Dear Colleague: 

NIH Gap Funding
The School of Medicine – with leadership from our department chairs – has established a fund to temporarily help investigators facing financial hardships due to disruptions and funding delays at the NIH and other federal agencies. This is a truly remarkable commitment that shows we are better when we work together.

The fund is intended to provide short-term relief for qualified investigators who face a critical immediate need to protect their research programs. We want to protect the vital work of our investigators while also giving us time to plan for a sustainable future due to changes in Washington, D.C.

The established guidelines to qualify for support from the fund are intended to treat programs fairly while recognizing the need to maximize the impact of this gap funding. Working with the chairs, we have set these priorities for evaluating requests on federal grants, excluding the VA:

• Programs should have completed peer review and have received clearly fundable scores.
• Large center, program project, and multi-PI grants.
• Training and early-career development awards.
• Renewal R01 grants where funding gaps jeopardize support for staff or trainees or would lead to loss of valuable reagents.
• Federally supported clinical trials to support personnel and recruitment targets.

We also have adopted several important guidelines for support:

• Time-limited. The support will be provided for no more than six months.
• Program sustainability. Our goal is to protect a portion of salaries, especially for trainees, and to ensure the viability of important reagents.
• Prorated. We can’t afford to cover all costs, so support will be limited to about 50% of direct costs.
• Existing reserves. Awardees must commit their own personal reserves or start-up funds to be considered for the program.

Our school’s Office of Research Affairs has created an online application that goes live tomorrow, April 1. Applications will be reviewed biweekly between now and this summer. Applications should include a cover letter, budget pages that indicate personnel and other essential grant-related expenses, and a brief letter from your department chair or unit head that confirms eligibility and your commitment of reserve funds.

It is important to note that this program can’t solve all the problems caused by the disruptions to NIH and other federal health agencies. We and our colleagues in academic medicine across the country are facing tremendous uncertainty due to the upheaval. I want you to know we are doing everything we can to protect your work.

We will keep you updated about this program on the NIH Gap Funding Program webpage. We will also develop an FAQ site. To apply, fill out the online application form. Any questions may be directed to the Senior Associate Dean for Research Affairs.

For additional updates about how government activities are affecting our work, please refer to the Federal Transitions Updates webpage of the CU Office of Government Relations. The Anschutz Medical Campus also has an updates webpage.

Dr. Richard Zane Named UCHealth CMO
Congratulations to Richard Zane, MD, on his appointment to be Chief Medical Officer for UCHealth!

Dr. Zane has led the Department of Emergency Medicine since 2012, serving as the inaugural chair, leading the department through incredible growth by building what are widely viewed nationally as best-in-class clinical, research, and training programs. In 2016, he added the role of Chief Innovation Officer for UCHealth, forging dozens of partnerships with startups and Fortune 500 companies, while also building the health system’s Virtual Health Center. He is truly a man of many talents!

Dr. Zane will succeed Peg Reidy, MD, who has been CMO for the past five years, on August 1. He is stepping down as chair today, March 31. To serve as interim chair, I have appointed Vik Bebarta, MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Center for Combat Medicine and Battlefield Research. Dr. Bebarta has been an outstanding leader, who has established the Center for COMBAT Research as a major force that turns military medical gains into better health care for all. The team includes more than 100 investigators working with more than 50 government, academic, and industry partners on more than 70 funded projects. We are fortunate that Dr. Bebarta will bring that commitment to excellence in all our missions to this new leadership role. 

Until August 1, Dr. Zane will be working with us to develop infrastructure, data reporting, and metrics for central services within CU Medicine; to reform outdated processes; and to lay out opportunities for better alignment between CU School of Medicine departments and across the campus.

Dr. Zane’s energetic drive and bold efforts to build better organizations are highly prized assets for our school and our hospital system. We are excited that he’ll continue contributing to our mutual success.

Faculty Updates
Lori Sussel, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Cell and Developmental Biology, Sissel and Findlow Family Chair, and Director of Basic and Translational Research at the Barbara Davis Center, is this year’s recipient of the Charles H. Best Lectureship and Award at the University of Toronto. The award was established to honor Charles H. Best, a co-discoverer of insulin. Invited speakers are individuals who have made outstanding contributions to research in diabetes.

Ayelet Talmi, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, has been named the inaugural Robert J. Harmon Distinguished Professor. The endowed professorship was created to honor Robert (Bob) J. Harmon, MD, who attended medical school and completed residency and the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The endowment will support and enhance primary care behavioral health integration services.

T. Rajendra Kumar, PhD, Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Research of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been selected as a 2025 Distinguished Fellow at the Society for the Study of Reproduction. He will receive the award at the society’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., this summer.

Recent Publications
Jenna J. Guthmiller, PhD, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Microbiology, is a corresponding author of an article, “Long-lasting B cell convergence to distinct broadly reactive epitopes following vaccination with chimeric influenza virus hemagglutinins,” published March 24 by Immunity.

James A. Feinstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics and investigator with Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, is corresponding author of a research letter, “Annual Medication Use and Costs Among Children,” published March 24 by JAMA Network Open. The study, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, found that nearly half of Colorado’s $1.1 billion annual outpatient medication spending for children is driven by polypharmacy – when kids take multiple medications at once. The research underscores the need for safer, more effective, and cost-conscious prescribing. Three co-authors are from our campus.

James A. Feinstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics and investigator with Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, is corresponding author of a research article, “Challenges of Managing Pediatric Polypharmacy in a Pediatric Complex Care Program: A Qualitative Pilot Study,” published March 22 by the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. In the study, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Dr. Feinstein and colleagues used a qualitative approach to interview multidisciplinary pediatric clinicians – both prescribers and non-prescribers – to understand current management practices, challenges faced, and opportunities for improvement.

Larry Green, MD, Distinguished Professor of Family Medicine and Senior Scholar at the Farley Health Policy Center, is co-author on an issue brief, “Report from the Frontlines of US Primary Care on the Impact of Recent Federal Policy Changes,” published March 27 in The Milbank Quarterly.

Michael W. Cookson, MD, MHS, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, is corresponding author of a research article, “Intraamniotic Vitamin D Preserves Lung Development and Prevents Pulmonary Hypertension in Experimental Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia due to Intraamniotic sFlt-1,” published March 24 by the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

Risha Gidwani, DrPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, is corresponding author of a research article, “Health State Utility Values: The Implications of Patient versus Community Ratings in Assessing the Value of Care,” published March 22 by Medical Decision Making.

Sarah Tevis, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, and Alec McCranie, MD, General Surgery Resident, are co-authors of a research article, “Exploration of Patient Retention in Seeking a Second Opinion: A Retrospective Cohort Study,” published in February by the Journal of Surgical Research. Dr. McCranie’s illustration was also featured on the cover of the quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal.

Dean's Distinguished Speaker
E. Antonio “Nino” Chiocca, MD, PhD, Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham & Women's Hospital and the Harvey W. Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, will deliver the Dean’s Distinguished Seminar lecture, “Oncolytic Immunotherapy for Solid Tumors/Glioblastoma,” at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, in Hensel Phelps West Auditorium. The Dean’s Distinguished Seminar Series brings notable scholars to campus to discuss their work and 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.

Helping One Another Work Smarter
The School of Medicine is hosting a showcase on May 1 from 8 a.m. to noon for administrative staff to share best practices and innovative solutions that have streamlined their work and enhanced operational efficiency. Administrators at all levels are invited to respond to a call for submissions of presentations on best practices, process improvements, and smart hacks that make our work more efficient and enjoyable. Submissions are due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1. The showcase will be in Education 2 South Auditorium (L28-1102). Register to attend. For questions, contact jillian.quinn@cuanschutz.edu.

Education and Innovation Symposium
The Academy of Medical Educators is hosting the 13^th annual Education & Innovation Symposium, featuring keynote speaker Nicole J. Borges, PhD, along with interactive workshops, engaging panels, and cutting-edge research presentations, on April 30 and May 1. The event is free and open to all. Attendees will also celebrate excellence with awards and the Teaching Scholars Program graduation. Register online. Faculty are needed to judge poster presentations at the Education & Innovation Symposium on April 30 from 12:20 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. This is a great way to engage with colleagues, support education, and recognize outstanding work. No training required. To be a poster judge, sign-up online.

Child Health Clinicians Needed for AI Pilot
We are excited to announce the extension of our pilot program with Abridge to pediatric faculty at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Abridge provides technology that transforms patient-clinician conversations into structured clinical notes in real time and integrates into electronic medical records. We believe this technology could significantly reduce clerical workload while enhancing your clinic experience. We are seeking volunteers to participate. To be eligible, you must be a physician, APP, or licensed mental health professional seeing patients in an outpatient clinic at least three half-days per week and own/use an iPhone device. Residents and fellows are not eligible for the pilot phase of the project. This is an important step in our efforts to serve patients while making our work more efficient. For more information and to share your interest in participating, please submit this form by April 1.

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