Dear Colleagues,

It was another nice week – and we are now in daylight saving time. The sun is again coming up at 7:20 in the morning. Within a week, driving east on Colfax Avenue to work will be blinding (for those of us coming in at that late hour). Soon, the days will be longer than the nights and the likelihood of any really big snowfall will be less (but not gone, as some of us who remember the 31-inch March 17-19, 2003, storm can tell you). The snow this past weekend kept some, but not most, of the Beaux Arts Ball attendees away from a very lively evening at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center.  It was the 20th time I have attended the National Jewish Health fundraiser and it was as good as it always is – loud, festive, informative, and it raised a lot of money for our faculty colleagues there.

Earlier in the week, I attended the celebration of the 30th endowed chair at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The Barton Family Chair in Bone Marrow Transplant was bestowed on Roger Giller, MD, professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine and clinical director of bone marrow transplantation at Children’s.  The endowment will support Roger and his colleagues with expertise in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and provide additional training in oncology, hematology and immunology.  Congratulations to yet another of my former residents from the ’70s who have an endowed chair here.

Thursday was Capstone Poster Session day for the medical students’ Mentored Scholarly Activity.  I wound up double-booked nearly all day and missed most of the events, but did attend the keynote talk by Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, Director of the Cancer Center.  Allan Prochazka, MD, and Bob Sclafani, PhD, coordinated the program and everyone I saw after the event thought it was terrific.  I also missed the Friday Conger lecture because of an all-afternoon UCD budget retreat (this is a stunningly underfunded place).  Happily, I was able to attend the dinner the night before for the Conger Family and the Visiting Lecturer Lisa Simpson, MD, MPH. 

Thursday was also new faculty orientation at the School. The Shore Family Forum Auditorium in the Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building was filled (except for the first row, which never fills) with faculty who joined the School in the last year.  I presented a brief overview of our history.  It is nice to see the next wave of incoming faculty whose professional contributions can take this campus to the next level.

The fourth annual Postdoctoral Research Day at the University of Colorado Denver's campuses is Friday, March 22. Nearly 80 abstracts are entered for the morning poster sessions.  Volunteer judges are needed from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Email Valerie.Saltou@ucdenver.edu in the Postdoctoral Office if you can help.  Peter Fiske, PhD, MBA, chief executive of PAX Water Technologies Inc. of Richmond, Calif., will deliver the keynote address and Scott Morgan, author of Speaking about Science, will conduct an interview skills workshop. Click here for details and agenda.

Important changes have been made in the manner in which the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) will support Clinical and Translational Research Centers (CTRC) research studies.  NIH recently mandated that all Clinical and Translational Science Awards programs implement a program income system that will change the funding model for CTRC resources and services to a model of subsidized fee-for-service.  In response to this change, the CCTSI is launching a new MicroGrants program to assist predominately junior investigators in paying for these services.  Click here for more information.

The week also had its sad news – Jane Battaglia, MD, who was a clinical professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics, passed away at the age of 80 after a long illness. Jane was the “first lady” for the 14 years Fred Battaglia, MD, was Chair of the Department of Pediatrics from 1974 to 1988. She was a brilliant, insightful physician and will be missed by all of us. Our condolences to Fred and their two children.

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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