AIMEE PUGH BERNARD, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU AMC). I completed my PhD in Immunology at the University of Rochester studying the developmental regulation of autoreactive B cells in humans with the autoimmune disease Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and furthered my training in 2 post-doctoral fellowships. Since 2007, I have been dedicated to teaching, and currently teach immunology to a variety of professional students on the CU AMC. My current research interests focus on medical education, science communication, and community outreach science education.

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As a dedicated educator, I developed a 'Teacher Training Program' for trainees at the CU AMC to fill a gap in teacher training and provide trainees with an opportunity to work alongside a passionate educator (me!) willing to guide others toward best practices in all elements of teaching.

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As the Director of the CU AMC Foundational Science Departments Science Communication Program and the co-Director for the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences and Innovation (CCTSI) 'Communicating Your Science to the Public' Project, I aim to bridge the gap between academic research and the community. 

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In 2018, I founded a non-profit community outreach program, Think Like a Scientist (TLaS), that partners with elementary schools surrounding the CU AMC that serve primarily historically underrepresented groups (HUGs) in STEM.

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As the Assistant Director of the CU Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative (HI3), we aim to establish preeminence in human immune system-targeted therapies on the CU AMC through the development and maintenence of an all-inclusive facility that provides experimental models for the preclinical testing of new candidate therapeutics, reliable immunotherapeutic production, consistent clinical trials research support, and human immune monitoring capabilities.