Dean's Weekly Message

Children’s Hospital Colorado cut the ribbon on Wednesday, July 17, to celebrate the opening of its new hospital in Colorado Springs and the hospital is off to a fast start in meeting the needs of the community in southern Colorado. At the CU Medicine board meeting last Tuesday, Michael Narkewicz, MD, professor of pediatrics, reported that the hospital was at 75 percent capacity since opening its doors in recent weeks. News reports, including an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette and a feature on Fox21, also have highlighted how the hospital extends the reach of the high-quality care that is delivered by our partners and faculty here on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Children’s Hospital Colorado was recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best pediatric hospitals in the United States, ranking for the first time in the top 20 in all 10 specialty areas reviewed by the magazine. The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings highlight the top U.S. pediatric facilities in cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery, and urology. Congratulations and thank you to all, including our faculty and staff, who provide the care that makes such a difference.

Congratulations to the Department of Neurology and our School faculty on achieving for the University the designation of a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, which is a highly respected and sought-after label in the field of movement disorders. Centers are required to meet rigorous clinical, research, professional education, and patient care standards. There are about 30 centers of excellence in the country. Ours is led by Lauren Seeberger, MD, associate professor of neurology and director of the University of Colorado Movement Disorders Center.

The Sprout Foundation has made a $2.1 million commitment to establish the Sprout Foundation Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Center of Excellence Funds at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. The Sprout Foundation is funded by Suzanne and Bob Fanch, who are joined in supporting the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Center by Wagner Schorr, MD ’63 and Annalee Shorr, and Diane Wallach and Marshall Wallach. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a group of disorders that affect connective tissues supporting the skin, bones, blood vessels, and many other organs and tissues. Ellen Roy Elias, MD, professor of pediatrics and medical director of the Special Care Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado, and Dennis Roop, PhD, professor of dermatology and director of the Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine, are building a comprehensive center offering coordinated patient care and leading the development of future treatments. This gift provides $1.97 million to support research at the Gates Center and $130,000 will create a multidisciplinary clinic for EDS patients and support EDS education initiatives across the lifespan. We thank the Fanches, Schorrs, and Wallachs for their ongoing support of the School and those we serve.

Joyce M. and Richard N. Brown and the Richard N. Brown Family Foundation have committed $2 million to create the Joyce M. Brown Chair for Developmental Therapeutics in Women’s Cancers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. The Browns established the chair in gratitude for the personalized, compassionate care that Joyce received at the CU Cancer Center from Jennifer Diamond, MD, associate professor of medicine and founder and co-director of the Women’s Cancer Developmental Therapeutics Program. Jennifer has been appointed the first Joyce M. Brown Chair for Developmental Therapeutics in Women’s Cancers.

The Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) recently announced its 2020 Request for Applications for two pilot programs: Colorado Pilot Program and the Child and Maternal Health Pilot Program. These programs will provide a total of about $700,000 in awards for pilot research. Last year, more than 20 awards were made. Full information for the pilot programs is posted on the CCTSI Funding Opportunities webpage. All applicants must submit an “Intent to Apply” letter by Tuesday, September 3. For specific details about each program, go to the Colorado “CO-Pilot” Program and Child and Maternal Health “CMH-Pilot” Program websites. Contact CCTSI Administrative Director Tim Lockie with any questions.

You are invited to the annual research poster presentations by undergraduate students participating in the Colorado Undergraduate Summer Program, which draws students from across the country, and by emerging second-year medical students from the Department of Medicine Research and Equity in Academic Medicine (DREAM) Program. Poster presentations will be from 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Monday, July 29, on the first floor of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

A special thank you to Jonathan Radin, MBA, director of clinical strategy and program development for the Department of Surgery, for organizing the CU Medicine Cyclers team that rode the Courage Classic this past weekend to support Children’s Hospital Colorado. Our team raised more than $17,000. This year’s Courage Classic raised more than $3 million. The routes started and ended in Copper Mountain and more than 2,000 riders participated.

Have a good week,

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine