FALL 2018 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CUMEDICINE today CellSight Using stem cells to prevent and cure blindness 8 New Cancer Center Director 14 To Mars via Utah 16 Sparking Innovation 22 Volume 31 l Issue 2 CONTENTS Restoring Vision, Page 8 Cover photo: The CellSight team. At left: Valeria Canto-Soler, PhD, directs CellSight, a collaborative of scientists working with human retinas derived from stem cells. Photos by Trevr Merchant. 1 Letter from the Dean 16 Faculty Profile A mission to Mars 2 In the News through the Utah desert 4 Q&A 19 Education Psychiatry chair connects Campus program encourages hormones, behavioral health grade-schoolers to study science Research with a Nobel Prize winner, page 12 6 Community 20 Clinical Care Anschutz gift is largest Lung transplant patient in campus history overcomes long odds 8 Research 22 Community Stem cell program for SPARK Colorado nurtures saving, restoring sight academic innovation 12 Education 24 Alumni Corner MD/PhD student works with Training for medicine on Mars, page 16 Nobel Prize winner 26 Peaks 13 Research Researcher takes aim at 28 Student Voice at rare genetic disorder Poem by Judas Kelley 14 Faculty Profile 29 Faculty Matters New CU Cancer Center Caring for a patient director outlines plans with a DNR tattoo Breathing better after lung transplant, page 20 CU MEDICINE TODAY OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS EDITOR WEB CONTENT is published twice a year by the University of Colorado School of 13001 E. 17th Pl., Mailstop A080 Mark Couch Tonia Twichell Medicine. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are Aurora, CO 80045 Chief of Staff not necessarily those of the University of Colorado, the School of Director of Communications WRITERS E-mail: [email protected] Medicine or the Medical Alumni Association. Contributions to Cigdem H. Benam, PhD 303-724-2518/877-HSC-ALUM support this effort are welcome and appreciated. PHOTOGRAPHY Jackie Glover, PhD www.ucdenver.edu/healthalumni Glenn Asakawa Judas Kelley Trevr Merchant Trisha Kendall SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Devin Lynn John J.Reilly, Jr., MD, PRODUCTION Lisa Marshall Dean; Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, CU Printing Services Todd Neff University of Colorado Tyler Smith Tonia Twichell LETTER FROM THE DEAN Our Shared Vision This summer, the University of Colorado We have invested in new leadership at the Anschutz Medical Campus received the CU Cancer Center, with Richard Schulick, largest gift in its history when The Anschutz MD, MBA, chair of surgery, taking on those Foundation and its chairman, Philip responsibilities. His efforts will focus on Anschutz, committed $120 million in expanding access to care and building a support of key initiatives that will define clinical trials infrastructure able to extend the future of healthcare. new treatments to more people. The steadfast support of The Anschutz Each of these new leaders has outlined plans Foundation has been key to our success in that will improve the quality and boost the building a new campus for the University’s availability of care in those critical areas. The health professional schools and our partner vitality of our campus depends on sustained hospitals. attention to meeting the needs of our patients, students, and community. At the dawn of the 21st Century, with support from Mr. Anschutz and The Anschutz As those and other efforts take shape, it’s Foundation, we embarked on a 40-year plan to important to recognize that this gift is a vote turn the moribund Fitzsimons Army Medical of confidence in the hard work and leadership Center site into a vibrant home for healthcare of the talented faculty already on the innovation and medical care. That vision was Anschutz Medical Campus making Innovations created by our faculty are accomplished in just 12 years. remarkable contributions. spurring growth in the Fitzsimons Innovation Community, adjacent to the Anschutz Medical Now, with this additional commitment, For the year ending in June 2018, researchers Campus and home to offices, labs, and a we are poised to strengthen our programs on campus received more than $516.2 million biomanufacturing facility that can make cell- with strategic recruitments of faculty, with in government and private support for scientific based therapies meeting the highest standards. investments in research programs that will investigations by the campus faculty. Of that Last spring, developers broke ground on have major impact, and with support for efforts amount, the CU School of Medicine researchers Bioscience 3, scheduled for completion to turn discoveries into innovations that will were awarded $426.1 million. next year and there already plans for future improve the health of those well beyond the construction. borders of our campus in Aurora. Our educational programs are receiving a record number of applications. For the MD We are grateful for Mr. Anschutz’s boundless It is now our mission to turn the campus we’ve class of 2022 that matriculated in August, the generosity, inspired by his unwavering support, built from a point of pride in Colorado into a School of Medicine received 7,347 primary mindful of the responsibility that comes with it, medical destination for those seeking care from applications and our admissions team reviewed and committed to the shared vision of making across the country and around the world. 4,845 secondary applications and interviewed our community the destination for all who seek 642 applicants for the 184 students joining us the best medical care. This gift has already has enabled several on campus. valuable investments by our School. The demand for clinical care from our faculty We have recruited a new chair for the physicians continues to grow. Both hospitals With warm regards, Department of Psychiatry, C. Neill Epperson, on our campus – the UCHealth University of MD, who will help us better integrate Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital behavioral health into the scope of care Colorado – are routinely near capacity because we provide to all patients. they offer the highest-quality care in the John J. Reilly, Jr., MD region. Both hospitals are ranked among the We have begun planning for a new Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair best in the country. The clinical work by our building that will house initiatives for Dean, School of Medicine faculty remains a source of strength and a solid mental health, personalized medicine, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs foundation for other endeavors on our campus. and translational science. University of Colorado FALL 2018 | 1 IN THE NEWS Reporters locally and nationally turn to the School of Medicine for expertise and research news. Here are examples from near and far. Jessica Cataldi, MD, assistant professor of Eric Campbell, PhD, director of research at pediatrics, was quoted in the Denver Post in the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities, September about her study that found parents discussed the public perception of value schools with higher vaccination rates pharmaceutical companies with STAT in May. because they want their children in a healthy “It appears to me that from examining these environment. “Even those parents that have slides, Novartis leadership may have failed some concerns about vaccines still thought it to fully recognize where the company stands was important,” she said. in terms of its reputation,” he said, noting a Gallup poll last year found the pharmaceutical Lilia Cervantes, MD, associate professor of industry ranked last among 24 industries in the medicine, was featured in a report on CNN in eyes of Americans who were surveyed. August about the disparity in care provided to undocumented immigrants who need Marian Betz, MD, associate professor of hemodialysis. She discussed how a patient’s emergency medicine, talked to the Los Angeles Jessica Cataldi, MD death inspired her research. “After Hilda passed Times in May about issues related to gun safety away, I looked at the literature, and I found and the elderly. “It’s not about us vs. them, or one article that was particularly interesting,” taking away people’s guns. It’s about us helping “The vast majority of kids with asthma, if we she said. “And in it, [the author] discussed this people make choices in the interest of safety,” treat them appropriately and they take their issue of emergency-only hemodialysis and said she said. “It would be awesome if all our older medications, they can do whatever they like,” that until we have the right research, the cost- patients would think ahead about where and she said. “I like to remind families we have effectiveness analysis, the comparative analyses, when and how they would hang up their keys Olympic athletes” with asthma. to demonstrate that this type of care needs to and or safeguard their guns. Most of us don’t change, that potentially we wouldn’t change it do that because we’re human. But we can try.” Elizabeth Pomfret, MD, PhD, professor until the right data are available. And so that’s of surgery, was quoted in May in a segment when I set off to really begin to build the body Joshua Williams, MD, assistant professor for CBS This Morning, about a woman who of research.” of pediatrics, who was part of a team that donated part of her liver after previously published the first paper on vape injuries in donating a kidney to help improve the health Jean Mulcahy Levy, MD, assistant professor children after he treated a 17-year-old who of people she didn’t know. “There’s very few of pediatrics, talked with 9News, the Denver- lost a large piece of his thumb to an exploding people in the world who have donated part based NBC affiliate, about providing care for vape pen, was quoted in May in the Tampa of their liver and a kidney,” Pomfret said.