Faculty & Staff

David Schwartz, MD

Program Director

David Schwartz is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado and the Program Director for the Program to Advance Physician Scientists and Translational Research.

He served as the Robert Schrier Chair of Medicine at the University of Colorado between 2011 and 2021, and focused on expanding and improving the quality of clinical care, creating knowledge to improve care, supporting professional growth and development, improving diversity, assuring fairness and creating gender and racial equity, creating new channels of communication, and integrating the department across the partner institutions. 

He has made numerous contributions toward understanding the role that biological and genetic determinants play in the onset of diseases that are influenced by the environment. These efforts have provided new insights into the genetics, epigenetics, and genomics of interstitial lung disease, asthma, and innate immunity. 

His work has led to the recognition that genetic susceptibility, and specifically MUC5B, plays a role in the etiology of pulmonary fibrosis.  Dr. Schwartz’ lab was the first to clone the human TLR4 gene and demonstrate that variation in this gene decreased immune responsiveness to endotoxin, enhanced the risk of Gram negative sepsis, and protected individuals from the development of coronary artery disease.  In addition, the Schwartz lab demonstrated the importance of locus-specific DNA methylation in the development of allergic airway disease by directing the maturation of T lymphocytes toward a Th2 phenotype.  

He is the former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Clinical and Climatological Association, and a recipient of the American Thoracic Society Scientific Accomplishment Award and the Amberson Lectureship Award and the Bonfils-Stanton Science and Medicine Award.

Jennifer Kemp, PhD

Associate Program Director

Jennifer Kemp is the Associate Program Director for the School of Medicine’s Program to Advance Physician Scientists and Translational Research. 

Dr. Kemp has a unique background in biomedical research and research development/scientific and medical writing. She earned her PhD at Harvard University, where she studied microbial development. Her postdoctoral studies were performed at the Stanford University Genome Technology Center, where she developed biotechnology for DNA microarrays and nanosensors. In the ~20 years since her postdoctoral research, she has turned her focus to research development and scientific and medical writing. 

She has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, as an independent consultant, and at academic institutions writing manuscripts and developing grant proposals with a variety of investigators ranging from ranging from individual investigator research studies to large, multi-investigator and institutional proposals.

She joined the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado in 2015 as an Instructor and currently serves as the Director of the Department of Medicine’s Research Office. In this capacity, she develops and oversees programs to support the Department’s research faculty, including seed funding programs, grant writing support and consultations, and education and training in research development.

She is passionate about helping physician scientists and researchers at all career stages take their research in new directions and achieve funding success. She is thrilled to bring her expertise to this new program in support of the School of Medicine’s early career physician scientists and researchers.

Nancy Miller

Program Manager

Nancy Miller is the Program Manager for the Program to Advance Physician Scientists and Translational Research. She previously spent six years in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado supporting one of the largest clinical departments on campus while fostering and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders such as affiliate hospitals and campuses.

Nancy also has prior experience managing programs that focused on building and expanding specific networks within an industry. She worked to recruit new employees and foster the growth and development, which lead to the overall success of the program and company.

Nancy brings to the Program her previous experience in finance, business management, event planning, and project management to strengthen the many initiatives under the Program.