Dear colleague: 

The Department of Surgery announced last week that Elizabeth Pomfret, MD, PhD, has been named the chief of transplant surgery at University of Colorado Hospital. Elizabeth comes to the University of Colorado School of Medicine and University of Colorado Hospital from the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, formerly known as the Lahey Clinic, a teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. At Lahey, she built the world’s largest living donor program with some of the most successful outcomes in the country. We are fortunate to have Elizabeth joining us here on the Anschutz Medical Campus, where she succeeds Igal Kam, MD, who has led one of the best transplant programs in the country, giving life to thousands of patients and training generations of surgeons. Also joining our faculty will be Elizabeth’s spouse, James Pomposelli, MD, PhD, who is surgical director of transplantation at the Lahey Hospital and Medical Center. Please join me in welcoming them to the Anschutz Medical Campus. 

Funeral services for Qinghong Zhang, PhD, associate professor of dermatology, are scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, March 19, at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave., Aurora. We offer condolences to her family and friends. 

Two of the programs receiving Transformational Research Funding made presentations to the Faculty Senate last Tuesday. Sean Colgan, PhD, professor of medicine and immunology and vice chair of research for the Department of Medicine, outlined a plan to create the GI and Liver Innate Immune Program, the nation’s first digestive disease center that is focused on innate immunity. It is estimated that gastrointestinal and liver-related diseases account for some of the fastest-growing diseases in our society. Colgan is one of the leaders of the GI and Liver Innate Immune Program. Timothy McKinsey, PhD, associate professor of medicine and associate division head for translational research in the Division of Cardiology, explained his team’s plan to establish a Fibrosis Research and Translation program that unites investigators in studying the causes and treatment of fibrotic diseases across organ systems. These are very promising areas of scientific endeavor that will improve the quality of life for patients and our community. We look forward to presentations by the other recipients of funding and we’ll be updating the School’s website to track the progress of these and the other programs. 

Neil Krauss, director of initiatives and outreach for the Chancellor’s Office, announced at the Faculty Senate meeting that a new parking lot will be built on land directly south of the Henderson Parking Structure. The site will have parking spaces for about 190 vehicles and is expected to be completed by the end of the summer. 

The School of Medicine on Wednesday, March 9, celebrated the establishment of the Mats Wahlstrom Endowed Chair in Nephrology. The initial recipient of the chair is Michel Chonchol, MD,  director of the end stage renal disease program in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension in the Department of Medicine. We are grateful for this generous support, which recognizes and encourages Michel’s outstanding work. 

Match Day is Friday, March 18, and for those who cannot attend the ceremony, the School of Medicine is again offering an online live stream that will allow our students to share their news with friends and family. It is a momentous day in the lives of our graduating medical students and we pleased to continue to offer this popular service. 

Have a good week, 

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