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Research Day 2026
Join the CU Anschutz Department of Medicine for Research Day on Tuesday, April 14th, at the Donald M. Elliman Conference Center for our annual event. This gathering showcases our achievements in basic, translational, clinical, and outcomes research.
Research Day Agenda
| 9 - 11 a.m. | CU Lab and Clinical Research Professional (formerly PRA) Program |
| 9:00 a.m. | Welcome, Ice Breaker Bingo, Managing Up Through Signature Stories Workshop
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10:10 a.m. 10:35 a.m. | Roundtable: (pick two)
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| 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Research Day |
| 11:00 a.m. | Lunch - first-come, first-served for the first 150 attending Research Day |
| 11:25 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks
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| 11:30 a.m. | Keynote | Circadian System Control of Cardiometabolic Functions - Relevance for Disease
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| 12:30 p.m. | Poster Session 1 |
| 1:15 p.m. | Department of Medicine Research Highlights
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| 2:35 p.m. | Poster Session 2 | Coffee and Snacks |
| 3:20 p.m. | Lightning Talks |
| 4:10 p.m. | Networking Over Nibbles | Closing Reception at Tstreet Kitchen |
About the Presenters
Frank A.J.L. Scheer, PhD | Neuroscience and Sleep
| Circadian System Control of Cardiometabolic Function - Relevance for Disease | |
| Dr. Scheer is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Senior Neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Scheer co-founded and currently directs the Medical Chronobiology Program, an interdisciplinary research program to foster the translational research in sleep and circadian biology to understand the basis behind time-variant changes in disease severity, the effects of circadian misalignment (typical in night shift workers), food timing, and their interaction with genetics (e.g., the common MTNR1B variant). Understanding the biological basis of these changes across the day and night and their interaction with behavioral, environmental, and genetic factors lays the foundation for developing time-based and personalized behavioral, environmental, and pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. appropriately timed meals, exercise, light, or melatonin to target specific phases of the body clock) to improve health and prevent, treat, and/or manage disease. |  |
Amiran Baduashvili, MD | Hospital Medicine
| From Binary to Better: Rethinking Diagnostic Test Interpretation | |
| An Associate Professor, Dr. Baduashvili has led curricular development in clinical decision-making for medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty, including a grant-funded online course in Bayesian reasoning. Dr. Baduashvili’s scholarly work spans diagnostic test interpretation, medical education, evidence synthesis, and clinical outcomes research. He is passionate about translating complex statistical concepts into practical tools for frontline clinicians. He has authored numerous publications on the use of receiver operating characteristic curves and interval likelihood ratios to improve diagnostic reasoning and has led a multicenter randomized trial evaluating how point-of-care presentation of diagnostic test information influences clinical decision-making. |  |
Eszter Vladar, PhD | Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care
| Airway epithelial remodeling in chronic lung disease | |
| An Associate Professor, Dr. Vladar’s research focuses on the ciliated cells of the respiratory epithelium, which mediate the mucociliary clearance of the airways as our first line of defense against inhaled threats. Her research interests are centered on mechanisms of airway epithelial remodeling and mucociliary dysfunction. Active projects investigate: 1) mechanisms of ciliated cell fate acquisition and ciliogenesis; 2) remodeling mechanisms due to aberrant activation of developmental signaling programs in airway epithelial stem cells; and 3) roles of ciliated target cells in the viral infection of the airway epithelium. |  |
Ron Vagnozzi, PhD | Cardiology
| Targeting the Immune System for Cardiac Repair and Recovery | |
| Dr. Vagnozzi is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiology and the Consortium for Fibrosis Research and Translation. The Vagnozzi lab explores unique and subset-specific roles of cardiac macrophages in coordinating fibrosis, healing, and remodeling of the injured heart. The lab goals are to uncover fundamental cellular mechanisms of tissue injury and stress, to determine how organs and tissues might be coaxed into resolving chronic inflammation without pathological consequences, and to develop therapeutics that harness beneficial properties of immune cell activity in non-regenerative organs. |  |
Vicki Catenacci, MD | Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes
| Intermittent Energy Restriction Paradigms for Treatment of Obesity | |
| A Professor of Medicine, Dr. Catenacci is the Medical Director of the CU Medicine Weight Management Clinic and the Associate Director of the Colorado Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) Clinical Intervention and Translation Core, which provides weight loss interventions for clinical trials. Her research focuses on development and evaluation of novel lifestyle approaches to enhance weight loss and improve health that involve altering the timing and pattern of energy intake, physical activity, and sleep. Her studies incorporate rigorous, objective measures of free-living energy expenditure and energy intake, and multi-disciplinary collaborations to assess predictors of treatment response. |  |
Lightning Talk Awardees
| Name | Title | Title of Talk |
| Migachelle Romano, BS | Post-baccalaureate ASCENT Scholar | Medical Oncology | Investigating the Role of NLRP3 Activation in Modulating Tumor-Associated Macrophages (TAMs) during PDAC Treatment |
| Keishla González, MD | Fellow | Hematology / Oncology | Targeting Arginase 2 to Reverse T-Cell Dysfunction in Myelodysplastic Syndromes |
| Stella Koliavas, BA | CU Research Services Professional | Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care | DKK3 Regulates Ciliated Cell Formation in the Airway Epithelium |
| Tristan Cobb, BS | Graduate Student | Cardiology | High-Intensity Exercise and Its Effects on Right Ventricular Biomechanics Within an Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension Model |
| Denae Gerasta, BA | Graduate Student | Geriatrics | Hospice and Palliative Care Considerations for Patients Pursuing Medical Aid in Dying |
| Jigar Gosalia, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow | Renal Diseases and Hypertension | Frontal Cerebral Blood Flow Decline Is Associated with Executive Dysfunction in Chronic Kidney Disease: SPRINT MIND |
| Sarah Scott, MD | Assistant Professor | Infectious Diseases | Mortality After Jail Release in Colorado, 2015-2023 |
