Dear Colleague: 

Economic Impact Report
Our campus is an economic powerhouse for our state!

The University of Colorado system generated $12.2 billion in economic impact across Colorado last year, highlighting CU’s growing role in the state’s economy through education, research, innovation, and health care, according to a new economic study. This is growth of more than half a billion dollars over 2024.

The report, issued annually by the Business Research Division of CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, covers the 2024-25 fiscal year, which spans July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

CU’s campus-by-campus economic impact was led by CU Anschutz in Aurora, with $5.7 billion in economic impact. CU Boulder followed with $5 billion while CU Denver and UCCS generated $665 million and $567 million, respectively. CU system administration contributed $245 million.

That significant contribution rose to $20 billion when the $7.8 billion economic boost of the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado, both located on the CU Anschutz campus, were considered, the report found.

Read more about CU’s economic impact in this article.

CU Medicine Scholarships
Thank you to the CU Medicine Board for supporting our students! At its October meeting, the Board of our faculty practice voted unanimously to provide $1.6 million for student scholarships. This gift is an investment in our future and proof of our faculty’s dedication to excellent patient care. The scholarship funding is provided to students in our MD, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, and Anesthesiologist Assistant programs.

CU Medicine Annual Meeting
The CU Medicine annual member meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 18, at 7:30 a.m. in person in the Chester Ridgway Board Room on the seventh floor of AO1 and by Zoom. All members of the faculty practice plan are invited to hear from me; Brian T. Smith, MHA, Executive Director; and Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, Interim Executive Vice Dean for Clinical | Research | Quality.

Upcoming Town Hall on Funds Flow
Please plan on tuning in for the School of Medicine’s virtual town hall on Thursday, November 13, at 8 a.m. I will be joined by Tom Gronow, EdD, MHA, President and CEO of the University of Colorado Hospital. We will discuss our hospital partnership and answer your questions on the new funds flow model. I welcome you to register for this online event and to submit questions in advance for Dr. Gronow and myself.

Mentorship Academy Goes Global
Congratulations to the Mentorship Academy team for bringing its expertise to an audience in Japan. In mid-October, 70 medical residents, faculty, and leaders from hospitals across Japan came together in Tokyo for one day of intensive learning on the art of mentorship, presented by leaders from our School of Medicine, the University of Colorado Hospital, and the University of Michigan

Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, Interim Executive Vice Dean for Clinical | Research | Quality and Chair of Medicine, and Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH, Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and Chief of Medicine at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center, led interactive sessions that combined lectures and small-group discussions on the nature of mentorship.

Richard Zane, MD, Chief Medical and Innovation Officer at UCHealth and former Chair of Emergency Medicine, presented on leadership and mentoring in emergency care. His presentation highlighted his takeaways from leadership in a highly dynamic, fast-paced setting, and he encouraged attendees to lead with clarity and simplicity to create a supportive environment that encourages feedback.

Beyond sharing best practices, the event inspired meaningful dialogue on how mentorship principles translate across different cultural and organizational landscapes. Read more about the Mentorship Academy’s trek to Japan in this article in the Department of Medicine newsroom.

Pediatric Research Day
Our Department of Pediatrics, with Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Adult & Child Center for Outcomes Research & Delivery Science (ACCORDS), hosted the second annual Pediatric Research Day on October 7.

Relationship-building emerged as a core tenet of the discussion. “The success of any research collaboration is directly related to the strength of the relationship and trust built between the partners,” said ACCORDS Director Jerica M. Berge, PhD, MPH, Professor of Family Medicine and Director of the Healthy Eating and Activity across the Lifespan Lab. “Make sure to take the time at the beginning of the collaboration to build this trust for a more effective and sustainable study.”

As part of the work in building relationships, Teri Hernandez, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Scholarship at the College of Nursing, highlighted the role of engaging in active listening with your team.

Read more about the event in this article in the ACCORDS newsroom.

Magnet Recognition for Hospital Partners
Children’s Hospital Colorado has received the highest international recognition for excellence in nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet Recognition Program. The program notified and congratulated Jennifer Roth, Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Executive, on October 22. It’s the fifth consecutive time Children’s Colorado has received the designation.

Only 10% of U.S. hospitals have achieved Magnet designation, and to accomplish this recognition five times in a row places Children’s Colorado among the top 1.4% of hospitals nationwide. Out of 642 hospitals currently designated as Magnet organizations internationally, only 48 pediatric organizations have been recognized by Magnet.

“Achieving and maintaining Magnet recognition for 20 years is a mark of excellence that truly sets Children’s Colorado apart,” Roth said in an announcement on the hospital’s website.

In January, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital announced it had received its sixth Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a benchmark of excellence in nursing and patient care that is achieved by less than 10% of hospitals nationwide. 

UCH is one of only 24 hospitals globally to earn this recognition six or more times. 

“This is such a prestigious honor for our UCH nurses. Magnet accreditation is about creating a sustaining a culture of professional governance where nurses have a voice to drive change and elevate the practice of nursing,” said Jennifer Rodgers, Chief Nursing Officer at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in the UCH announcement.
 
Faculty Updates
Lauren Treat, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, has been awarded the 2025 Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award by the Child Neurology Society at their annual meeting on October 8. Dr. Treat is a nationally recognized leader in pediatric neuropalliative care, known for her compassionate approach and dedication to children with serious neurologic illnesses.

Ellen Roy Elias, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, received the Pediatric Complex Care Lifetime Achievement Award from the Systems & Policy Research Network in late October. The honor celebrates Dr. Elias’s extraordinary career as a clinician, researcher, teacher, mentor, and advocate, whose work has transformed the care of children with medical complexity for more than four decades.

Jori Leszczynski, DVM, DACLAM, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Animal Resources and Professor of Pathology, started her one-year term as President of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) following the conclusion of the National Meeting in Long Beach, Calif., November 9-13, 2025. AALAS is a global community of more than 12,000 professionals dedicated to advancing responsible laboratory animal care and use to improve human and animal health through education, certification, and scientific exchange.

Recent Publications
Sarit Polsky, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Pregnancy and Women’s Health Clinic at Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, is corresponding author of an editorial, “Automated Insulin Delivery in Pregnancy,” published October 24 by JAMA.

Leigh Perreault, MD, Adjoint Professor of Medicine, is corresponding author of an editorial, “Artificial Intelligence and Diabetes Prevention,” published October 27 by JAMA.

Christopher D. Baker, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, is senior author of clinical practice guidelines, “Care of Infants and Children with Tracheostomies. An Official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline,” published in the November issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Co-authors from our campus are Jessica A. Dawson, RN, Ventilator Care Program Clinical Program Coordinator at Children’s Hospital Colorado; Arwen J. Jackson, MA, CCP-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado; and Jeremy D. Prager, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Catherine G. Derington, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, is first author of an article, “Using PREVENT Equations to Compare Intensive vs Standard Systolic Blood Pressure Control for Primary Prevention in SPRINT,” published October 28 by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Tung Dinh, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Medicine, and Mamuka Kvaratskhelia, PhD, Professor of Medicine, are co-authors of an article, “Oligomeric HIV-1 integrase structures reveal functional plasticity for intasome assembly and RNA binding,” published October 24 by Nature Communications. The Salk Institute featured the publication in an article on its website.

Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, is a co-author of a position paper, “Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians,” published October 28 by Annals of Internal Medicine.

Ahmad M. Hider, MD, PGY 2 Resident in Surgery, is lead author of a viewpoint article, “Improving Transparency—FDA Guidance on Hernia Mesh Labeling,” published October 15 by JAMA Surgery.

Praveer Singh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, is corresponding author of an article, “Artificial intelligence‐based algorithms for the diagnosis of retinopathy of prematurity,” published October 7 by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Six co-authors are from our campus.

Mark E. Mikkelsen, MD, MSCE, Professor of Medicine, is a co-author of an article, “Greater recovery after critical illness (GRACE): a call to action to create a new roadmap for critical illness research,” published October 15 by Thorax.

Corey B. Bills, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, is corresponding author, and Emilie J. Calvello Hynes, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, is a co-author of an original investigation, “Implementation of a Package of Emergency Care Interventions and Clinical Outcomes,” published October 27 by JAMA Network Open.

Paige A. Romer, MD, MA, PGY 2 Resident in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, is lead author on a perspective article, “Navigating Expectations in the Transition to the Pass/Fail Step 1 Exam: Tensions and Recommendations From Student Leaders of the NEXT Step 1 Project,” published in the November issue of Academic Medicine. 

Marcelo Perraillon, PhD, Associate Professor of Health Systems, Management & Policy at the Colorado School of Public Health; Daniel A. Pollyea, MD, MS, Professor of Medicine; and Cathy J. Bradley, MPA, PhD, Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and Deputy Director of the CU Anschutz Cancer Center, are co-authors of an article, “County-level medical debt and treatment initiation among individuals newly diagnosed with cancer,” published October 26 by Cancer.

Trisha Agarwal, MD ’25, Resident Physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is first author with co-senior authors Neil R. Aggarwal, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Adit Ginde, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Clinical Trials, of an article, “Association of remdesivir treatment with long-term mortality after COVID-19 hospitalization,” published October 28 by BMC Infectious Diseases. Eight co-authors are from our campus.

Donghoon Lee, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, is corresponding author of an article, “Effects of government health and immunisation financing on routine childhood vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic: a difference-in-differences study,” published October 13 by BMJ Open.

Mackenzie Parker, MD, PGY 3 Resident in Pediatrics, is lead author on an article, “Endotracheal tube exchange in preterm infants with evolving chronic lung disease: safety, outcomes, and impacts on pulmonary mechanics” published October 15 by the Journal of Perinatology. Rebecca Shay, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Kathleen Hannan, MD, MSCS, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; and Blair W. Weikel, MPH, Senior Research Scientist, are co-authors.

In Memoriam
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Joshua Black, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, who passed away Saturday, October 25, at the age of 45, following a courageous battle with cancer. Dr. Black joined our campus in December 2015 and quickly became a deeply valued member of our community. His pioneering research on the epigenetic regulation of DNA re-replication exemplified both his intellectual brilliance and his unwavering passion for scientific discovery. Beyond his academic contributions, Dr. Black was known for his kindness, insatiable curiosity, and sharp wit – qualities that left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of working with him. True to Dr. Black’s generous spirit, the results of his clinical autopsy will be used to benefit others. To honor his legacy and support a research lectureship in his honor, we invite you to make a contribution in his memory at giving.cu.edu/JBlack.

Student Research Forum
The 40^th Annual Virtual Student Research Forum will be held virtually on December 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. All students on campus are eligible to submit an abstract and give a virtual poster presentation. Best posters will receive recognition awards. Posters and abstracts are due by November 10. For the success of this important program for our students, we need faculty judges to identify top posters. Please fill out the form on the Call for Virtual Judges. Additional information about the program is available on the campus research forum webpage. For questions, email Mary McGinnis at [email protected].

Tattered Cover Talk
Mikaela Follmer, PhD candidate in the Cell Biology, Stem Cell & Developmental Biology PhD Program, and Emily Bates, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, will present “Trendy toxins (BOTOX, CBD, etc): The Unknown Side of Modern Wellness” at the Tattered Cover Book Store, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 18. They will consider the impact on human development and health. The talk is part of an ongoing series offered by the Office of Research Education.

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 Anschutz School of Medicine

Subscribe to the Dean's Message