Voices of U of U Health

Monthly Momentos: March 2025

Mar 28, 2025

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.

March was a month to remember with a landmark gift for the future medical campus in West Valley, Match Day celebration, Forbes Best Employer recognition, and more.

Kudos

Forbes named University of Utah Health to its list of America’s Best Larger Employers for 2025. The rankings recognize 701employers for fostering an environment where employees can thrive. Among the 57 hospitals and health systems that made the list, U of U Health ranks No. 33, and No. 8 for academic medical centers.
Mark Rapaport, MD, founding CEO Emeritus for Huntsman Mental Health Institute, was selected as next president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association. His priorities as president-elect include advancing mental health parity by uniting APA further with academics, clinicians and entrepreneurs, and combating stigma surrounding mental illness by building on existing public education campaigns.
Erica Bisson, MD, MPH, vice dean for Clinical Affairs and executive medical officer for U of U Medical Group, was named chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to advancing the highest quality, ethical, and evidence-based care for spinal and peripheral nerve disorders.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health awarded a five-year $12 million contract to a team of researchers at U of U Health and Huntsman Cancer Institute led by Kathi Mooney, PhD, in the College of Nursing. The contract allows for the expansion of the rural Huntsman at Home program with augmented hospital at home services through advanced diagnostic capabilities and the addition of selected cancer clinical trials.
 J. David Symons, PhD, professor of nutrition and integrative physiology in the College of Health, received an American Heart Association Institutional Award for Undergraduate Student Training to direct the Summer Program for Undergraduate Research. The program provides undergraduate students with an intensive 10-week summer research experience under the mentorship of a U faculty member.

University of Utah leadership and the Eccles family with the West Valley resident committee. — West Valley resident committee with University of Utah leadership and the Eccles family celebrating landmark gift to build a new hospital and health center in West Valley.

Leadership Appointments

Jason Hunt, MD, MS, was named inaugural chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Having served as interim chair since 2022, Hunt led the evolution from a division in the Department of Surgery to an independent department.
W. Brett Graham, MBA, MPA, was appointed interim CEO for Huntsman Mental Health Institute, and James C. Ashworth, MD, was appointed interim chair for the Department of Psychiatry. Graham and Ashworth succeed Mark Rapaport, MD, who was appointed founding CEO Emeritus, Huntsman Mental Health Institute and was recently selected as next president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association.

Achievements in Clinical Care

The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation made a $75 million gift to the University of Utah to establish the University of Utah Hospital and Health Center in West Valley. The new medical campus will bring multispecialty care directly to the more than 725,000 residents living west of 1-15, while creating new opportunities for education and economic growth.
U of U Health’s Substance Use & Pregnancy—Recovery, Addiction, and Dependence (SUPeRAD) Clinic opened a second location at the Population Health Center near Rose Park. SUPeRAD provides integrated, trauma-informed care combining maternal-fetal medicine, addiction treatment, social work, and recovery support.

A group of individuals holding a Match Day poster. — Students at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah celebrate at Match Day 2025.

Achievements in Education

At Match Day, the graduating Class of 2025 at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine learned where they will be completing their residency training. The students matched into:
- 107 residency programs in 34 states
- 24 specialties and 41% entering primary care residencies
- 37 of them will complete all or a portion of their training in Utah
The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, in collaboration with the College of Health, welcomed the Miller Family Philanthropy team for a tour of the Population Health Center. Theresa Dvorak, MS, (nutrition and integrative physiology) and Sonja Raaum, MD, (internal medicine) led the tour, which included a visit to the Food Pharmacy. This visit highlighted our student-led clinics and commitment to community-based care.
In Fall 2025, the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy launches a one-year master’s degree program that includes laboratory work and professional development activities alongside regular coursework. The program prepares students for pharmacy careers that don’t require a doctorate.
In mid-February, the School of Dentistry hosted a site visit from the Commission on Dental Accreditation to assess the school's clinical enterprise, research endeavors, and didactic experience. Accreditors noted the comprehensiveness of the endodontics program, collegiality amongst faculty and staff, and continued development and growth of the school’s research endeavors.
Librarians from the Spencer S. Eccles Health Science Library join teams in the neurology department during patient visits to connect clinicians to literature that can resolve questions and guide patient care decisions. Since launching this service in December 2023, librarians have integrated with 17 rounding teams consisting of the lead attending, 22 residents and 50 medical students caring for patients at University Hospital, Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, and Huntsman Cancer Hospital.

The SUPeRAD team cuts a red ribbon. — University of Utah Health's Substance Use & Pregnancy—Recovery, Addiction, and Dependence (SUPeRAD) Clinic opens new location at the Population Health Center near Rose Park.

Achievements in Research

Experts from U of U Health and Hogle Zoo joined forces to diagnose and treat Diego, a 650-pound California sea lion. The team used anesthesiology, veterinary science, and advanced imaging (led by radiology professor Edward Quigley, MD, PhD) to identify Diego's condition as spinal disease and find a treatment to alleviate his symptoms.
A team of researchers, led by Nathan Blue, MD, MSCI, professor of obstetrics and genecology, discovered previously unknown warning signs for stillbirth and newborn complications using AI-based pregnancy analysis. Researchers found that within a category of pregnancies that are currently treated identically under clinical guidelines, the risk of serious complications can vary by a factor of 10. The new analysis is an important step toward more personalized pregnancy care.

Achievements in Community Collaboration

The Midvale Community Building Community Clinic (CBC) is a student-led clinic serving Hispanic/Latino communities. Students from the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine run the clinic and provide primary care for nearly 3,000 patients under the supervision of attending physicians. In response to a 30% decrease in appointments following executive orders, U of U Health collaborated with the Midvale CBC clinic to host a health fair in February to provide community resources, food, and health screenings. Contributing partners include the School of Dentistry and Moran Eye Center’s Hope in Sight clinics.

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