School of Medicine News and Stories

One-hundred and eighty-four aspiring physicians officially began their journey at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on July 28, gathering on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus for the annual Matriculation Ceremony where they officially received their white coats. The annual tradition at medical schools around the country welcomes new classes of medical students to the profession. 

Greg Glasgow | July 28, 2023

We are honored to introduce the University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2027 at our annual Matriculation Ceremony on Friday, July 28, at 9 a.m.

School of Medicine | July 26, 2023

Not long ago he was an aspiring professional boxer. Now, as an incoming student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Jack Drummond is taking on a new kind of fight — a fight against disease and for patients as he begins his medical education.

Greg Glasgow | July 25, 2023

Brisa Avila, who officially begins her medical student journey later this month, envisions a career in medicine where she can fill gaps in care, especially for underserved patients. Avila, along with 183 classmates, will officially receive their white coats on Friday, July 28, during the University of Colorado School of Medicine annual Matriculation Ceremony.

Kara Mason | July 19, 2023

Two University of Colorado School of Medicine anesthesiology doctors travelled to Paraguay in June to offer their help and expertise for a week of complex neurosurgeries.

Kara Mason | July 11, 2023

After a medical school experience mostly shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Class of 2023 graduates from the University of Colorado School of Medicine are ready to take the next step into their profession.

Kara Mason | May 22, 2023

Yuri Agrawal, MD, MPH, an accomplished clinician with a substantial research portfolio and a demonstrated commitment to education, has been named chair of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, effective August 1, 2023.

Mark Couch | May 18, 2023

It is with great pleasure that we celebrate the University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2023 with a hooding and oath ceremony on Monday, May 22, at 10:15 a.m.

School of Medicine | May 17, 2023

Steve Haberkorn knows he’s not the first person to pursue a career in medicine out of a desire to help people. That’s why he did it, though – to help where he can and work to improve people’s lives.

Rachel Sauer | May 15, 2023

Not many love stories begin in the cadaver lab at 4 a.m., but this one does.

Marlie Fisher, PhD, and Matt Svalina, PhD, had just started their MD/PhD program in the University of Colorado School of Medicine and were learning, in those first several months, that something would have to give if they were going to balance graduate core courses with human anatomy lab.

Rachel Sauer | May 12, 2023

The University of Colorado School of Medicine is No. 8 for primary care and No. 26 for research, according to the latest Best Medical School rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report. This is the sixth time in the past eight years that the CU School of Medicine has ranked in the top 10 for primary care.

Greg Glasgow | May 11, 2023

For Bianca Sanchez, the ideas of medicine and family are inextricably intertwined. 

Greg Glasgow | May 10, 2023

There’s a soft spot in Brenda La’s heart for tight knit communities.

The soon-to-be graduate has found herself wrapped up in them from the remote reaches of rural Alaska to the groups of students she has met during her time at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Kara Mason | May 08, 2023

Thy Nguyen’s passion for medicine is woven from many separate threads – interests in women’s health and community health, in social justice and health equity, and a recognition that complications during pregnancy and infanthood can have long-term impacts on health outcomes.

Rachel Sauer | April 25, 2023

Imagine knowing of a technology that can improve surgical outcomes, but not having access to it or a way to implement it even if it was available. That was the unique challenge that Colby Simmons, DO, MBA, found himself in as an America Society of Anesthesiologists Global Humanitarian Outreach Scholar in Uganda during his third year of residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2017.

Katharine George | April 06, 2023

They are going to Pittsburgh and Providence, to Omaha and Oakland, to Santa Barbara and St. Louis. They will learn to be doctors at Travis Air Force Base, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, at the Mayo Clinic.

Rachel Sauer | March 17, 2023

For medical students, Match Day is the culmination of many years of commitment, hard work, and sacrifice as they discover the next phase of their journey to becoming future physicians.

School of Medicine | March 14, 2023

Alexandra (Lexie) Ross vividly recalls her childhood dreams to become either an inventor, an astronaut, and/or the new lead singer for the Backstreet Boys. However, in fifth grade, her teacher drew a chalk outline of a heart on the asphalt outside of school where Ross and her classmates could walk through the ventricles as blood cells, studying every detail of the organ. It was at that moment that a career in medicine started to become her new dream.

Colleen Miracle | March 13, 2023

Maryam M. Asgari, MD, MPH, has been named the inaugural University of Colorado Medicine Endowed Chair of the Department of Dermatology for the CU School of Medicine, effective May 1, 2023.

Mark Couch | March 05, 2023

When her PhD research project led to the discovery of a unique bacteria that might be responsible for triggering rheumatoid arthritis, Meagan Chriswell knew just what to call the newly discovered bacteria: subdoligranulumdidolesgii(Suhb-doe-lih-gran-you-luhm dee-doe-les-ghee-eye), named after the Cherokee word for arthritis and rheumatism.

Greg Glasgow | February 08, 2023

2022 was a year that saw significant new hires, the opening of a state-of-the-art health and sciences building, and the launch of a new Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, but it also was a year that offered plenty of challenges and new problems to solve. 

Greg Glasgow | January 12, 2023

We are closing out another newsworthy year for the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Our communications team in the Dean's Office has shared more than 100 stories spotlighting our incredible faculty, researchers, staff, trainees, and students.

School of Medicine | December 16, 2022

The third time was the charm for the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Class of 2024. 

After their first White Coat Ceremony was canceled in late summer 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the cancellation of a makeup ceremony in early 2021, students from the Class of 2024 finally got their official welcome to the medical profession on November 7 in a ceremony on campus.

Greg Glasgow | November 07, 2022

A newly established fellowship program in the University of Colorado School of Medicine will help participants prepare for administrative leadership roles in academic medical centers, with a focus on providing guidance and understanding around health care leadership.

Rachel Sauer | October 10, 2022

Many college students enter their freshman year unsure of what they want to major in, let alone what they’ll do after they graduate. Then there are students like Hussna Yasini, who entered her first year of college at the University of Colorado Denver knowing she could earn a reserved spot at the CU School of Medicine after she completed her undergraduate studies. 

Greg Glasgow | September 06, 2022

Amira Del Pino-Jones, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has been named the CU School of Medicine’s associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Greg Glasgow | August 26, 2022

The impacts of climate change on human health are among the most profound and far-reaching issues in health care. Global ecosystems are under such stress that the effects of climate change on human health grow more widespread and damaging by the day.

Rachel Sauer | August 15, 2022

This week, members of the University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2026 became new medical students, entering medicine at a critical and often tumultuous time.

Rachel Sauer | July 29, 2022

Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are viruses that infect a host bacteria and share traits with all viruses: They require a host cell to reproduce and are specific to particular hosts.

Rachel Sauer | July 27, 2022

For residents training in specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, and emergency medicine, hands-on training is vital when it comes to practicing skills like stabilizing an airway or taking a patient’s medical history. When it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), however, training all too often happens in a classroom or online, with no real-world experience to reinforce the lessons or allow for learning opportunities.   

Greg Glasgow | July 26, 2022

Space needs doctors, and a new joint MD-MS degree program between the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder is aimed at giving medical students the skills they need to advance human spaceflight.  

Greg Glasgow | July 22, 2022

Fourteen undergraduate students interested in medicine from universities around the country got the chance Monday to sit down with University of Colorado School of Medicine Dean John J. Reilly Jr. to talk about the future of medicine. 

Greg Glasgow | June 22, 2022

An important step in addressing the growing crisis of suicide by firearm among active-duty military servicemembers involves asking not only why these deaths are happening, but how.

Rachel Sauer | June 09, 2022

For the University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2022, the past two years have been filled with many twists and turns as normal life was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges these students have faced to balance school, clinical training, and personal life have demanded much of them.

School of Medicine | May 20, 2022

It was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, aboard a Navy ship bound for the Middle East, that Josh Abolarin’s journey to medical school began.  

Greg Glasgow | May 20, 2022

Dottie Stearns’ road to medical school curved across San Salvador Island in the Bahamas, where she learned through studying Cyclura rileyi iguanas that it’s possible to survive a mass extinction event by burrowing.

Rachel Sauer | May 16, 2022

During his summers as an undergraduate student, Zaid Al Bahrani worked as a counselor at Camp Kesem in Ohio, a weeklong overnight camp for children impacted by a parent’s cancer diagnosis.

Rachel Sauer | May 13, 2022

Since 2015, uninsured adults living in Aurora, Colorado, have had a reliable place to go for medical care: DAWN (Dedicated to Aurora’s Wellness and Needs, a multidisciplinary, free clinic staffed by students and faculty from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  

Greg Glasgow | May 06, 2022

Eunice Spackman was born on her family’s high plains homestead near Akron, Colorado. She rode a horse two miles to and from school each day, a path so familiar that the horse wouldn’t deviate from it even when she wanted to go visit a friend.

Rachel Sauer | April 22, 2022

The University of Colorado School of Medicine continues to rank among the top 10 medical schools in the country for primary care, according to numbers released today by U.S. News and World Report. 

Greg Glasgow | March 29, 2022

After four often-grueling years of medical school, more than 150 fourth-year students from the University of Colorado School of Medicine took the next step in their medical journey Friday.  

Greg Glasgow | March 18, 2022

Match Day, when medical students are matched with the residency program they will begin after graduation, is the culmination of four years of hard work and sacrifice.

It's a time-honored tradition that many medical students dream about. You receive a message, you open it, and suddenly it seems like everything in your life changes. For medical students who are about to graduate, Match Day is a career-defining moment.

School of Medicine | March 16, 2022

For many adolescents with access to a smartphone or tablet, the messages about appearance, image, and weight are almost inescapable. Frequently, they are intertwined with messages about nutrition.

Rachel Sauer | March 15, 2022

For anyone who’s never done two-a-days in the August heat or faced down an opposing defensive lineman, the parallels between a football field and a health care clinic might not seem immediately obvious.

Rachel Sauer | March 14, 2022

The very near future begins with a stark observation: “It was getting hotter.”

Rachel Sauer | March 09, 2022

Even during her toughest days of medical school, when long nights of studying turned into long days on her feet in the hospital, one thing kept Stephanie Nwagwu going: her passion to care for underserved communities. 

Greg Glasgow | March 08, 2022

“Quality over quantity.” It’s a familiar piece of advice for everything from shopping habits to food choices. But the concept is especially important when it comes to health care. In fact, it’s what led a coalition of CU Anschutz Medical Campus entities — the School of Medicine, the College of Nursing, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, and Children’s Hospital Colorado — to establish the Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency in 2012. 

Valerie Gleaton | March 01, 2022

As if medical school wasn’t challenging enough, Amira Otmane and her classmates in the University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2024 have also had to contend with beginning their medical education during a worldwide pandemic.

Valerie Gleaton | January 21, 2022

The remains of an infant that researchers came to call Neve emerged slowly from 10,000 years of sediment. Near the back of Arma Veirana cave above the village of Erli in northwest Italy, delicate brush strokes first revealed perforated shell beads and pendants and then, on the last day of the 2017 excavation season, fragments of a tiny human cranium.

Rachel Sauer | January 19, 2022

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Colorado School of Medicine still had many accomplishments to celebrate in 2021.

Greg Glasgow | January 13, 2022

Growing up and watching her dad dress in slightly mismatched suits and ties, Jasmin Torres smiled as she witnessed his fashion choices. While a fond memory of her childhood, she eventually learned her father’s fashion wasn’t a quirk, but rather a result of color blindness.

Rachel Wittel | January 12, 2022

Rebecca Henkind grew up seeing the example of her grandmother’s volunteer work with people experiencing homelessness – at the Flemington (New Jersey) Area Food Pantry and with Flemington Presbyterian Church’s shelter.

Rachel Sauer | January 07, 2022

Even as a premed student at the University of Minnesota, Ava Swenson knew that to feel truly fulfilled in her medical career, she would need to find ways to indulge her loves of art and history along the way.

Greg Glasgow | December 28, 2021

This was another exciting year for the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and we were able to share more than 70 stories spotlighting our incredible faculty, staff, trainees, and students.

School of Medicine | December 16, 2021

There’s a saying in U.S. Navy aviation: No fast hands in a cockpit. That means if a warning light comes on or anything else happens to indicate an emergency, the pilot doesn’t immediately start poking buttons or yanking levers. They pause, they take a breath, they assess the situation, and then they respond.

Rachel Sauer | November 11, 2021

Patient care doesn’t always happen within four walls or in buildings with controlled climates and cupboards full of supplies. Sometimes it happens in a parking lot, on the sidewalk, by a trail – wherever a person with need happens to be.

Rachel Sauer | October 28, 2021

In the heart of a city, the distances in rural communities may be difficult to envision. The space between neighbors can sometimes be measured in miles rather than blocks; a drive to the nearest hospital may take dozens of minutes rather than a handful.

Rachel Sauer | October 19, 2021

When Dana Siegel, MD, was a teacher and mentor to 4th grade students in an under-resourced public school as a City Year AmeriCorps Member prior to medical school, her primary goal was to help bridge education gaps, support equal opportunity for all students, and keep them on track to graduation. What she observed, however, was not just education gaps, but also underlying health care disparities that directly and indirectly impacted her students’ success in the classroom. It was during this time as a teacher that she decided to study medicine.

Rachel Sauer | October 07, 2021

It began with a three-week plastic-free challenge that changed the course of Bhargavi Chekuri’s medical career path. The challenge was to go three weeks without the ease and convenience of plastic bags, plastic wrapping, and all the other plastics that make their way into daily life. 

Rachel Sauer | September 23, 2021

The 184 members of the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Class of 2025 were welcomed into the medical profession Friday at the traditional White Coat Ceremony on campus. The group of first-year medical students heard from several speakers before ascending the stage to receive the white coats and stethoscopes that mark the beginning of their new academic journey.

Greg Glasgow | July 30, 2021

Matthew Rustici, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at CU School of Medicine, has been named a Macy Faculty Scholar for 2021.

School of Medicine | July 14, 2021

Myra Muramoto, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, has been named Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, effective Oct. 1, 2021.

School of Medicine | July 06, 2021

On June 28 the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Center for Advancing Professional Excellence (CAPE) hosted the third installment in its virtual community event series “Being _____ On Anschutz Medical Campus.” The goal of the series is to connect with the Anschutz community and amplify diverse voices through candid conversations with members of underrepresented groups. Previous events centered on the Black and AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) communities.

Valerie Gleaton | June 30, 2021

The University of Colorado School of Medicine Hooding & Oath Ceremony took place Friday, May 28, 2021, at 9 a.m. Due to ongoing COVID-19 precautions, the in-person ceremony was limited to the 184 members of the class of 2021, their personal CU School of Medicine faculty hooders, and up to two vaccinated guests each. The event was also livestreamed for friends and family members unable to attend in person.  

Valerie Gleaton | May 28, 2021

After a year of many celebrations being held virtually, the University of Colorado School of Medicine will celebrate this year's graduates with an intimate hooding and oath ceremony on Friday, May 28, 2021.

School of Medicine | May 25, 2021

When children’s rights expert Warren Binford, JD, EdM, reported in 2019 that children in migration were held by the U.S. government in squalid conditions at the southern border, her description – based on interviews with the children and site inspections of the facilities – was denounced by White House officials and its allies as untrue.

Mark Couch | April 27, 2021

The new University of Colorado School of Medicine at Colorado State University (CU SOM at CSU) branch campus will welcome its first four-year cohort of 12 medical students in Fort Collins this July. The branch will provide new avenues for clinical training for students as well as an opportunity to collaborate with another of Colorado’s top universities.  

Valerie Gleaton | April 23, 2021

The Class of 2025, whose members arrive on campus in July to begin their first year of medical school, will usher in a new era at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. It will be the first class to experience a reimagined curriculum aimed at getting students into hospitals earlier and connecting them with patients in a more meaningful way, with a renewed focus on community engagement and social determinants of health.

Greg Glasgow | April 20, 2021

The University of Colorado School of Medicine is listed No. 6 in primary care and No. 27 in research on the Best Medical School rankings released today by U.S. News and World Report.

School of Medicine | March 30, 2021

For the second year in a row, the University of Colorado School of Medicine Match Day celebration was hosted virtually for students, faculty, staff, family, and friends due to the pandemic. Instead of a mad dash to retrieve an envelope from a bulletin board, like the Match Day Jeff Druck, MD, assistant dean of student affairs, experienced, this year’s Match announcement was replaced by an email that promptly hit inboxes at 10 a.m. MDT on Friday, March 19.

Emma Brokaw | March 22, 2021

It's a time-honored tradition that many medical students dream about. You receive a message, you open it, and suddenly it seems like everything in your life changes. For medical students who are about to graduate, Match Day is a career-defining moment.

School of Medicine | March 19, 2021

Some kids dread a visit to the doctor’s office, but Sanju Garimella always loved it. In fact, she loved it so much that she spent a day shadowing her pediatrician for a fifth-grade class assignment.

School of Medicine | March 18, 2021

With Match Day approaching, Michael Levy is looking forward to finding out where he will spend the next four years during his residency. Michael came to the University of Colorado School of Medicine after earning his undergraduate degree in human biology from Stanford University.

School of Medicine | March 16, 2021

Khyla Burrows wants to pay it forward. Physicians helped the fourth-year medical student through her share of injuries when she was a young ski racer growing up in Winter Park, Colorado.

Greg Glasgow | March 11, 2021

Kia Washington, MD, looks back on her undergraduate experience as four years that helped to shape who she is. One of those years in particular stands out as not just formative, but transformative.

Greg Glasgow | March 08, 2021

As Anthony Scott awaits Match Day on March 19, when he’ll find out where he will spend the next four years as a resident in psychiatry, he doesn’t find his mind wandering far. Scott, who received undergraduate and graduate degrees at Arizona State University before coming to the University of Colorado School of Medicine, hopes to stay on the Anschutz Medical Campus for his residency, working with some of the same physicians and faculty members he trained with as a medical student.

Greg Glasgow | March 08, 2021

The University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus today announced the establishment of the Charles J. Blackwood, MD, Endowed Memorial Scholarship to support Black and other underrepresented medical students.

School of Medicine | February 22, 2021

Five years ago, the Section of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine (WEM) at the University of Colorado School of Medicine journeyed to Greenland to provide health care services for researchers at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Summit Station.

Chanthy Na | February 19, 2021

Even amid an increase in medical school applications across the country, the University of Colorado School of Medicine stands out. Outpacing the rise at most other medical schools, the CU School of Medicine has seen its number of applications double in the past five years, jumping 35% in the past year alone, compared to an increase of 18% nationwide. More than 14,000 candidates from around the world applied for one of just 184 seats in the class of 2025.

School of Medicine | February 12, 2021

Along with art and music, science classes are often among the first to go when a school is faced with budget cuts.

Greg Glasgow | February 04, 2021

A pilot program to offer mental health services offered resident physicians at the University of Colorado School of Medicine provides a model for confidential and affordable help, according to an article published today by the journal Academic Medicine.

School of Medicine | February 04, 2021

Dean John J. Reilly, Jr., MD, highlighted some of the CU School of Medicine’s accomplishments over the past five years and outlined key initiatives moving forward in his annual State of the School address on January 13. He also spoke to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

School of Medicine | January 15, 2021

In October, ACCORDS (Adult and Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research and Delivery Science) and the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute invited a panel of several current and former students from the University of Colorado School of Medicine to share their experiences working on community-based projects with the Committed to Community program through 2040 Partners for Health, an Aurora, Colorado based nonprofit that works to eliminate health disparities and improve health in marginalized communities in the Denver metro area.

School of Medicine | December 23, 2020

This summer, many parents scrambled as summer camps for their children were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Desperate parents were searching for safe activities that could engage their children after a spring of remote learning and lockdown at home.

Chanthy Na | September 23, 2020

The University of Colorado School of Medicine is listed No. 9 on the primary care rankings of medical schools and No. 31 on the research rankings released today by U.S. News and World Report.

School of Medicine | March 17, 2020

The University of Colorado School of Medicine was launched in 1883. The new medical school, despite the sentiments about co-ed medical education at the time, did offer medical school admission to “all persons of either sex.” There was no such provision for African Americans. Though the early female students may not have been welcomed with open arms, the first female graduated in 1891. However, it was over 4 more decades, 1947, before CU School of Medicine graduated the first African American student, Dr. Charles J. Blackwood. He was featured in the CU Alumnus magazine on stage with Dr. Florence Sabin with a caption that described him as the first “Negro” graduate.

Guest Contributor | February 03, 2020

The University of Colorado School of Medicine has been approved to begin offering a first-in-the-nation non-residential fellowship program as a way to meet the need for trained physician specialists in hospice and palliative medicine.

School of Medicine | September 16, 2019

Brian T. Smith has been named Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Finance for the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Executive Director of CU Medicine, effective August 1.

School of Medicine | June 10, 2019

The University of Colorado School of Medicine is in the planning stages of establishing a medical school branch in Fort Collins in partnership with Colorado State University.

School of Medicine | May 30, 2019

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in partnership with other campuses in the CU System has received a $60,000 award under the state’s Open Education Resources (OER) initiative.

School of Medicine | February 21, 2019