About our Lab

Fall 2007 - (L to R) Kristi, Camille, Virginia, Anita, and Kevin

Virginia Winn - Priniciple InvestigatorVirginia

I was born and raised in Boise, ID.  I was always fascinated by cellular biology, organ systems and loved solving logic puzzles.  Therefore, it was not surprising that I knew from a young age that I wanted to have a career in medical research.

I attended Trinity University in San Antonio TX, which provided me with a great liberal arts education and basic science research experience. The birth of my research career occurred under the guidance of Dr. Lawrence Espey, a brillant mind, who inspired my love of endocrinology. My honors research examined the process of ovulation as an inflammatory response to the LH surge using a rat model.  During my sophomore year of college I studied abroad at the University of Lancaster in England’s lake district.  There I enjoyed the tradition of afternoon tea and a more contemplative pace to science. 

After obtaining my B.S in Biology I then attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in upstate New York as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP).  I spent 8 years of long grey winters receiving an outstanding medical education and being part of the scientific team that discovered PGHS-2 / COX-2.  Drs. Kerry O’Banion and Donald Young were both outstanding PIs and I will always be grateful for their mentorship. In Rochester I met my husband, another MSTP student, Lenny Dragone and we were married half-way through graduate school.

During the clinical years of medical school I found my calling within the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  I was fortunate to be taught by Dr. Phyllis Leppert who inspired me that one could be an MD/PhD in Obstetrics and Gynecology.  After medical school I moved to San Francisco for my residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco.  I remained at UCSF for my fellowship training in Maternal-Fetal Medicine.  I did my post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Susan J. Fisher, an internationally reknown trophoblast biologist, who is my role model for a woman scientist who manages beautifully the balance between career and family.  During this time I had my two wonderful children Kathryn and Sam.  My post-doctoral research investigated the role of PGHS-2 in invasive cytotrophoblast differentiation.  I also developed an expertice in gene expression microarrays and brought this technology to the Fisher laboratory.  I completed two large analyses of the human maternal-fetal interface in both normal and pathologic placentas. 

This work provided me with the foundation to start my own laboratory in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCD.  My goal is to understand both normal and abnormal human placentation in order to improve the health of mothers and infants while being a wife and mother myself.

Kristy Rumer - MD/PhD Student

In high school, I was drawn to science . I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to train under Dr. Peggy Neville my senior year of high school. It was this real world experience that cemented my earlier notions that I wanted to be a scientist. At the time, Peggy headed UCD's MSTP program, so I got an early glimpse of training to be a physician scientist. I continued on at the University of Colorado in Boulder studying chemistry, biochemistry and Russian. This was also when I met my future husband. My undergraduate thesis work was done in the labs of Drs. Natalie Ahn and Katheryn Resing. I studied the post-translational modifications of histones and HMG proteins using mass spectrometry. With this training, I moved to San Francisco to work at Genentech in the Protein Chemistry Mass Spectrometry lab with Dr. David Arnott.

After a couple of years there, I got engaged and decided to move back to Colorado. Eric and I married and had two delightful daughters. After several years as a stay-at-home mom, I decided to return to the lab. I worked part time for Dr. Pepper Schedin studying how the changes of the breast during pregnancy affect the capacity for breast cancer to metastasize. When my baby got to school age, I decided it was time to do what I had always wanted to; go to graduate school. Through the years, my interests had evolved to wanting to study reproductive health with the ultimate goal of making a positive impact on pregnancy outcomes. I thought the best way I could achieve this was with an MD as well as a PhD. Thus I joined the MST Program at UCD. I have completed my first two years of training, which included one year of combined medical and graduate school and one additional year of medical school. I am new to Dr. Winn's lab in the Program of Reproductive Science and am really looking forward to investigating the changes that occur in preeclamptic placentas. I will also train clinically over the next few years with Dr. Lynn Barbour who directs the high risk OB/Gyn clinic.

Although school and family keeps me busy, I find time to lead my eldest daughters Brownie troop, volunteer as an educator with Planned Parenthoods Speakers Bureau and encourage local high school students to enter a career in science with the HOMES program (hands on medical education through science). When I take time for myself, I run, golf, read or spend time with my friends.

Anita Kramer - Professional Research Associate

I was born and raised in The Hague, The Netherlands and graduated from the Van Leeuwenhoek Institute in Delft with an MBO in microbiology. I began my career in science in the research & development department of Gist Brocades BV, a Biotech Company in Delft, which later merged with, and took the name of, DSM. Over the years with DSM I worked in several different departments and fields of research, including analysis, fermentation, genetics, and microbiology. I spent my last years with DSM in the Screening/Conversation Unit, tasked with maintaining, selecting and shipping microorganisms to subsidiary companies and collaborators around the world. After many years of work in the biotech field I was ready for a new challenge.

In 2000 I took a sabbatical year and traveled to Central America to study Spanish in Antigua, Guatemala and to contemplate what the focus of the next phase of my life should be. Soon I was working as a volunteer at El Buen Samaritano, a shelter for street children in Jogotenango. Inspired by the good work being performed there, I returned to The Netherlands and started a non-profit foundation to raise funds for the project. The foundation became a great success with the help and support of many volunteers and contributors in The Netherlands and continues to be a vital source of funding and support for the shelter and the children it helps.

During my time in Central America I met my future husband, Mitch, a Colorado native. After a yearlong relation, we were married in The Netherlands in 2001 and I moved to Colorado in February of 2002.

I love working in science but I was not feeling fulfilled working on industrial applications. I became interested in the prospect of working in medical research where my work would have a more direct impact on people and their quality of life. In June of 2002, I accepted a position in Dr. Jerry Lefkowitz’ lab at University of Colorado Denver where the focus was on coagulation specific research on the coagulation proteins Prothrombin and Thrombin. In 2007, Dr. Lefkowitz moved his lab to New York City. I got a tip about an opening in the OB/GYN Department in Dr. Virginia Winn lab.  After talking with her and the people around her about the research she is doing, I felt that was the place I wanted to be. It has been a big challenge for me to move into clinical work. Now, I feel like the pieces of the puzzle are fitting together. I love the subject, placenta research. My background in the biotech industry helped me to develop organizational skills that are very useful in this lab, where everyone is focused on the science. The last year has been great, I have already learned so much and I still have a lot to learn. Virginia’s enthusiasm and passion are infectious and the people we work with are great.

Colorado is a great place to live. The sun is always shining and the skiing in the winter is great, two things I can’t say about my native land. I try to get to the mountains as often as possible with Mitch and our dog, Jake, who loves the snow and walking through the mountains with us. I am still passionate about traveling and experiencing other cultures. I love to read. My favorite book is “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. 

Camille Hoffman - Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow

My fascination with pregnancy and birth began at an early age and by high school I was actively involved in social issues related to the improvement of the health and lives of women.  In undergraduate school, immunology, microbiology and endocrinology were subjects I deemed particularly interesting.  At the same time, an opportunity that I had to attend a WHO conference prompted my appreciation of the importance of women’s health as a central component in the health of families, cultures and societies after listening to a young obstetrician speak about his recent return from a project in Cambodia. 

I attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina and worked in the laboratory of Dr. Subbi Mathur who inspired my appreciation of basic science and translational research in the reproductive sciences.  Medical school confirmed that a career in Ob-Gyn would enable me to merge the social and outreach interests that brought me to medicine with the scientific and clinical interests that I developed as a medical student.  I then moved to the University of Miami, a high-volume urban residency program and completed training in Ob-Gyn.

During residency, I was involved with several clinical research studies under the mentorship of Drs. Víctor-Hugo Gonzalez-Quintéro and Amanda Cotter.  Their guidance, along with the plethora of high-risk pregnancies that I encountered in Miami, promoted my interest in Maternal Fetal Medicine as a lifetime career.  Part of building this career involves research, which led me to a fellowship at the University of Colorado Denver and my current mentor, Dr. Virginia Winn.

Dr. Winn and I began collaborating on a project prior to my arrival in Denver in July of this year.   Our relationship has brought me back into the laboratory after quite a few years.  I share her desire to improve the lives of women and their children through a better understanding of normal and pathologic placental function as well as a better understanding of the immunologic changes that occur in pregnancy.  Ultimately I would like to collaborate with my sister, a perinatal epidemiologist, to do translational research.

Moving to Colorado has also returned me to the outdoor environment that I love.  When not at the University working in the lab or hospital, I enjoy hiking, biking, snowboarding and cross-country skiing, as well as traveling and doing international medical outreach.   I feel fortunate to have found Virginia and the Winn lab and look forward to the years that I will spend under her guidance.

blahKevin Bogart - Lab Technician / Physician Assistant Student

Not to sound redundant but I, like everyone else in this lab, felt a strong draw to science as a career at a young age. I believe this was due to my natural curiousity of the world around me and what has developed into the love of learning how to correctly and scientifically search for the answers. My research interests began in college as I focused my education in Genetics and Molecular Biology.

Since college I have worked as a research scientist in a variety of labs working on everything from classical Drosophila Genetics to High throughput Genomics. I moved to Denver from Bloomington, IN in 2006 to help Virginia begin her lab. Working with Virginia has been a great collaboration, she is a great and passionate scientist and a wonderful coworker.

When I am not at work I feed my love of the wonderful outdoors we have near Denver. My passions include Skiing, Road Biking, Running, and socializing with friends. I have one "child," a sassy cat named Humphrey. I am currently a fulltime student in the UCDenver Physician Assistant program and am happy to continue working in Virginia's lab until I graduate in 2010.