Dear colleague: 

At the Faculty Senate meeting last Tuesday, Judy Regensteiner, PhD, director of the Center for Women’s Health Research, gave an overview of the center’s work and its success in expanding its training programs. Since the inception of the Center for Women’s Health Research, $520,000 has been awarded to junior faculty in the form of research grants and this group of researchers, mentored by the center’s senior faculty, has gone on to receive nearly $30 million in external grant funding. While the scientific endeavors of our faculty affiliated with the center are notable, Judy points to statistics showing the continuing need to provide mentorship and support to young women on faculty. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, only 13 percent of women on the faculty at academic medical centers nationally are full professors, compared with 29 percent of men.

Also at Faculty Senate, John Bennett, PhD, associate vice chancellor for innovation initiatives, presented information about Inworks, a new program that aims to develop abilities that are useful for team-based, problem-solving entrepreneurship. Inworks is an initiative supported by the Office of the Chancellor and it offers courses for undergraduate and graduate certificates in human-centered design and innovation.

The Children’s Gala in support of Children’s Hospital Colorado was Saturday, Oct. 17, in downtown Denver. The gala was the 37th year for this special fund-raising event and it’s always remarkable to see the strength of the community’s support for Children’s Hospital. Kevin Reidy and his wife, Ann, hosted the gala and shared insight from their experience through their daughter Diana’s cancer treatment.

The 30th Annual Student Research Forum is recruiting faculty members to judge the poster presentation sessions on Tuesday, Dec. 15, in Education 2 South. Poster sessions will begin at 1 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. and an award ceremony at 4 p.m. These sessions offer students an opportunity to explore their interests in a self-directed learning experience and faculty offer excellent models for them. Participation in this event is encouraged. You can sign up online. 

The recently opened CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Boulder is holding an open house for the public on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The center, which is a partnership between the School of Medicine and Boulder Community Health, is offering family-friendly trick-or-treating and brunch hors d’oeuvres at the event. The center is at 2150 Stadium Dr.

The deadline for nominations for the 2015 Steven Fadul Award is Wednesday, Nov. 11. The award honors contributions of outstanding professional research assistants or staff in comparable positions in the School of Medicine. Nominees should show initiative in expanding the scope of their work and by mentoring trainees. Nomination letters should be sent to Fadul.Award@ucdenver.edu. Additional information is available at the award’s website.

The Employee Services Expo is coming to the Anschutz Medical Campus on Monday, Oct. 26. The event provides CU employees a chance to learn about retirement and medical insurance plans, tuition waivers and other benefits. More information and registration is available online.

Bryan Haugen, MD, professor of medicine and pathology, chaired the American Thyroid Association (ATA) taskforce that last week released its new guidelines for clinicians managing patients with thyroid nodules. The publication is the result of three years of work by Bryan and the task force and are a major contribution to diagnosis and treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer. Robert Smallridge, MD, president of the ATA, commended Bryan and his colleagues for their “monumental task.” Congratulations to Bryan and the team on the accomplishment.

Jay Lemery, MD, associate professor and chief of the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Section of the Department of Emergency Medicine, is the co-editor with George Luber, PhD, chief of the Climate and Health Program at the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of a soon-to-be published textbook, Global Climate Change and Human Health: From Science to Practice, that is a survey of the consequences of climate change and a guide for teaching future health care providers about impact of climate change on the patients they will face. As George and Jay note in their introduction, we medical professionals have an important role in “translating abstract medical science into plans for healthy living.” The book is scheduled for publication in November.

A profile of Barry Rumack, MD, director of the Office of Professionalism and professor emeritus of pediatrics and emergency medicine, and Carol Rumack, MD, professor of radiology and pediatrics and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education, appears in the current issue of the alumni magazine of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. It’s worth a read and you can find it on page 22 of the online edition of the magazine.

Have a good week,

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine