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University of Utah Health
Monthly Momentos: September 2026
Sep 30, 2026
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.
National recognition for quality, milestone anniversaries for trauma, mental health, and cardiac transplant care, new career pathways for displaced women rebuilding their lives in Utah, and more September highlights.
Kudos
For 17 years running, University of Utah Health has been recognized as a top performer in the 2026 Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, ranking No. 8 of 122 participating comprehensive academic medical centers. U of U Health also ranks No. 5 nationally for ambulatory care quality and accountability.
U of U Health is among a select group of top health care organizations to receive NRC Health’s 2026 Best in Brand Award for highest brand perception and reputation.
Danielle Sample, MPH, chief of staff to the executive vice president for Health Sciences and CEO of University of Utah Health, was named one of Becker’s Healthcare’s 2026 Rising Star Health Care Leaders Under 40 for her leadership in advancing systemwide strategy and integration.
Leigh Elrod, DPAS, MPAS, PA-C, chair of the Division of Physician Assistant Education and Science at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, was elected to serve a three-year term as director at large for the PAEA (Physician Assistant Education Association) Board of Directors.
Kristen Keefe, PhD, professor of pharmacology and toxicology and associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Pharmacy, was named an inaugural recipient of the University of Utah’s Excellence in Faculty Mentoring Award, one of six faculty members recognized university wide.
KangJae “Jerry” Lee, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, received the 2026 Leisure Studies Association Outstanding Book Prize for Violent and Verdant: Systemic Injustice in Public Parks in the U.S., which examines the history of systemic injustice in community, state, and national parks across the country.
Rana Jawish, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and psychiatrist at Huntsman Mental Health Institute, received a five-year, $1 million NIH K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Use (NIDA) to study transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a treatment for methamphetamine use disorder during pregnancy.
U of U Health leaders at the 2026 Vizient Top Performers Awards event.
Leadership Announcements
Laura B. Dunn, MD, was named chair of the Department of Psychiatry and will serve concurrently as chief scientific officer for Huntsman Mental Health Institute and executive director and physician-in-chief of the mental health hospital.
Christy Jarvis, MLS, was named interim associate dean and executive director of the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, effective January 1, 2027, and Heidi Greenberg was named interim deputy director. They succeed Catherine Soehner, BSN, MLS, who concludes 15 years of leadership at the University of Utah, including her service as associate dean and executive director for the library since 2018.
Achievements in Clinical Care
University of Utah Health celebrates 25 years as Utah’s first nationally verified Level 1 trauma center. U of U Health’s leadership in trauma care helped spur more than 38 additional Utah hospitals to become verified trauma centers and join a coordinated statewide trauma system.
Huntsman Mental Health Institute celebrates 40 years of providing evidence-based mental health services and five years since the institute’s dedication. Over four decades, the institute has expanded access and pioneered programs that have helped shape mental health services in Utah, from statewide crisis support to innovative treatments for complex conditions.
The UTAH Cardiac Transplant Program celebrates 40 years of collaboration and more than 2,000 life-saving heart transplants. University of Utah Health is one of four partner hospitals in the unique consortium, which brings together clinical expertise, research, and resources to advance heart transplantation and advanced heart failure care across the Mountain West.
University of Utah Health launched Gear Up and Go, a new injury-prevention initiative with Young Powersports and Mountain America Credit Union that helps powersports riders obtain protective equipment when purchasing a new vehicle. Emergency medicine physician Christopher Gee, MD, is helping lead the effort to prevent traumatic injuries before riders reach the emergency department.
A patient speaks at the 25-year celebration of Utah's first Level 1 Trauma center at University of Utah Hospital.
Achievements in Education
The College of Nursing hosted an 11-day Inha Summer Program for 30 undergraduate nursing students and six faculty members from Inha University School of Nursing in South Korea, offering learning sessions, cultural immersion, and community-building activities supported by partners across the university.
The School of Dentistry released its inaugural 2025-2026 Annual Report on Community Engagement, highlighting statewide partnerships and outreach programs that extend care to vulnerable populations across Utah.
The Office of Medical Student Research Education completed its inaugural hiring, welcoming Amy Cizik, PhD, MPH, as faculty lead and Kacey Madsen, M.Ed., as associate director. Alongside this new leadership, the office launched its Medical Student Research website, giving students a centralized hub and dedicated email contact to explore research opportunities, mentorship, and resources across the medical school.
The Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library holds the nation’s only National Training Office (NTO) grant, awarded through the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM). The office trains public librarians—particularly in rural communities—to answer health questions ethically and confidently, conduct effective reference interviews, protect patron privacy, and connect patrons to reliable information on topics such as medications, cancer, and diabetes.
Trial participant Avi Davidson picks up strawberries from a bowl with the "LUKE ARM" bionic prosthesis.
Achievements in Research
U of U Health launched the Final Ascent Awards, a new bridge-funding program led by Randall Peterson, PhD, associate vice president of health sciences initiatives, in partnership with the EVP for Health Sciences. The program provides short-term support to investigators whose NIH grant applications narrowly missed funding, helping them retain key personnel and prepare competitive resubmissions.
Jacob A. George, PhD, director of the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, and postdoctoral fellow Marshall Trout, PhD, led the first at-home trial of Utah’s thought-controlled “LUKE Arm,” allowing a participant to use the bionic arm’s direct nerve interface independently in daily life. The technology enables users to control the prosthetic with their thoughts while restoring a sense of touch.
The University of Utah’s Utah Data Coordinating Center (Utah DCC), led by interim director Kevin Watt, MD, PhD, was selected to oversee trial and data management—including the independent analysis of safety and efficacy data—for XPRIZE Healthspan, a seven-year, $101 million competition. Twenty finalist teams will run clinical trials from 2026 through 2029 testing therapies to extend healthy human life, with the Utah DCC partnering with the University of California San Diego’s Stein Institute for Research Aging.
A study led by Alistair Thorpe, PhD, research assistant professor of population health sciences, surveyed 1,475 Americans and found nearly 90% believe it is always best to finish a full course of antibiotics—guidance now considered outdated for many infections, since shorter courses are often as effective and safer. Published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, the findings point to a need for clearer clinician-patient communication about antibiotic use.
A study led by Fernando Wilson, PhD, professor of economics and population health sciences, found that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), an evidence-based therapy for opioid misuse and chronic pain, returns roughly $12 for every $1 spent—more than $324,000 in lifetime savings per patient. Published in Value in Health, the findings suggest MORE could be a cost-effective response to the opioid crisis.
A study led by Michael Jurynec, PhD, associate professor of orthopedic surgery, combined genetic studies of Utah families with AI-based molecular biology tools to identify a candidate drug for osteoarthritis, a leading cause of disability with few treatment options. In a cell-based model, the compound promoted joint health and reduced inflammation-related gene activity, though it has not yet been tested in animals or people. Published in ACS Omega, it offers a starting point for therapies that treat osteoarthritis at its source.
Participants in the 2026 Women of the World Career Exploration Tour.
Community Collaboration
U of U Health’s Workforce Development & Talent Pathways and Community Collaboration teams hosted a Women of the World Career Exploration Tour at the South Jordan Health Center. Seventeen participants—women who have been displaced from their home countries and are rebuilding their lives in Utah—met with the Care Navigation team and explored non-clinical health care careers in customer service, pharmacy, environmental services, and nutrition care.
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