Welcome to our New Faculty and Staff! Colleen Bowles, DO Medical Director, Physician Assistant Clinical Education Program, RVU-CO After looking for their forever home in 2013, Dr. Bowles moved to Colorado with her husband and two children. She believes they have been successful in that endeavor and plans to stay in Colorado permanently. Dr. Bowles acquired a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (and a minor in Theology) from Creighton University. She then attended medical school at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, California. She completed a pediatrics residency for a joint program between Creighton University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is now anticipating the completion of a Master of Business in Healthcare Management by the end of this year. Dr. Bowles was a National Health Service Scholar Corps recipient during medical school and during the first four years practicing as a pediatrician. She practiced as a Pediatrician for five years before relocating to Golden, Colorado. In addition to her role at RVU, she works for STRIDE, a federally qualified community health care center, two days a week. “I love RVU’s passion [for] providing quality medical education to the next generation of healthcare workers.” In her free time, Dr. Bowles enjoys traveling, gardening, running, and good wine with good friends. When she was young, she lived in Como, Italy for a year and considers it her home away from home! Her other two favorite places to have visited are Malaga, Spain, and Florianopolis, Brazil. Benvenuta, Dott. Bowles! Amanda Brooks, PhD Director, Department of Research and Scholarly Activity, RVU-SU Dr. Brooks grew up in Casper, Wyoming, where she met and married her high school sweetheart, Ben, and together they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with an emphasis in Genetic Engineering from the University of Utah (UofU), followed by her Doctorate in Molecular Biology from the University of Wyoming. After graduate school, she attended a postdoctoral research fellowship where she studied cartilage tissue genetics at
Vista View
the University of California San Diego. For a brief time, she studied recombinant protein expression at the University of Wyoming. Finally, she returned to Utah where she worked first as a Research Assistant Professor and then as a Conflict of Interest Analyst at UofU. In 2012, she founded a company, EluteInc, based on the technology that she had developed. Prior to joining the RVU team, she took an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at North Dakota State University. What inspires Dr. Brooks the most about her field of work is when a student catches the vision for research and their passion develops over time. She finds the RVU community environment exciting and considers it to be a big factor in her choosing RVU. Dr. Brooks is passionate about science and research even outside of work hours. She enjoys helping her daughters pursue their PhDs, design experiments, and interpret data. She also enjoys science brainstorming sessions with Ben and exploring nature with their two German Shepherds. She loves spending time with her grandchildren who live far away. Each summer, she and Ben escape to their cabin in Petersburg, Alaska. Welcome, Dr. Brooks! Neysa Grider-Potter, PhD Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Clinical Anatomy and OPP, RVU-CO A Michigan native, Dr. Grider-Potter received her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology and Anthropology from Michigan State University. “Traipsing through local bogs and forests for biology classes was probably my favorite undergraduate experience.” She later completed her Master of Arts and Doctorate degrees in Anthropology from Arizona State University. Her favorite part was exploring the desert, though she dearly missed being surrounded by trees. Before coming to RVU, Dr. Grider-Potter spent a year in Japan researching how human anatomy evolved for walking on two legs through studying gibbons and macaques, some of our closes relatives. “I really enjoy trying to understand how our anatomy and physiology are intertwined. Being able to research in such a beautiful country made it all the more rewarding.” She’s looking forward to exploring Colorado, in particular new places to hike and camp with her dog. “I’m very excited
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