Cristin Welle 
Professor PhD 
Vice Chair, Research. Vice Chair, Research

Sarah Williams, Research Services Senior Professional

Sarah has taken on the role of Research Administration. She has worked at the University of Colorado for 21 years in research and grant management, most recently with the post award team in the Department of Surgery. She is excited for this new endeavor and looks forward to getting to know everyone on the team. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, horseback riding, hiking, camping, and snowboarding. Her current extracurricular goal is to continue segment hiking the Colorado Trail with her mom in hopes of finishing in the next few years.

Jen Maitlen, RN BSN, Clinical Research Manager

Jen Maitlen has been the Clinical Research Manager for the Department of Neurosurgery since 2013.  Her clinical research career spans over twenty years, starting in oncology clinical research, then regulatory compliance and lastly neurosurgery. She holds a baccalaureate nursing degree from the CU College of Nursing.  She is a Colorado native who loves to golf and ski and support the Denver Broncos.

Tom Huyhn, Business Services Senior Professional

Tom Huynh joined the Department of Neurosurgery in December 2018.  During that time, he has assisted with maintaining the financial aspect of clinical trials.  He also assists the Department with preparing clinical dashboards to providers as well as keeping deficits in check.  Tom’s other interests include good food and traveling. 

Pamela David-Gerecht, PhD, Clinical Research Professional

Pamela David-Gerecht joined the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Colorado in 2013. Pamela supports research in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery via coordination of numerous industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated trials, regulatory compliance and IRB submissions, direct patient contact and liaison between various Departments involved in neurosurgical research studies. She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Queen’s University

Terra Ornelas, RN BSN, Clinical Research Nurse

Terra Ornelas joined the University of Colorado School of Medicine Neurosurgery Research Department in 2017 with a degree in Nursing.  Currently she works as a research coordinator and assists with managing several Neurosurgery clinical trials. She also works as an ICU nurse at UCHealth. 

Arin Graner, Professional Research Assistant

Arin Graner graduated Iowa State University with a BS in biology in 2018. He has been involved in research in the Neurosurgery department since 2019, and has managed the Neurosurgery Tissue Bank since 2020. He is the boots on the ground for all things related to the tissue bank: patient interaction, managing data, processing and storing samples, and coordinating with other research labs on campus and across the nation.