Dear colleague: 

The University of Colorado announced last week that private support reached a record $440.4 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, an increase of $54.1 million from the previous year. Some 54,400 donors – individuals, foundations and corporations – made 72,370 gifts to support student scholarships, facilities, research and more across the university. The Anschutz Medical Campus was the recipient of more than half of that support, receiving $253.8 million. In his announcement, President Bruce Benson highlighted gifts from philanthropist Sue Anschutz-Rodgers to support innovations in ophthalmology. The University has named the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center program in gratitude for her contributions. Our campus has been fortunate to receive so much generous support from so many contributors. This past year, about 9,000 supporters, including many of our own faculty, staff, and alumni, have contributed to support the extraordinary work you do here. We are grateful for the support from the community and we are focused on living up to their confidence in our work. 

The Colorado Undergraduate Summer Program (CUSP) hosted its annual summer research presentation on Wednesday, August 1. This year’s CUSP class included 17 students from Yale, Princeton, Williams, Notre Dame, Oregon, Brown, Middlebury, Southern California, Montana State, Bates, Northwestern-St. Paul, Metropolitan State and Colorado universities and colleges. The program, which is led by John E. Repine, MD, director of the Webb-Waring Center, is intended to offer students, particularly those from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine, an opportunity to see that conducting research can be a valuable way to learn medicine. This year, 120 students from 24 colleges and universities applied to participate in CUSP. In addition to the CUSP students, presentations were made by seven students in a program supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and led by Jared Brown, PhD, associate professor of toxicology at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and by eight medical students who participate in the Department of Medicine Research and Equity in Academic Medicine (DREAM) Program, which is also directed by John Repine. 

The Office of Medical Education is searching for a director of the Academy of Medical Educators (AME).  The responsibilities of this role include managing and enhancing AME, and this position will oversee all operational aspects of the program. The time associated with this position is 0.15 FTE, and the full job description is posted online.  To apply, those interested should submit a letter of interest and current CV to Linh Nguyen (linh.t.nguyen@ucdenver.edu) by Tuesday, September 4. 

This Friday, August 10, is the White Coat Ceremony, when the 184 medical students in the Class of 2022 become official members of our School of Medicine and Anschutz Medical Campus community. The event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Boettcher Commons south of the Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities. We welcomed the Class of 2022 to campus with orientation events that began last week. 

There were three media reports in the past week about work by our faculty that merit attention because they demonstrate the importance of your work to our patients and our community. These reports also show the critical value of academic medicine in providing the best clinical care, rooted deeply in research, and designed to make improvements to the quality of life for those who depend on us. 

First, U.S. News & World Report provided an overview of the Anschutz Medical Campus programs that are specifically designed to provide care to military veterans. These include the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic, which provides confidential behavioral health services at low or no cost to veterans, the Marcus Institute for Brain Health for veterans with mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries, and the CU Heroes Clinic, providing dental care to veterans free of charge. 

Second, CNN aired a segment about the consequences of limiting kidney dialysis for undocumented immigrants to an emergency-only basis. As a result, some people who would benefit from regularly scheduled dialysis treatments are forced to wait for care until they are so sick they have toxic levels of potassium in their bodies and other severe health problems. Lilia Cervantes, MD, associate professor of medicine and a hospitalist at Denver Health, has dedicated substantial effort to researching the economic toll and emotional costs of this practice and she is featured in that report. 

Third, 5280 released its annual list of Top Docs and, as usual, about half of the listed physicians are School of Medicine faculty. The cover of the August 2018 issue also calls attention to the comprehensive care our providers give to pediatric cancer patients. Of particular note, the magazine called attention to the School’s investment in the Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative and the recruitment this year of Terry Fry, MD, from the National Cancer Institute to the Anschutz Medical Campus. 

Each of these reports shows how our clinical care, research, and educational missions are all tied to service to our community. Thank you to all for the outstanding work you do. 

Have a good week,

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