2025-2026 Translational Research Scholars
Maria Amaya, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology
Dr. Amaya is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology. She received her MD/PhD degrees at Virginia Commonwealth University and her Internal Medicine Residency and Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at University of Colorado. Her fellowship research was funded by a T32 under the mentorship of Dr. Craig Jordan. In 2022, Dr. Amaya received funding from the Veterans Affairs Career Development Award and started her independent laboratory. Her research focuses on understanding metabolic properties of myeloid malignant cells in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia. The laboratory aims to identify metabolic targets and translate such targets into investigator-initiated clinical trials. Her TRSP-funded project will focus on understanding the effects of nicotinamide supplementation in patients with lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes.
Noah Johnson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology
Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and research faculty in the University of Colorado Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center and the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of California, San Francisco. His lab at the University of Colorado seeks to elucidate the cellular and molecular roles of apolipoprotein E in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and to develop novel treatment strategies targeting those mechanisms. In his TRSP-funded project, Dr. Johnson and his team will develop innovative hiPSC-based brain organoid models to understand how genetic ancestry of the apolipoprotein E gene and other key Alzheimer’s risk genes influence glial reactivity, neuronal vulnerability, and pharmacological treatment efficacy. Dr. Johnson is funded by RF1 and R21 grants from the NIH/NIA.
Anna Helena Jonsson, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
Dr. Jonsson is a rheumatologist and physician-scientist interested in the cellular mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases. She completed her MD/PhD dual degree at Washington University in St. Louis, followed by internal medicine residency, rheumatology fellowship, and postdoctoral research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. She moved to the University of Colorado in 2023, where she is an assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology and leads a research lab focused on CD8 T cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune diseases. CD8 T cells have been relatively neglected in research on rheumatologic diseases, but new technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing have provided an influx of new data that suggest that they may play a central role in initiating and perpetuating autoimmune diseases such as RA and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In addition to performing research, Dr. Jonsson maintains an active clinical practice, specializing in rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, and other inflammatory arthritides.
Debosmita (Debo) Sardar, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacology
Dr. Debo Sardar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. Her lab, the Glial Epigenetics Lab, studies non-neuronal glial cells in the mouse brain. The lab investigates two central questions: (1) How does neuron-glia cell-cell interaction shape sensory processing behaviors? (2) What are the epigenetic mechanisms that direct neuron-glia communication? Using the mouse olfactory system as a model, her lab aims to address a key knowledge gap in the glial biology field – the role of glial epigenetics in shaping healthy adult brain circuits and behaviors. Dr. Sardar received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Utah, where she studied posttranslational enzymes derived from marine bacteria. During her postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine, she transitioned to neuroscience, exploring histone posttranslational chemistry in the brain. In 2022, she received the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award enabling her to establish her independent research program on glial epigenetics. Dr. Sardar’s TRSP-funded project will focus on expanding her research on glial cells to brain tumors of glioblastoma, a disease characterized by both glial and epigenetic dysfunction.
Maggie Stanislawski, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Informatics
Maggie Stanislawski is a molecular epidemiologist in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Her work aims to understand the role of the gut microbiome and related molecular profiles in health and disease, specifically obesity, cardiometabolic disease, inflammatory conditions, and weight loss in the context of clinical interventions. Before completing her PhD in Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, Dr Stanislawski completed her bachelor's degree in mathematics at Pomona College and a master’s degree in Statistics at Colorado State University.
Richard Tobin, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Dr. Richard Tobin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Tobin earned his PhD from Texas A&M University and completed his postdoctoral training at CU Anschutz. His lab focuses on understanding the factors that determine successful antitumor immunity. In the TRSP-funded project, Dr. Tobin’s lab will investigate the roles of unconventional T cells in adoptive cell therapies and explore how these cells can be harnessed to improve the efficacy of these innovative treatments. Dr. Tobin’s lab is currently funded by an R37 from the NIH/NCI and an Idea Award from the DOD Melanoma Research Program.
Contact Us
David Schwartz, MD
Program Director
[email protected]
Jennifer Kemp, PhD
Associate Program Director
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Sarah Miller
Business Coordinator
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