Bios of our Chief Residents
From left to right: Grace Chandler, Matt Guerrieri, and Alex Sawyer.
Grace Chandler | Matt Guerrieri | Alex Sawyer |
| Hometown: Chicago, IL | Hometown: Chicago, IL | Hometown: Woodstock, GA |
| Undergraduate: Duke University | Undergraduate: Northwestern University | Undergraduate: University of Georgia |
| Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine | Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health | Medical School: Medical College of Georgia |
| Career Interests: Hematology/Oncology/ BMT, Palliative Care, Medical Education | Career Interests: General Pediatrics, Public Health, Physician Advocacy, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion, Global Health | Career Interests: Endocrinology, Medical Education |
| Scholarly Work: I am involved in several projects related to medical education, including evaluation of the TEACH Resident Elective and a qualitative study that examines the relationship between resident stress and program leadership communication. I developed ACEs and trauma-informed care curricula for pediatric residents during their Advocacy rotation. I am also involved in a large, NIH-funded multi-site study examining outcomes after treatment for retinoblastoma. | Scholarly Work: I am involved in multiple medical education projects related to advocacy and DEI work. These include the development and evaluation of trainings and high fidelity simulations designed to teach skills for recognizing and responding to microaggressions and other forms of bias. I also helped develop a novel Health Justice curriculum that centers the voices of community members to teach residents a framework for leveraging the healthcare system to promote justice and address the underlying conditions that produce health disparities. | Scholarly Work: In residency I helped create the Medical Education Pathway and studied the impact of our new core curriculum on topics related to medical education theory. I also studied the impact on resident independent rounding on both resident and family experience. In the field of endocrinology, I have been involved in studying the impact of the use of technologies such as insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring, and hybrid closed loop systems on patients with type 1 diabetes. |
| Why Colorado? I was initially drawn to the University of Colorado because of the opportunity to train at both Denver Health and Children's. The chance to complete a significant part of my training at a comprehensive safety net hospital like Denver Health, committed to providing the best care to the diverse urban community it serves regardless of one's ability to pay, was a priority to me when choosing a program. At both institutions, I have found incredible mentors who are passionate about education and career development. Finally, I can only begin to express how much I admire and appreciate the people that comprise this residency. Whether hard at work on a service together or out on a mountain adventure, my co-residents are dear friends who listen, make me laugh, and inspire me daily. | Why Colorado? The University of Colorado gives residents the unique opportunity to train at one of the country's top academic children's hospitals while also providing outstanding, highly autonomous experiences in general pediatrics at a public safety net hospital, Denver Health. The opportunity to care for the vibrant and diverse community of patients and families in both Denver and Aurora is a privilege that Colorado residents are fortunate to have. On top of all of that, training at Colorado comes with the added benefit of a collaborative, friendly, down-to-earth culture that recognizes the importance of life outside the hospital. | Why Colorado? The people, the hospitals, and the place! The residents and faculty consistently inspire me to be a better physician and advocate with their intellect and passion, while also being down-to-earth and fun people to be around. The combination of experiences at Children's Hospital Colorado and Denver Health was incredibly valuable to see and care for a wide variety of patients, develop autonomy, and to form an excellent foundation in pediatrics. And of course, living in Colorado and the community I have found here both within and outside the program has been so fun! |
| Plans after Chief Year: Hematology/Oncology/BMT fellowship (and possibly an additional Pediatric Palliative Care fellowship) | Plans after Chief Year: Primary Care (and maybe some hospital medicine and global health work) | Plans after Chief Year: Endocrinology fellowship |
| Favorite Colorado Activity: Downhill skiing! I also love exploring the many restaurants, bars, breweries, and coffee shops in Denver and Aurora. | Favorite Colorado Activity: Hiking between Aspen and Crested Butte during peak wildflower season - so many flowers! | Favorite Colorado Activity: Bike rides and picnics with my family to our many fun parks, finding new coffee shops, weekends in the mountains. |