Monthly Momentos: November 2024
This ongoing blog series celebrates people, milestones, and achievements from across our health system. Content is adapted from monthly updates shared with the University of Utah Board of Trustees.
From dentistry’s largest-ever research grant to top children’s hospital rankings to a new chair for communication sciences and disorders, November has us feeling extra grateful for our incredible teams.
Kudos
- Yue Lu, PhD, assistant professor of molecular pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy, is one of 40 individuals nationwide to receive a 2024 Director’s New Innovator Award from the NIH for her research into the environment’s impact on health and what can be discovered from a single blood draw.
- Tracey Nixon, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer for U of U Health Hospitals & Clinics, was recognized by Becker’s Healthcare as a CNO to Know in 2024 for her unique combination of clinical expertise and executive leadership skills.
- The Commonwealth Fund awarded a first-ever grant to a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Utah. Collaborators include researchers and medical providers from U of U Health’s South Main Clinic, the U’s College of Social and Behavioral Science, and the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. They will evaluate ways to sustain clinics that provide mental and physical health services.
Leadership Appointments
- Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer, PhD, CCC-SLP, was appointed as the next chair for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Health. Barkmeier-Kraemer is internationally recognized for advancing the clinical assessment and treatment of those with neurogenic voice disorders and dysphagia. She directs the Voice, Airway, Swallowing Translational (VAST) Research Lab and Voice Disorders Center at U of U Health.
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Achievements in Clinical Care
- Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, in partnership with University of Utah Health, is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals in all 11 pediatric specialties, including four top 25 rankings:
- Neurology & Neurosurgery, #10 (with patient outcomes ranked first in the nation)
- Cardiology & Heart Surgery, #15
- Nephrology, #22
- Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, #25
- University of Utah Health is one of 26 hospitals nationwide to achieve Level 10 status in the 2024 Digital Health Most Wired program. This designation recognizes health IT leaders that have displayed the highest and most innovative uses of technology at their respective organizations.
Achievements in Education
- Led by Brenda Heaton, PhD, MPH, the School of Dentistry submitted a collaborative NIH R01 proposal with Megan Vanneman, PhD, MPH, to study the impact of Utah’s upcoming expansion of Medicaid dental care on substance use disorder treatment outcomes. The school executed a data-sharing agreement with Utah DHHS for Medicaid data on individuals enrolled in the Targeted Adult Medicaid program for substance abuse treatment or mental health treatment.
Achievements in Research
- With $5 million in federal funding from the CDC, U of U Health is launching the Mountain West Prevention Research Center to reduce childhood obesity, especially in rural communities. The center will collaborate with local organizations across Utah and throughout Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
- Brenda Heaton, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Research at the School of Dentistry, received an $8 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to lead an eight-year study of the complex causes of oral health inequities by integrating data at the population, provider, and patient levels. NIDCR selects only one recipient for this award each year. This is the largest research grant the School of Dentistry has received to date.
- An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Nancy Daher, PhD, ME, received $6.53 million in funding from the EPA to monitor and reduce indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in schools in urban and rural regions of Utah, as well as with the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming.
- Two College of Nursing research teams, led by Schola Matovu, PhD, RN, and Julie Valentine, PhD, RN, secured $1.5 million in competitive grants from the NIH Fogarty International Center to address critical health disparities affecting vulnerable populations internationally and domestically.
Achievements in Community Collaboration
- U of U Health hosted its annual health fair in partnership with Alpha Media. This health fair brings free services and community resources to the Latino community. More than 1,000 people attended and U of U Health collaborators provided 141 dental screenings, 48 diabetes screenings, 230 flu vaccines, and 142 COVID-19 vaccines, along with donating 300 coats to children.
