Dr. Michael Holers is the Smyth Professor of Rheumatology and Director of Faculty Ventures at CU Innovations, where he serves as a contact and liaison for faculty and trainees interested in moving their discoveries into a pathway that will potentially lead to patient impact. In that role, he works individually and at the organizational level to advance innovative ideas. 

Dr. Holers is a highly recognized academic physician scientist at the Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC). In addition to his many academic roles, he has over two decades of experience in technology transfer and commercialization. In those areas, Dr. Holers has co-founded four companies in which discoveries in his own and his collaborators’ laboratories were further developed and evaluated in real world settings, including two therapeutics programs that have previously or currently reached human clinical trials. He was named in 2004 Inventor of the Year for the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. 

Prior to joining CU Innovations for his current position, Dr. Holers was the Division Head of Rheumatology at the AMC and over 21 years built a world class group of clinicians, researchers and educators. His research has historically and continues to be focused on the role of the complement system, a key component of innate immunity, in the immune response and as a causal role in tissue damage in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In addition, he co-founded in 2002 SERA (Studies of the Etiologies of Rheumatoid Arthritis), a collaborative group of scientists focused on determining why individuals develop RA and identifying novel pathways for treatment and disease prevention. From these two areas of research, a number of new therapeutic approaches have been developed. 

In recognition of his work, Dr. Holers has given many named lectureships, is a member of ASCI and AAP, and was given the singular 2008 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Basic Research Award. He has undertaken many leadership roles within the ACR and recently served as President of the ACR Rheumatology Research Foundation, which is focused on supporting training and research through grants to individuals working in the fields of rheumatology and autoimmunity.