Celebrating Stanley J. Szefler, MD’s Retirement

After a remarkable 43 years of visionary leadership and devotion to our institution, we announce the retirement of Stanley J. Szefler, MD, effective January 1, 2026.

Dr. Stanley Szefler grew up in Buffalo, New York and trained at the State University of New York at Buffalo in pharmacy school and medical school, followed by pediatric residency and fellowship training in clinical pharmacology and allergy/immunology at Children’s Hospital Buffalo. He began his career in asthma research with an interest in corticosteroid pharmacology. 

He relocated to the University of Colorado and National Jewish Health (NJH) in 1982. At the time, NJH was primarily a residential facility for very severe asthma. Children and adults with severe asthma came from all over the country and stayed for a long time. With global reports of increasing asthma mortality during the 1980s, the NIH placed an emphasis on asthma research. Multiple NIH asthma networks subsequently emerged along with asthma guidelines. Szefler led major studies in each one and has over 650 publications to his credit. Those NIH networks changed the course of asthma management worldwide, especially for children. He was also the principal investigator of a NIH/NICHD Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit (PPRU) Network site in collaboration with investigators at Children’s Hospital Colorado when it was the Clinical Trials Organization (CTO). Szefler eventually served as a medical director for what is now the Colorado Child Health Research Institute from 2020 to 2024.

Szefler recognized that critical needs were not being met for children in low-income families where the highest morbidity and mortality existed. He was inspired to develop a school-based asthma program while at NJH in collaboration with leadership in the Denver Public School District. He joined the Breathing Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2013 to extend the program to Aurora and eventually statewide. He and his colleagues developed the most comprehensive approach to school-based asthma management in the world today. He leaves a legacy of a strong school nurse partnership to support children with asthma along with a strong multidisciplinary investigator team, centered in the Breathing Institute and supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. His personal wish is for this program to be extended nationwide. 

In 2025, Szefler was selected as a Career Teaching Scholar through the Department of Pediatrics, an award that recognizes gifted teachers who have made outstanding contributions to pediatric education.

The Department of Pediatrics congratulates Stanley Szefler on an extraordinary career and thanks him for his remarkable contributions to pediatric asthma care and research. His leadership in NIH networks, groundbreaking studies and dedication to equity have transformed asthma management worldwide, and his vision for school-based programs and partnerships has improved countless lives and will continue to inspire future generations.