

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

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