SANDY — Thousands of Utah teachers are feeling the love right now. They’re attending the annual “Show Up for Teachers” conference meant to show them all a little appreciation, led by Utah First Lady Abby Cox.

Over 2,000 Utah teachers and counselors showed up Thursday at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, because Utah is showing up for them.

“It’s so empowering to be here, and all the stuff they spoil us with, it’s just so refreshing,” said second-grade teacher Halea Anderson.

“There’s a lot that goes into teaching. This is definitely a career I picked as a passion, not for pay, right? So it’s great to feel appreciated,” said Breanna Howlett a kindergarten teacher at Quail Hollow Elementary.

Each picked up free swag, school portraits, food and resources to better support them in the classroom — and provide that mental boost they need to start the school year.

“We do a lot of breakout sessions that really focus on them — their well-being, their stress management, their mental health, things like that — to really support them, to help them thrive in their profession,” said Jenni Currit, “Show Up for Teachers” organizer.

“I even told my fiancé this morning that I need that little pep talk before we start the school year, so for me it’s just kind of getting rejuvenated,” said special education teacher Seyyed Sharifi.

The fourth annual “Show Up for Teachers” conference was created by Utah First Lady Abby Cox, who sees the ripple effect this day can have statewide.

“Teachers are the bedrock of our society, they’re the ones teaching and mentoring students, and these kiddos coming up are the next leaders, the next innovators, the next problem solvers,” Cox said.

The day was packed with positive energy and opportunity.

“Connecting with different companies, we’re connecting with different educators,” said Brad Moulton, a counselor at Alpine School District.

“A lot of them are doing grants and scholarships, which is amazing because we don’t get a lot every year,” said Salem Elementary kindergarten teacher Bri Wright.

Teachers are walking away with a superhero feeling.

“Sometimes we’re the hero, and sometimes we’re the villain. So it’s nice to be a hero for the day,” said Kaylene Astin, eighth grade science teacher.

The conference is a full day affair, concluding with Utah’s first lady giving the final keynote address.

These cuts will cause immense and largely irreversible damage to the successful American scientific enterprise.

As biomedical researchers, now retired, we are horrified by the deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) proposed in the Trump administration’s budget for 2026. These cuts would cause immense and largely irreversible damage to the successful American scientific enterprise.

A 40% decrease for NIH and a 57% cut for NSF would lead to the cancellation of thousands of grants and the termination of thousands of research programs in areas ranging from basic cancer research to drug development to climate change remediation. It would also end the training of the next generations of investigators.

This is particularly sad for Utah, which has had a leading role in genetic research. The first NIH external research grant ever given came to the University of Utah in 1946 for investigation of muscular dystrophy and other genetic diseases. Funding for this grant was specifically promoted by Utah Senator Elbert Thomas.

Our state has been eminent in genetics research partly due to early efforts like this one and partly to the willing cooperation of large Utah families and the genealogical records generously made available to medical research by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the mid-1980’s, the Department of Human Genetics was established at the U. with Drs. Ray White and Ray Gesteland as co-chairs. White was the first in the world to apply a new technique of genetic mapping that sparked an era of rapid disease gene discovery. Among a long list of successes here in Utah were genes associated with colon cancer, retinoblastoma, neurofibromatosis, hypertension and cardiac disorders, just to name a few.

Expertise in disease gene identification attracted a steady stream of young clinicians to Utah, many of whom went on to eminent careers; for example, Richard Lifton is now President of Rockefeller University, and Mark Keating who was a Director at Novartis and Chief Scientific Officer at Yarrow Biotechnology.

With the advent of new modalities of disease gene identification, such as whole genome sequencing (WGS), Utah remained in the forefront of using genetics for personalized medicine. Lynn Jorde, of the Department of Human Genetics and his former student and colleague Michael Bamshad, now at the University of Washington — were the first to use WGS to identify disease genes in families. Their efforts were expanded by Joshua Bonkovsky and colleagues in a pilot program between the U. and Primary Children’s Hospital to use WGS on infants brought to the neonatal Intensive care unit, so that earlier diagnosis could lead to earlier treatment.

Beyond gene discovery, Utah has been a leader in other areas of basic science that have had significant impacts. Nobel Prize winner, Mario Capecchi, developed a method to make specific, targeted changes in the DNA of mice. His discoveries led to the generation of many thousands of novel strains of mice, some of them carrying mouse versions of human disease genes. Studies of these mice in labs around the world have led to insights into the resulting physiological deficits and to the development of treatment protocols for people.

Current genetic treatments offered at the U. include molecular therapies for spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Researchers at the Moran Eye Center have been at the forefront in studying age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in adults. After identifying genes responsible for AMD, doctors at Moran initiated a clinical study using gene therapy to treat and hopefully cure this disease.

We have cited a tiny percentage of the amazing achievements that have emerged from research in Utah, almost all of which were supported by long-term funding from NIH. While there are undoubtedly places in the NIH budget where sensible savings might be achieved, no justification has been given for the severe cuts that are now proposed.

Loss of the federal funding base for work such as we describe would devastate the people and institutions that generate these advancements in Utah and across the country for years, if not decades. Our hope is that by contacting our congressional legislators, we might effect changes that would prevent the devastating consequences of the proposed legislation.

Jerry Kaplan, Ph.D., joined the University of Utah faculty in 1980 and retired as an Emeritus Professor in 2017. He was a member of the Department of Pathology and an assistant dean for basic science at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Inspired by the climate of genetics in Utah he used research in the one-celled yeast organism to discover the basis for the human neurological/cardiac disorder called Friedreich’s Ataxia.

Dana Carroll, Ph.D., joined the University of Utah faculty in 1975 and retired in 2023 as former chair and distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry. He is considered a pioneer in the field of genome editing – a method of making targeted changes in DNA that is now dominated by the CRISPR technology, which has been extremely effective as a research tool and is currently being deployed in novel therapies for genetic diseases.

The views expressed in this op-ed belong to the authors and don’t necessarily reflect those of their former employers.

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JJ Peterka was on a golf trip in Spain with Utah Mammoth prospect Julian Lutz when he found out he’d been traded to Utah.

“We were pretty happy,” Peterka, who hails from Germany, told reporters of the exchange on Friday morning via a Zoom call.

Lutz and Maksymilian Szuber, another German prospect in Utah’s system, are the only Mammoth players Peterka is familiar with. The 23-year-old has spent his entire NHL career in Buffalo, and he’s only played one game at the Delta Center — but the new challenge excites him.

“Playing there once, just the atmosphere was great,” he said. “The fans felt, like, so tight and close to the ice. It’s going to be really exciting.”

“I think he was excited to know that he was going to our team,” said general manager Bill Armstrong the day after the trade. “I think he had done some studying on our club and he was excited about coming here.”

Back-to-back seasons in the 30-goal range with an 18-point increase year over year earned Peterka a five-year contract worth $7.7 million annually immediately upon being traded. He’s drawn significant criticism for his lack of defensive presence, but a deal like that indicates that the organization has faith that it can shape him into a two-way player.

How will Peterka fit in with the Utah Mammoth?

Peterka is best described as a dynamic threat with speed and an elite shot. He’s a new-school NHLer through and through. But he doesn’t feel that he’s hit his peak yet.

“I think there’s still a lot left, and that’s why I have to work hard every day,” he said.

Armstrong agreed.

“If you look at his points last year, he’s roughly around what (Logan) Cooley was last year, so he’s got an opportunity to come in and have an impact on our top two lines,” he said. “I think it’s something that he can grow into. It’s something that he’ll take baby steps in getting here and learning to play our system.”

Off the ice, Peterka described himself as a “super happy person” and a “funny guy” — which is exactly what the team lost when it sent Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan the other way in the trade.

He grew up in Munich — just north of the Alps, the biggest mountain range in Europe. Moving to Utah excites him because it will “feel like home.”

Another thing about Utah that appeals to Peterka is the commitment the organization has shown to building a top-tier team, both on and off the ice. On the ice, he was impressed by the atmosphere at the Delta Center when he played there in March. Off it, he’s excited for the new practice facility in Sandy, which is set to open Sept. 1.

He also mentioned the fit in terms of roster construction. Of the 15 U24 players who scored 60 points or more last season, three of them now play for Utah. And with five first-round picks looking to crack the roster in the next few years, they’re only poised to get better.

Where in the rebuild are the Utah Mammoth now?

Utah missed the playoffs by seven points last season. That’s equivalent to three and a half wins. With the amount of one-goal and overtime losses it suffered, the team was realistically one good scorer away from the postseason.

If Peterka can be that guy, while Cooley and Dylan Guenther take additional steps forward, there’s no reason the team shouldn’t make it next year.

That said, Armstrong is not letting himself get sucked into the belief that Utah is only a piece or two away from the Stanley Cup. That’s why he didn’t pursue any of the big names in free agency, despite the constant reports from national outlets to the contrary.

“A lot of times, you see teams on the front of The Hockey News: They win the summer, but they don’t win in the winter,” he said. “We don’t want to be that team. We want to be built properly for the long run.”

Gathering a core of similar-aged, elite, young players is the name of the game. Peterka fits that perfectly. When those guys (along with a few prospects who project to be NHL-ready in the next few years) achieve their full potential, that’s when Armstrong will take big swings in free agency.