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2026 Class of Boettcher Investigators
Since its inception, the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program has 
supported 121 Boettcher Investigators, including this year’s class, and awarded close 
to $29 million in grant funding. These researchers have gone on to secure more than 
$150 million in additional research funding from federal, state, and private sources.
CO LO R A D O  STAT E  U N I V E R S I T Y
Casey M. Gries, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology 
at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — Disrupting zinc-
dependent biofilms to prevent Staphylococcus aureus implant infection.
R. Adam Harris, D.V.M., Ph.D., Diplomate ACVP, Department of Microbiology, 
Immunology, and Pathology at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical 
Sciences — Dissecting NRAS-mediated leukemic stem cell persistence to enable 
durable AML therapy.
N AT I O N A L J E W I S H  H E A LT H 
Elizabeth Wynn, Ph.D., Department of Immunology and Genomic Medicine — 
Longitudinal Analysis of Airway Immune Gene Program Dynamics in Viral 
Infection and Allergic Disease.
U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  CO LO R A D O  A N S C H U T Z
Alessandra Brambati, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology — Regulation 
of microhomology-mediated end-joining during cell division.

John Janetzko, Ph.D., Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, 
Pharmacology, and Pharmaceutical Sciences — All swell doesn’t end well: 
investigating how GPCR signaling dysfunction affects cell-volume regulation 
in disease.
Katherine Kissler, C.N.M., Ph.D., College of Nursing — Dynamic digital 
physiological signatures of impending intraamniotic infection.
Kentaro Yomogida, M.D., Division of Rheumatology, School of Medicine — 
NK cell–fibroblast crosstalk in the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  CO LO R A D O  B O U L D E R  
Matthew Olm, Ph.D., Department of Integrative Physiology — How diet 
and lifestyle shape the infant gut microbiome and immune disease risk.
Colorado continues to build momentum as a leading hub for biomedical 
research and health innovation, powered by world-class academic institutions, 
top talent, collaborative partnerships, and strong support for early-stage 
discovery. Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards 
strengthen the state’s long-term competitiveness by helping emerging 
investigators accelerate breakthroughs for patients.
Bonus Video!
S C A N  T O  WAT C H
Boettcher Foundation’s 
Webb-Waring Biomedical 
Research Awards Program 
supports leading early-career 
researchers in Colorado. 
Learn about the promise 
and potential of their work.
Identifying How to 
Improve Human Health 
from the Beginning    
Although Kissler and Olm study different 
biological systems, they are ultimately 
asking versions of the same question: how 
do the earliest experiences of life shape 
everything that follows?
For Kissler, the answer may be hidden 
within the physiologic signals created 
during labor. For Olm, it may be found 
among the microbes that help train a 
newborn’s immune system. Both are 
searching for clues that emerge long 
before disease is visible, with the hope 
that earlier understanding can lead to 
better outcomes later in life. 
By studying life’s earliest moments, from 
labor and birth to the infant microbiome, 
Kissler and Olm hope to change health 
trajectories long before disease appears. 
Their work, supported by funding from 
Boettcher Foundation, offers a powerful 
reminder that advancing medicine does 
not always require looking farther ahead. 
Sometimes, the greatest opportunities 
for improving human health can be found 
by understanding more deeply where 
health begins.  
2026-27 BIOSCIENCE COLORADO     45

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