Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI)

In 2025, the CCTSI delivered measurable impact, advancing innovative discoveries into improved patient care across Colorado. Read our Annual Report for program highlights and accomplishments from the past year. @famdocdon.bsky.social, @accordsresearch.bsky.social

Amanda Piquet, MD, FAAN, Associate Medical Director of our CTRC, led a clinical trial testing an experimental CAR T-cell therapy for stiff-person syndrome, which causes muscle spasms and stiffness. Improvements in walking ability lasted a year after treatment. 👉 buff.ly/vbwxkIW

CCTSI program director, James Feinstein, MD, MPH, of @cupediatrics.bsky.social, co-authored a @jama.com Viewpoint on why the #NIH should preserve opportunities for researchers with career development (K) awards to lead their own pilot clinical trials. 👉 buff.ly/aOfoEUR

Interested in #AI and child health research? Join Pediatric Research Day on Oct. 29 at @cuanschutz.bsky.social. Learn about the #pediatric research happening on campus, connect with colleagues and hear from keynote speaker Matt DeCamp, MD, PhD. @cupediatrics.bsky.social, @cobioethics.bsky.social

A CCTSI pilot grant helped Achim Klug, PhD, gather data and secure #NIH funding to advance a potential new treatment for central auditory processing disorder into human trials. And he started a company to boot! The treatment is being tested in a Phase #clinical trial. @cuanschutz-dpb.bsky.social

Last week, our Director of Community Engagement, @famdocdon.bsky.social, presented the Ascona Prize at the 24th International Balint Congress in Denmark. The prize honors medical students' essays about meaningful patient relationships. This year's winners came from Brazil, Australia and Hungary.

Interested in community-engaged research? Join the @accordsresearch.bsky.social & CCTSI Community Engagement Forum to connect with researchers and community partners and learn practical strategies for designing, conducting, and sharing community-engaged research. 👉 buff.ly/fLLGCMn

We’re kicking off our CCTSI Team Spotlight series with our Marketing and Communications team! Wendy, Cristine and Lily tell CCTSI’s stories of impact and promote programs and funding opportunities for researchers. We appreciate their creativity and passion for #SciComm!

Impactful research conducted at a fellow CTSA Hub!

The CCTSI is this year’s OVCR volleyball champion! 🏐🏆 We ate ice cream, played volleyball and found out which coworkers are secretly competitive (spoiler: we’re keeping them on the team). Check out the photos to see just how giant the trophy is! 😄

VZV, the virus that causes #chickenpox and #shingles may also play a role in other serious conditions. New research co-authored by past CCTSI Pilot Grant awardee Maria Nagel, MD, links VZV to stroke, vascular disease, vision loss, paralysis, and more. 👉 buff.ly/PUfGMDs

CCTSI Pilot Projects lead to new diagnostic tools and treatments that improve healthcare. Nearly $7M in pilot #funding helped researchers secure over $131M in follow-on funding. We shared these results at a recent NIH @ccos-ctsa.bsky.social meeting. Thank you to our Pilot Program team and awardees!

Hear from the 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Lectureship Award recipient Wendy M Kohrt, PhD, as she shares insights from her more than 30 years of research on exercise and bone health. 🗓️ Oct. 14 📍 Hensel Phelps West Auditorium, RC1N @cumedicalschool.bsky.social

Building an app, website, intervention, or educational resource? The new CCTSI Design & Dissemination Service can help with rapid prototyping, usability testing, co-design and more. Request a free design consultation: buff.ly/kdkRSI0

Scientists spend years learning how to do research. But who teaches them how to talk about it outside of academia? Build those skills in our SciComm workshop series, Nov. 3, 10 and 17: buff.ly/3ekVuBn Watch our workshop co-leader Aimee Pugh Bernard’s TEDx talk below.

A new study of more than 46,000 UK adults suggests sugar exposure in early life may impact mental health in adulthood, as well as food preferences and brain development. youtu.be/_YrzRCHPcc8 #sugarandanxiety #first1000days #childnutrition #childdevelopment #prenatalnutrition

From CAR T-cell therapy for rare neurological disorders to aging cats as a model for neurodegeneration, researchers covered a fascinating range of topics at the 14th Annual CU-CSU Summit on neurosciences las month. Don't miss the highlights!

Intermittent fasting or daily calorie restriction for weight loss? A clinical trial conducted at our Clinical Translational Research center found that participants assigned to fast 3 days per week lost 7.6% of body weight after 12 months, compared with 5% for daily calorie restriction.

We felt Inspired by the innovation on display at #CUInnovationDay! From new approaches to treating osteoarthritis to conversations about AI and higher education, the event showcased the research, entrepreneurship and collaboration happening across Colorado.

Colorado's Kindergarteners have some of the lowest MMR vaccination rates in the country. Aimee Bernard, PhD, discusses why on KUNC. buff.ly/1IADr60 If you want to hone your own skills when communicating with the public, register for our short course co-taught by Dr. Bernard! buff.ly/3ekVuBn

Shoutout to our fellow CTSA hub for research showing how occupational therapy could improve outcomes and reduce health care costs for patients with diabetes!

Register for UW ICTR's 2026 D&I Short Course to see our Director of Dissemination and Implementation Research, Bethany Kwan, PhD, join a virtual panel. Gain practical skills for designing scalable, evidence-based interventions that improve health care delivery and outcomes. 📅 Register by Oct. 1

🐿️ We can't guarantee staring at squirrels will inspire your next research idea, but the CCTSI can help you move your research forward. buff.ly/BFArsb7 Become a member and access our training programs, funding opportunities, and more! Comic by @errantscience.com

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our CCTSI booth at the @cuanschutz.bsky.social Block Party today! We had a great time chatting with members of our campus community and hearing about the CCTSI programs and resources you're most interested in.

Join us on Oct. 14 for the Fall 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Lecture featuring Wendy Kohrt, PhD: “30+ Years of Exercise and Bone Research – And a Shift from Benefits to Risks.” 📍 Hensel Phelps West Auditorium, RC1N 📝 buff.ly/JSbovKX @cumedicalschool.bsky.social

We're excited to welcome Amanda Piquet, MD, FAAN, as associate medical director of our Adult Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC)! She will help strengthen clinical research and collaboration across CTRC teams. @kmess44.bsky.social

Can oral #semaglutide reduce #alcohol use? A study conducted at our Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC) found that the popular diabetes and weight loss drug reduced heavy drinking and alcohol-related harm in adults with Alcohol Use Disorder. #AUD @cumedicalschool.bsky.social

Excellent fellowship opportunity for researchers!

Want to be a better mentor or mentee? CCTSI's Mentoring 3 program offers practical workshops on communication, feedback, independence and professional development, with sessions for mentor-mentee pairs, mentors alone, and mentees alone. @cupediatrics.bsky.social

Our Director of Translational Informatics, Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, is leading @cuanschutz.bsky.social’s work on HEREDITARY, a global project improving the detection and treatment of neurodegenerative and gut microbiome-related conditions. Her work could help detect Parkinson’s earlier.

Shoutout to our Director of Translational Informatics, Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD! She’s leading @cuanschutz.bsky.social's efforts in the HEREDITARY project to improve the detection and treatment of neurodegenerative and gut microbiome-related conditions.

We’re grateful to the researchers and community partners who presented at our 16th Annual Research Ethics Conference with @cobioethics.bsky.social! We heard perspectives on #ethical #community engagement, tribal sovereignty in research and what makes community-academic partnerships successful.

CU Surgery researcher Jessica Rove, MD, finds that walking may be associated with improved cognitive performance after heart surgery, learn more: https://news.cuanschutz.edu/department-of-surgery/walking-improved-cognitive-performance-after-heart-surgery

What if existing drugs and supplements could help protect cardiovascular health in patients with chronic kidney disease? 💙 Vienna Brunt, PhD, is exploring new ways to slow cardiovascular complications in kidney disease. Read more: https://bit.ly/4gMvs1b

📢 We're excited to announce the 2026-2027 Pragmatic Electronic Health Record (EHR)-Embedded Trials (PEET) Request for Applications (RFA)! One two-year award will #fund a pilot #pragmatic clinical trial within UCHealth using Epic EHR features. Learn more & apply: 🔗https://buff.ly/Uww5aOe

👏 Congratulations to our CCTSI leaders and researchers named to 5280 Magazine’s 2026 Top Doctors list! We’re proud to see their contributions to patient care, research and leadership recognized among Colorado’s best.

🔬 Facing research challenges? Let us help! The Research Studio Program connects investigators with expert panelists who provide targeted feedback to help overcome barriers and move #research forward. Register for a session 👉 buff.ly/yvqJry9 @cudeptofmedicine.bsky.social, @cudivofid.bsky.social

Former CCTSI leader Wendy Kohrt, PhD, is raising awareness about a potential hidden risk of GLP-1 #weight-loss medications for postmenopausal women: bone loss. Learn why #menopause and rapid weight loss may create a "perfect storm" for bone health. 👇

Learn how to plan a pragmatic study that's ready for a grant proposal! Register for our Pragmatic Research Planning Workshop: buff.ly/eNq3TN5 📅 Aug 28 (in-person) and Sept 3 (virtual) @accordsresearch.bsky.social, @bmkwan.bsky.social

The Colorado sun isn't the only thing heating up this summer. ☀️ So is the groundbreaking research happening across the @cuanschutz.bsky.social campus. It wouldn't be summer without our seasonal campus appreciation post. Happy summer from the CCTSI! @tomflaigmd.bsky.social, @markharden.bsky.social

Go @frontiersctsi.bsky.social!

So cool to see all of the posters on #neuroscience research at our CU-CSU Summit poster session! Researchers from @cuanschutz.bsky.social, CU Boulder, CU Denver, and CSU came together to share their work and connect with colleagues across Colorado. @kmess44.bsky.social, @ccos-ctsa.bsky.social

Spend less time on repetitive research tasks and more time advancing your science. Join CCTSI's new Hands-On AI for Research workshop series led by Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, to learn how to use #AI to streamline research tasks. Open to CU Anschutz faculty and trainees. @cueyecenter.bsky.social

WOW! was the reaction when Amanda Piquet, MD, FAAN, of @cuanschutz.bsky.social Neurology showed a video of a patient walking before CAR T-cell therapy and after. Her research investigating CAR T-cell therapy as a treatment for #StiffPersonSyndrome was an inspiring start to the CU-CSU Summit.

We are psyched to kick off this year’s CU-CSU Summit, Advancing Neurosciences: From Molecules to Mind, at @cuanschutz.bsky.social! 🧠 CCTSI Director Ron Sokol, MD, of @cugastrohep.bsky.social, and other CCTSI leaders started the day with an overview of our mission and opening remarks.

In an age where patients turn to chatbots and artificial intelligence for answers to their medical questions, effective human-to-human communication remains essential, says Caroline Tietbohl, PhD, MA. Read More: tinyurl.com/55zrccdm #HealthServicesResearch #ACCORDSInnovation #FamilyMedicine

We're excited for the 14th Annual CU-CSU Summit on #neuroscience tomorrow! 🧠 Highlights include talks from Amanda Piquet, MD; Jeff Hebert, PhD, PT; and Julie Moreno, PhD, on topics ranging from Stiff Person Syndrome and brain injury to neurodegeneration. Photos from the 2024 Summit.

Congratulations to the CCTSI Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC) Core Lab on earning accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the most rigorous #laboratory accreditation available! 🎉 This achievement reflects the Core Lab team's hard work and expertise.

Can oral semaglutide reduce alcohol use? A study from the CU Anschutz School of Medicine found that the popular diabetes and weight loss drug reduced heavy drinking and alcohol-related harm in adults with Alcohol Use Disorder. Learn more about the clinical trial: https://bit.ly/4xw2Ks0

By ruthlessly narrowing down his priorities, Zachary Sentell managed to publish several papers in the final year of his PhD and graduate on time go.nature.com/3RUQL8r

UC Davis CTSC’s Impact Story, “Protecting Federal Research Funding Through ClinicalTrials.gov Support,” is now live on the CCOS website 🎉 The story highlights how CTSC support strengthens compliance and protects research continuity. To read more, please visit: ccos-cc.ctsa.io/impact/stori...