Dear colleague: 

Don Elliman, chancellor of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, was named the Denver Business Journal’s top business newsmaker in the healthcare category. The Power Book 2016, published on Sept. 23, says Don has used surgical precision “to turn the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in to the beating heart of Denver’s health-care scene.” Specific accomplishments listed in the article are the reconfiguration of the tech-transfer operation into CU Innovations and the opening of the National Behavioral Health Innovation Center. We benefit greatly by having Don singularly focused on leading our campus and with characteristic graciousness, he credits others for the successes of the campus. As the chancellor says in his emails about campus activities, “We’re better together.” 

Lilly Marks, vice president for health affairs for the University of Colorado and formerly executive vice chancellor for the Anschutz Medical Campus, was named chair of the board of directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), a nonprofit for leaders of academic health centers, at the group’s annual meeting last week. AAHC aims to enhance the ability of its members to educate the next generation of health professionals, conduct biomedical research, and provide patient care. In announcing Lilly’s election, Steven A. Wartman, MD, PhD, president and CEO of AAHC, said “Ms. Marks is an outstanding academic health center leader recognized for her thoughtful business acumen, facilitative methodologies, and acute insights.” Lilly’s contributions to making Anschutz Medical Campus the great place it is are immense and the AAHC is fortunate to have her as board chair. 

David Goff, Jr., MD, PhD, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, since June 2012 has announced that he plans to step down to become director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences for the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. His last day on campus will be Nov. 18. University Provost Roderick Nairn, PhD, announced that the University, working with Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado, our partners in the Colorado School of Public Health, will name an interim dean and then launch a national search for a permanent replacement. I have enjoyed working with David and wish him continued success. 

StartUp Health announced last week it had launched StartUp Health Colorado to help commercialize at least 30 entrepreneurial ventures from the Anschutz Medical Campus over the next three years. Working with CU Innovations, StartUp Health will work with the University, Children’s Hospital Colorado and UCHealth to promote entrepreneurial ventures from our campus. Entrepreneurs selected to join StartUp Health Colorado will be invited to participate in a lifetime coaching program, will have access to funding and the opportunity to network with over 30,000 industry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs. 

Last Wednesday evening, I attended the opening dinner for the national conference, “Sex Differences Across the Lifespan: A Focus on Metabolism,” sponsored by our Center for Women’s Health Research in partnership with the Society for Women's Health Research. This conference featured many School of Medicine faculty in talks and poster presentations and builds upon our strong program in women’s health research. The center was established in 2004 to do research on women’s health and sex differences, particularly in cardiovascular health and diabetes. Under the leadership of Judy Regensteiner, PhD, the center has grown to include more than 50 researchers who are making scientific breakthroughs that will improve health and quality of life for generations to come. 

The Dean’s Office has purchased a license for Canopy, an online course to help students of the School of Medicine learn medical Spanish. For more information, contact Helen Macfarlane, director of educational technology for the School of Medicine. 

Investigators who are involved in child health human subject research at Children’s Hospital Colorado should have received an email last Friday from Jena Hausmann, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, and me that asks for your participation in a survey to gauge your satisfaction with current research administrative processes and support. The message includes a link to the survey, which should take about 15 minutes to complete. Respondents to the survey will be anonymous. If you do not conduct research at Children’s Hospital Colorado, please do not complete this survey. There are separate initiatives directed at other areas of the research enterprise, and communications related to those initiatives will be distributed as appropriate. After completing this survey, participants will be redirected to another site to be entered into a drawing for two club-level tickets to the Jan. 1 Denver Broncos game against the Oakland Raiders. The survey will be conducted through Friday, Oct. 21, and I encourage you to participate. To qualify for the tickets, you must complete the survey by Friday, Oct. 14. 

There will be series of presentations on campus in the coming weeks on data analytics and its importance to the future of patient care, research and education. The first session, “Analytics in Decision-Making: An Introduction,” at noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the Krugman Conference Hall, will feature David Kao, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology, and Amos Bailey, MD, professor of medicine and director of the master of science in palliative care and palliative care certificate programs. This workshop will cover definitions, concepts and examples, including work here on the Anschutz Medical Campus. Future sessions are “Research with Patient ‘Big Data’” on Oct. 11 in the Library Reading Room, “Learners, Learning, Life & Analytics” on Oct. 18 in the Library Reading Room and “Personalized Medicine” on Nov. 1 in Fulginiti Pavilion. Registration and further details about each workshop are posted on the Faculty Development website. Everyone on campus is invited to attend. 

On Saturday evening, hundreds of people gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Colorado Convention Center for the Children’s Hospital Colorado gala, raising more than $2.1 million to support patients. While Big Head Todd and the Monsters were the headline performers at the sold-out event, 9News anchor and reporter Cheryl Preheim and her family were the stars with a testimonial about the compassionate care her six-year-old son, Joshua, received for a congenital heart defect in 2015. Just days after Joshua’s surgery, Cheryl was told her unborn baby had kidney problems and would also need intensive medical care as soon as he was born. Today, due to the excellent care from the outstanding faculty and staff at Children’s Hospital Colorado, both boys are thriving and they are models for Joshua’s motto, “Brave Conquers Fear.” 

Have a good week, 

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