Dean's Weekly Message
October 28, 2019
Dear colleague:
Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center donated $250,000 to the Anschutz Medical Campus on Monday, October 21. All campus schools, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, and Children’s Hospital Colorado receive a portion of the gift, which has accrued since May 2016 in a foundation established by the hotel to support our campus. The foundation’s proceeds are from a percentage of food and beverage sales, along with $10 per room night booked through a special campus rate. J. Landis Martin, who is a co-owner of the hotel, presented the gift to campus leaders on Monday morning. We look forward to using our portion to support student scholarships.
The Department of Pediatrics hosted a new faculty dinner last Wednesday, October 23, in the Children’s Hospital Colorado Conference Center. More than 100 new CU School of Medicine faculty members were welcomed to key programs focused on providing care to children. Faculty joined all sections of the department, with the largest groups in emergency medicine and hospital medicine. Thank you to all the new faculty members who attended and to those who welcomed them to the School of Medicine.
ImmunoMolecular Therapeutics, a clinical stage company founded by physician scientists from the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, announced earlier this month that it has raised $10 million in financing to advance its effort to develop a drug for treating type 1 diabetes. The company was founded by Peter Gottlieb, MD, professor of pediatrics, and Aaron Michels, MD, associate professor of pediatrics. Their research has shown that blocking action of certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variants known to be high risk factors blocks corresponding autoimmune response. The funding was co-led by JDRF T1D Fund and Morningside Ventures, with participation from the Colorado University Healthcare Innovation Fund.
Chancellor Don Elliman will present the annual State of the Campus Address at 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 30, in Hensel Phelps West Auditorium, Research 1 North. All faculty, staff, and students are invited. An audience Q&A will follow the talk.
Randall Clark, MD, professor of anesthesiology, was elected first vice president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) at the society’s annual meeting in Orlando last week. He will become ASA president in 2021. Founded in 1905, the ASA is an educational, research, and scientific society with more than 53,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. Leadership in professional societies is an important measure of accomplishment for our faculty and recognition for our medical school.
The School of Medicine Office of Medical Education is seeking 11 content directors and nine course directors to create and implement integrated science content for the new Trek curriculum beginning in August 2021. These positions will start at 0.1 FTE and will increase to 0.2 FTE on Jan. 1, 2021. The job descriptions are available online: Course Director and Content Director. To apply, submit a cover letter and CV to Deborah Stevens, deborah.stevens@cuanschutz.edu, no later than Friday, November 22.
The School of Medicine is seeking nominations for the 2020 Medical Alumni Association Awards. Each year, the association recognizes alumni for service and commitment to the practice of medicine with the Silver and Gold Award, Distinguished Achievement Award, Humanitarian Award, and the Richard Krugman Award for Distinguished Service. Submit nominations and find more information on the Medical Alumni Association Awards webpage or contact the Office of Alumni Relations at healthalumni@cuanschutz.edu. Nominations are due Saturday, November 30.
Have a good week,
John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine
The Dean’s weekly message is an email news bulletin from John J. Reilly, Jr., MD, Dean of the CU School of Medicine, that is distributed to inform University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty members, staff, students and others about issues pertaining to the School’s mission of education, research, clinical care and community service. For clinical news and patient stories from UCHealth, please visit UCHealth Today
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