Photo: Barry “Bear” Gutierrez
COVID-19
VACCINE BOOSTER FIGHTING FEAR, AND DISEASE , WITH FACTS AND SCIENCE BY Karen Augé
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round Regis, Stephanie James, Ph.D., MBA, is known as a vaccine warrior.
She has other titles, too. Associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy. COVID-19 testing site organizer. COVID-19 vaccine clinic organizer. Contributing writer for The Denver Post’s YourHub section. Go-to witness when Colorado lawmakers need an expert to weigh in on the science of vaccines. And one more: “Absolute rock star,” offered by Samit Shah, Ph.D., pharmacy school dean. When the pan-
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Spring /Summer 2021 | R EG I S U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A ZI N E
demic emerged in Colorado, James spearheaded the effort to set up testing on campus, Shah said. “She had to coordinate insurance billing and a lot of things outside her comfort zone. Many of us said, ‘we’ll support you, but I don’t know how you’ll pull this off.’ But she did.” James is tireless in her efforts, through articles she writes and direct advocacy, to educate the public that vaccines are safe, and that they work. That’s earned her the admiration of colleagues and the science community. It’s also earned her the enmity of those who disagree with her.
