Dean's Weekly Message

January 5, 2026

Dear Colleague: 

ASCEND Launches
A new campuswide effort to boost cell and gene therapy clinical trials launches today.

ASCEND (Accelerating Solutions for Cell & Gene Therapy Evaluation and Novel Delivery) unites expertise across CU Anschutz and our clinical partners. This initiative is based in the School of Medicine Research office led by Adit Ginde, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, and it represents a shared commitment to building a centralized, strategic, and harmonized approach to cell and gene therapy clinical research at CU Anschutz.

Cell and gene therapy is advancing rapidly, and CU Anschutz is uniquely positioned to lead nationally. ASCEND strengthens our ability to deliver safe, high-quality, innovative trials by:

• Improving speed, safety, and consistency across the lifecycle of cell and gene therapy studies.
• Creating shared infrastructure and reducing duplication of effort across departments.
• Facilitating smoother coordination with key partners:  
  • UCHealth for adult trials 
  • Children’s Hospital Colorado, where pediatric trials will continue to use the ExACT pathway, with ASCEND coordinating closely to ensure alignment 
  • The Gates Institute, whose scientific and translational leadership is a central pillar of this work  
• Supporting industry partnerships and expanding opportunities for next generation CGT technologies. 

ASCEND is intentionally designed to enhance efficiency—not add administrative complexity. It will provide a single, streamlined pathway for intake, feasibility assessment, contracting, study initiation, implementation support, and long-term follow-up for qualifying cell and gene therapy studies.

Researchers planning to conduct a clinical trial with gene-modified or cellular therapies, as well as in-vivo genome-modifying therapies, should complete the ASCEND Intake Form to begin a conversation with the ASCEND team. This should be done prior to submitting a study in the Human Subjects Research Portal.  

Contact the team at [email protected] to learn more about the initiative and what cell and gene therapies qualify for inclusion on ASCEND’s Intranet page. A webinar Q&A session will soon be posted that will walk investigators and study teams through the new process and answer questions. 

ASCEND is a collaboration among the School of Medicine Dean’s Office, Office of Research, UCHealth, Children’s Hospital Colorado, the Gates Institute, CU Innovations, CPC Clinical Research, and clinical trial units across multiple departments.

John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine