April 2017

Dear friends,

From its humble origins as a decommissioned Army base, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus has grown rapidly since 2000 into one of the newest, most innovative academic medical campuses in the country. Just nine years ago, our hospital partners — University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado — welcomed their first inpatients on campus. Staffed by CU faculty doctors, both now rank among the country’s best (U.S. News & World Report, 2017). The first medical students arrived on the CU Anschutz campus only eight years ago. Today, more than 4,300 students pursue degrees through our six schools and colleges, and graduate ready to launch careers in the health care workforce.
 
Our rate of growth has been increasing exponentially in recent years. I’m writing today with an update on some of the exciting things currently happening on campus.​

Sharing our latest findings with you

Health affects everyone. To share some of the promising work taking place on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus today with our community, we have developed a lecture series, open to the public, on timely health issues and emerging developments for the future of health care. Lectures in the Transforming Health Care series so far have covered personalized medicine, mental health care, the future of cancer treatments and Alzheimer’s research. Upcoming lectures include: Teaching Our Bodies to Heal Themselves (Tuesday, April 25) and Rewriting the Rules of Cancer Treatment and Care (Tuesday, May 30), as well as two in the fall, on opioid addiction and health entrepreneurship, at dates to be determined. Learn more about these events and register to attend.

Attracting some of the world's best minds in medicine and health

At CU Anschutz, we have prioritized the attraction and retention of great talent – and it’s working. Inspired by our rapid ascent, innovative mindset and our position as an elite metropolitan academic medical center with room to grow, more than 300 new faculty joined our campus last year alone. For example, we recently recruited two of the world’s top living-donor transplant surgeons –Elizabeth Pomfret and James Pomposelli – from Boston’s Lahey Hospital and Medical Center. And in February, Peter Kauffman, a clinic trials expert from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, DC, joined our College of Nursing as its new associate dean of research and scholarship. These are just a few examples of the many who are joining our accomplished (and, increasingly, nationally and internationally recognized) faculty.​

Connecting campus research with private industry

Our history of innovation has led to important patents, powerful companies and discoveries that improve lives. CU Innovations is a new approach to technology transfer that is helping us capitalize on our deeply rooted entrepreneurial spirit by connecting CU Anschutz inventors and innovators with industry partners who can take their breakthroughs to market. Launched last year, CU Innovations is partnering with New York City-based Startup Health to bring start-up companies and potential partners in technology development to campus. 

​Expanding campus transportation options

It’s now possible to get from campus to the airport, downtown Denver, and all around the metro area on convenient public transportation. The RTD R-line, which connects Aurora's Nine Mile Station with the A-Line to the Airport, opened in February.  The R-Line stops twice near the CU Anschutz Medical Campus: Colfax Station, to the east of campus at Colfax Avenue and I-225, and Fitzsimons Station, north of campus at Fitzsimons Parkway and Ursula Street. A free campus shuttle bus provides transportation from Fitzsimons Station to a number of stops around campus. With 55,000 people traveling to campus daily on a street grid originally built for fewer than 6,000, I’m excited and hopeful that the new light rail and campus shuttle options will make it easier to get to and around our campus.​

At CU Anschutz, we’re proud of our work pushing the boundaries of medical research and patient care while educating the health care workforce of tomorrow, and we’re happy to share our latest initiatives with you. Please feel free to share this e-newsletter with others who may have an interest.​