Dear colleague:

I had an interesting day and a half in Scottsdale, Ariz., this week at a conference of Children’s Hospital CEOs from across the country.  I had been invited by Jim Shmerling, CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, to participate in a discussion of how medical schools and children’s hospitals can work with each other to assure that both have a future in an increasingly difficult environment.  It was a very good session, and fun to relive some of our history and get some new ideas from the group there. 

On Thursday afternoon, the Senior Class had its Capstone Poster Session, presenting the posters of their Mentored Scholarly Activity.  It was an incredibly diverse group of papers and was very well attended. 

Right after speaking at the Capstone, I drove to Colorado Springs again for the open house for physicians in that community who wanted to learn more about the School of Medicine Branch.  Erik Wallace, MD, Associate Dean for the branch, put together a wonderful group of posters to explain all the opportunities for the physicians in Colorado Springs to participate. 

A few weeks ago, I mentioned I had visited with David W. Talmage, MD, who has been called “the man who brought immunology to Denver.”  David, who had entered hospice care at home, died this past Thursday, March 6. He was 94 years old. After a career filled with achievements and honors, including election to the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, David retired in 1988. He joined the School of Medicine in 1959 and served as dean from 1969-1971 and as director of the Webb-Waring Institute beginning in 1973. He also was named a Distinguished Professor of the University. David’s research illuminated our understanding of how the human body fights infection and the light he shed will continue to shine in the research conducted here and around the world. Our thoughts are with his family.  His memorial service will be at Montview Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia St., Denver, at 3 p.m., Saturday, March 15. 

Congratulations to Therese Jones, PhD, associate professor of medicine, and Alexandra Antonioli, an MD/PhD candidate in the School’s Medical Scientist Training Program, who were awarded the University of Colorado’s 2014 Thomas Jefferson Award. The honor is given to faculty, staff and students who demonstrate excellence in the performance of regular academic responsibilities while contributing outstanding service to the broader community. 

Carol Rumack, MD, professor of radiology and pediatrics and associate dean for graduate medical education, will receive the ACR Gold Medal from the American College of Radiology on April 26, 2014, in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes individuals for distinguished and extraordinary service to the ACR or to the discipline of radiology. Carol is only the seventh woman to receive this award, which has been bestowed 181 times in the past 100 years. Among the six women who have previously received the Gold Medal are Nobel Prize winners Marie Curie and Rosalyn Yalow. Congratulations Carol. 

The CU Women Succeeding symposium on Feb. 27-28 here on the Anschutz Medical Campus was a terrific opportunity to see and hear from many of the talented leaders in the CU System. Lilly Marks, CU’s vice president for health affairs and executive vice chancellor of the Anschutz Medical Campus, delivered the keynote address and she counselled that life and career can take unexpected turns, so you need to have a vision on how to adapt. “I never considered going into higher education administration,” she said. We have been extraordinarily lucky that her life and career took that unexpected turn. 

Omer Mei-Dan, MD, assistant professor of orthopedics and an extreme sports enthusiast, is now leaping into television. Cutting Edge MD, a new program starring Mei-Dan and many other School of Medicine faculty members, premieres on the Fox Sports network this week. Each week the show will highlight a common sports injury, include interviews with well-known athletes who have had those injuries and feature surgeries by our talented faculty at the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado. For most viewers in the Denver area, the show appears on Root TV at 7 p.m. today, March 10. Check your local listings for the channel, which will vary depending on your cable or satellite provider. 

Have a good week,

Richard D. Krugman, MD
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine

"What’s Going On Here" is an email news bulletin from Richard Krugman, MD, Dean of the CU School of Medicine, that is distributed to inform University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty members about issues pertaining to the School’s mission of education, research, clinical care and community service. See the UCH-Insider →

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