Research centers and retreats

Last week, I had the privilege of learning more about two of the department's nearly 35 research centers (!) My first stop was the Diabetes Research Center, which supports basic, translational, and clinical research in diabetes and related metabolic disorders through multiple biomedical research cores.

Built on a principle of collaboration amongst >100 affiliate investigators and now led by Dr. Karin Bornfeldt (huge thanks to Dr. Steven Kahn for his multiple years of leadership!), this center is in its 49th year of continuous funding and recently held a meeting with their External Advisory Board.          

As a non-basic scientist, I was incredibly impressed by the thoughtful discussions about how to improve their upcoming renewal application. 

I then went further south to Harborview to attend the Kidney Research Institute scientific advisory board meeting. The KRI was created in 2008 as a research institute dedicated to kidney disease. 

Led by Dr. Ian de Boer, KRI investigators have catalyzed cross-disciplinary collaborations across UW to become a global leader in kidney research, advancing discoveries from basic science to clinical trials.

Similar to the DRC, this meeting had scientific experts from all across the country providing insightful feedback to both junior and senior investigators.

These meetings were such a wonderful example of team science and academic collaborations crossing multiple specialties and institutions. I even reunited with an old friend at the KRI that I first met at a AAMC conference over a decade ago! I look forward to continuing to learn about and showcase more of the exceptional research centers across DOM. You all inspire me with your dedication, innovation, enthusiasm, and talent.

I am also excited about Dr. Ellen Schur’s new appointment as the inaugural leader of the UW Medicine Women’s Health Research Program. This novel initiative will help connect investigators, accelerate discovery, improve care, and position UW as a leader in women’s health research. 

Ellen is clinical research director for the Diabetes Institute and directs the Nutrition Obesity Research Center - congrats Ellen on this new role!

Thursday was a day full of retreats with the DEIB gathering in the morning where I had the opportunity to give some opening remarks about my background, philosophy, and vision within DEIB here at UW.

I was inspired by the energy, community, talks, and leadership panel — their conviction to continue doing this important work was palpable.         

Huge thanks to Sean Greenlee and our staff for putting together such a wonderful event. Please consider joining our DEIB listserv to receive invitations to our DEIB monthly meetings and receive notices about resources and events. 

I then headed back to South Lake Union to attend the gastroenterology retreat. It's clear that the group thinks of themselves as a family and the esprit de corps was deeply felt. I very much appreciated everyone's engagement, warmth, and thoughtful questions about important topics like patient access and the strategy surrounding interdisciplinary academic medicine. 

Finally on Friday I was able to catch the tail-end of the pulmonary retreat by at the Waterfront Activities Center. It was pouring rain as I traipsed across campus, and I used a UCLA-branded umbrella that was gifted to me by my wise UCLA colleagues at my good-bye party. When I arrived, I was told that real Seattle folks don't even use umbrellas! After an hour of discussing mentorship strategy with my wonderful pulm/crit care/sleep colleagues, it was still pouring rain but someone told me it was "going to get better in 15 minutes." I waited it out and lo and behold the sun magically came out and the sky was blue again! 

With all the driving this week, I kinda wished I had a self-driving car (my own personal Waymo would be amazing!) I find driving in Seattle a bit less stressful than LA except that I take many more wrong turns here (sometimes my car tells me to turn right but I could swear there are 3 possible right turns!). I'm also still getting used to two-way streets that are as wide as one-way streets but at least people are mostly polite and honk less than I'm used to! 

PS: Friday was National Research Administrator Day, and I want to acknowledge and celebrate the research administrators and support staff who play such a vital role in our research community. Your contributions are often behind the scenes, but they are critical to every one of our wins. Thank you for your dedication, expertise, and commitment to supporting impactful research even when times are challenging.

PPS: Last week was National APP Week, and I want to take a moment to recognize our incredible APPs. The 2026 theme, “The Pulse of Progress: APPs Powering Tomorrow,” nicely reflects the impact you have across our organization in our commitment to clinical excellence. Thank you for everything you do to care for our patients and support our teams.