Monthly Momentos: August 2026

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Monthly Momentos: August 2026

Aug 26, 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

Opening celebration for the new medical school, first-of-its-kind gene regulation map targets treatment for heart failure, a healthy start for West Valley families, and more August highlights

Kudos

• The University of Utah ranks 27th out of 243 U.S. research universities in the Cure Innovation Index, which measures how effectively institutions turn research into health care solutions. The U places among the top universities nationally for entrepreneurial readiness and market translation.
• A 2026 economic impact report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute details U of U Health’s contributions to the state in FY24: supporting nearly 70,000 jobs, generating $5.6 billion in earnings, training roughly two-thirds of Utah’s physicians, and providing $118 million in charitable care, with research funding reaching $531 million in FY25.
• A research program led by Kuo-Ching Mei, PhD, assistant professor of molecular pharmaceutics, received a Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA R35) of approximately $1.5 million from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to develop strategies that reduce immune barriers to gene therapy and enable safe gene dosing and re-dosing.
• Bob Carter, MD, PhD, CEO of U of U Health, was recognized by Becker’s Healthcare among its 5 Unlikely AI Champions at Health Systems for championing novel, practical uses of artificial intelligence in care.
• Kavish Choudhary, PharmD, MD, chief pharmacy officer for U of U Health, was named one of Becker’s Healthcare’s 2026 Hospital and Health System Chief Pharmacy Officers to Know for leadership in medication safety and pharmacy practice.
• Scotti Miller, RN, BSN, CCRN, a lung transplant nurse at University of Utah Hospital, was named to the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2026, recognizing emerging leaders advancing organ donation and transplantation.

Leadership Announcements

• Josef Stehlik, MD, MPH, was named the inaugural chief medical officer and executive director of the Solid Organ Transplant Care Line. The care line is the first of several being developed across the health system to create a more integrated, patient-centered model of care.
• Edward (Ted) J. Kimball, MD, was named chief network development medical officer, leading efforts to strengthen partnerships with physicians, hospitals, and health systems across Utah and the Mountain West.
• Vivek K. Reddy, MD, MMM, was named chief health informatics officer, helping advance the health system’s informatics strategy and the responsible use of technologies that improve care.
• Candice Morrissey, MD, MSPH, MSc, was named assistant dean for admissions at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, overseeing recruitment, selection, and admissions for the MD program. Additionally, three new assistant deans for curriculum were named: Angelica Putnam, MD (Phase 1 curriculum); Brian Good, MD (Phase 2 curriculum); and Katie Lappe, MD (Phase 3 curriculum).
• Zachary L. McCormick, MD, and Jacob A. George, PhD, were named co-vice chairs of research for the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital.

Achievements in Clinical Care

• University of Utah Hospital was named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2026 list of “100 Great Hospitals in America” for impressive clinical outcomes, an unwavering commitment to patient safety, and groundbreaking research and technological advancements that are reshaping modern medicine. 
• The Stroke Centerat U of U Health received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus award, along with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Advance Therapy recognitions, for its multi-year commitment to fast, guideline-based stroke care.
• U of U Health was selected as one of 15 centers nationwide for the American Heart Association’s first-ever Heart Transplant Research Network as part of a multi-phase initiative aimed at improving heart transplant outcomes.
• U of U Health’s Lung Transplant Program performed 50 lung transplants in 2025—the most in program history and a 38% increase over 2024—reflecting a coordinated effort to expand access to life-saving care.

Achievements in Education

• The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine building officially opened on Aug. 19 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new building will help advance a new culture of learning with adaptive classrooms, advanced simulation center, gross anatomy lab, and gathering spaces.
• The University of Utah’s chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) was named the 2025-26 National Chapter of the Year, selected from more than 300 chapters nationwide for excellence in leadership, advocacy, service, and student engagement.
• The College of Nursing held its fifth annual Future Nurses Summer Camp for 30 middle and junior high school students, introducing them to nursing careers through hands-on simulation activities, an AirMed helipad tour, and mentorship from nursing students and faculty.
• Nena Schvaneveldt, MSLS, associate librarian at the Eccles Health Sciences Library, published research in Medical Reference Services Quarterly on how health professions students learn to find, evaluate, and ethically use information as they transition to clinical training.

Achievements in Research

• A groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug studied at Huntsman Cancer Institutereceived FDA approval. Daraxonrasib, a targeted therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer, nearly doubled median survival in a phase 3 clinical trial. Huntsman Cancer Institute helped bring the promising treatment to patients through clinical trials, marking an important advance for one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
• Researchers from U of U Health and University of California San Diego have created the most detailed map to date of how gene regulation breaks down in human heart failure. Their findings, published in Science, reveal how genes are controlled in specific cell types as the disease develops and point to potential new therapeutic targets.
• Research led by Jason Shepherd, PhD, professor of neurobiology, found that in mice a protein called Arc helps spread toxic Tau, a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease progression. The findings, published in Cell, may help develop therapies that slow or stop the disease by preventing toxic Tau from spreading to healthy cells.
• Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute led a Phase 3 clinical trial that found combining talazoparib and enzalutamide reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 52% in patients with metastatic prostate cancer and certain gene mutations. Led by Neeraj Agarwal, MD, FASCO, the findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
• Mary Playdon, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology and a Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator, received National Cancer Institute support for three research projects exploring how diet, meal timing, inflammation, obesity, and metabolism may influence the risk of breast, endometrial, and colorectal cancers.
• Amit Sethi, PhD, OTR/L, associate professor in the Department of Occupational and Recreational Therapies, received a new NIH R01 award to lead a clinical trial testing an innovative approach to improve arm and hand movement after moderate-to-severe stroke by combining noninvasive brain stimulation with electrical stimulation-assisted rehabilitation.
• Nancy Allen, PhD, received a $600,000 American Diabetes Association grant for a study testing a continuous glucose monitoring data-sharing intervention for older adults with dementia and type 2 diabetes. U of U Health researchers Alycia Bristol, PhD, Eli Iacob, PhD, and Michelle Litchman, PhD, are co-investigators.
• The University of Utah Center on Aging awarded a $50,000 Innovations Grant to Jorrie Butler, PhD, and co-investigators Kara Dassel, PhD, Eli Iacob, PhD, and Caroline Stephens, PhD, RN, to study how adherence to the 4Ms of age-friendly care—What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility—relates to inpatient outcomes and supports an age-friendly learning health system at U of U Health.

Community Collaboration

• University of Utah Health joined community partners for Healthy Start West Valley, an annual back-to-school event connecting West Valley families with free health screenings, resources, and support. The event reflects our continued commitment to the community as we prepare for the future Eccles Health Campus and Hospital.
• State funding for the School of Dentistry’s Mobile Dental Clinicwas renewed for FY27 in recognition of its success serving rural Utah. In FY26, the clinic completed 494 patient visits—including 206 restorations, 159 cleanings, and 48 extractions—for uninsured and underinsured residents across nine communities.