CU Thrive Precision Measurement & Work Design Research Awards
Advancing the science of workforce well-being through innovation, intervention, and implementation.
The CU Thrive: Center for Workplace Well-being Research supports high-impact research initiatives that advance precision measurement, predictive analytics, and healthcare work design to improve clinician well-being, professional fulfillment, and system performance.
These awards support innovative interventional research projects that test scalable strategies to strengthen workforce well-being while improving organizational outcomes across healthcare settings.
Projects may focus on individual, team-based, or system-level interventions and are designed to generate actionable evidence that informs the future of healthcare workforce redesign.
2025 Awardees
Marisha Burden, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM Professor of Medicine, Division Head of Hospital Medicine | University of Colorado School of Medicine
"GRIT Signals: Leveraging LLMs to Decode EHR Communication Data to Detect Work Design Strain and High-Functioning Teams"
Dr. Marisha Burden and her interdisciplinary team are developing GRIT Signals, an innovative workforce intelligence platform designed to identify early warning signs of clinician strain and operational risk using secure messaging data from the electronic health record (EHR). By applying large language models (LLMs) and advanced analytics to communication patterns, message tone, workload signals, and response behaviors, the project aims to detect “Adminogenic Risk Signals” that reflect harmful work design conditions before they escalate into burnout, communication breakdowns, or patient safety events, and similarly, “Thrive Signals” that characterize conditions and behaviors associated with high-functioning, resilient teams.
The project will integrate these predictive insights into a real-time operational dashboard for hospital leaders, supporting proactive staffing, workflow, and team-based interventions. This work advances CU Thrive's mission to pair precision measurement with evidence-based work design strategies that improve clinician well-being, workforce sustainability, and healthcare system performance.
Natalie Schwatka, PhD, MS Centers for Health, Work & Environment, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health | Colorado School of Public Health | CU Anschutz
"CU Thrive Leadership Circles"
CU Thrive Leadership Circles is a leadership development initiative and research study designed to strengthen leadership effectiveness, foster peer connection, and support meaningful behavior change among School of Medicine faculty leaders.
The program brings together faculty leaders in small peer mentoring groups centered on intentional practice, reflection, and real-world application of leadership skills. Participants engage in brief independent learning activities paired with facilitated group discussions over shared meals—encouraging collaboration, community building, and cross-departmental learning.
Learning activities include curated Harvard Business Review content, podcast-style conversations with CU Anschutz leaders, and guided reflection exercises focused on practical leadership behaviors and professional growth.
Program evaluation examines reach, implementation, effectiveness, and maintenance to understand the initiative's potential impact.
Through this work, CU Thrive aims to better understand how structured peer support and intentional leadership development can enhance leadership effectiveness, belonging, and professional well-being—and reduce burnout.