Mentorship Academy, Annual Report, Opportunities and Accomplishments

Dear Colleagues,

I spent the beginning of this week as a Visiting Professor at Weill Cornell running a mentoring workshop for their Department of Medicine. I viewed the day (our talks, workshop and meetings with senior faculty) as a “warm up” to our own Mentorship Academy coming to CU Anschutz Medical Campus on October 27! And man – are we ready! Registration will be LIVE for general admission participants – both virtual and in person – on Monday, September 25. I encourage you to attend – you will hear from some of the nation’s thought leaders on how to become a better mentor, more effective mentee, and learn about concepts including peer mentoring, inclusive mentorship, and the value of mentorship teams. Trainees, faculty and staff are welcome and I think you will all walk away having learned something!

This week we released the Department of Medicine’s 2022 Annual Report – the first under my Chairmanship. This compilation is the story of our department, our programs, of each of you, and the many things we have accomplished together. Please stop by the Department of Medicine’s office in Academic Office Building 1 to grab a hard copy or peruse the content online. I hope reading this publication instills pride in the amazing year we have had.

We have made significant progress in our division head searches for endocrinology and cardiology. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements regarding both of these searches soon! We are also on the final stretch of our search for our next allergy head and our pulmonary division head search is underway with candidates coming to visit this month! Once these searches are complete, we will have brought seven new division heads to our leadership team! 

I want to highlight several programs and events relevant to the DOM:

• The CU Anschutz Programmatic Incubator for Research (CU ASPIRE) Program is open for another round of applications.
  • Letters of Intent (required) due: Monday, October 30, 2023
  • Full Application due: December 15, 2023
  • The first Town Hall to discuss program specifics will be held on Thursday, September 28 at 10 a.m.
  • Many of our faculty have benefited from this program – so please do consider attending the Town Hall and hearing specifics if you are interested in developing a programmatic research proposal.
• VA Research Day is September 28! There will be posters displayed in the concourse, starting in the morning, research talks from local researchers from 9 a.m.–12 p.m. and a keynote lecture, "Past, Present and Future of Lynch Syndrome" at 1 p.m. from Dr. Patrick Lynch. Please consider stopping by and supporting our VA faculty and fellows in this discovery-driven day at the VA Auditorium.
• Applications for SOM Academy of Medical Educators Rymer Innovation Awards are open. Proposals for this funding opportunity must focus on innovative approaches to instructional design, education technologies, faculty development, learner assessment, and learner well-being, diversity, equity, inclusion and sense of belonging. Up to $18,000 is available. Proposals are due by Sunday, October 15.
• The Bridge Funding program through the School of Medicine Dean’s Office is accepting applications! This award provides financial support to principal investigators while they re-apply for funding from the National Institutes of Health and other major funding organizations. As a reminder, the DOM will provide matching funds for those that receive funding from the SOM. Applications and Chair letters of support are due Monday, September 25.

I will close by sharing but a few accomplishments of our faculty:

• Jane E.B. Reusch, MD, professor of medicine, bioengineering, and physiology, is featured in a four-part video series about Type 2 Diabetes that debuted in the New England Journal of Medicine on September 7. The series, which includes research by Dr. Reusch and colleagues in the field, is a terrific public service to raise attention to a growing health crisis.
• The Eugene S. Farley, Jr. Health Policy Center, (with our own Division of Health Care Policy and Research Head R. Mark Gritz, PhD serving as Operations Director), has published its 2023 Impact Report. The center develops and translates evidence so that it can be used in policymaking, directly improving the care delivered and lives of Coloradans.
• Congratulations to Amber Podoll, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension and to members of the glomerulonephritis research group who have completed the first infusion of CD19 CAR T-cell therapy in a patient with lupus nephritis to 28-days. See the press release for this important achievement.



We do great things, each day and every day here in the department.



Onwards,
 
Vineet