REFLECTING ON A TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR

What a year! If you appreciate the value of stirring the pot, engaging with top talent and embracing robust challenges, then you will also be excited about happenings at the Gates Institute.

After months of work, planning and increased funding, the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine evolved into the Gates Institute. The change became quietly official on January 1, 2023, but it was a transition based on positive momentum, built on years of great foundational work under the leadership of Dennis Roop, PhD, continuing the strong financial and strategic partnership with the University of Colorado, and inspired by doing things a bit differently. The Gates Institute intends to blend the best of the academic world with a responsive targeted business model—all designed to get cures to patients as quickly and safely as possible. Positive outcomes are always driven by the right people who share the same vision and set of values, and the Gates Institute is packed with talent at all levels. Add great leadership at the top as Terry Fry, MD, takes the reins, and the future is bright indeed.

Sadly, not all changes are happy ones. John Gates, my brother and co-trustee of the Gates Frontiers Fund and ardent Gates supporter from the beginning, passed away peacefully at home in March 2023, after a long illness. To the end, he was excited about the potential for regenerative medicine and cell therapies, delighted with Dennis Roop’s assumption of the John S. Gates Endowed Chair in Stem Cell Biology, and always positive that good science and entrepreneurial spirit can solve many of the problems facing society today.

Sadly, we also lost Tim Gardner this winter after his own valiant two-year battle with cancer. But the work at Gates and elsewhere to crack the code on terrible diseases is what we do. We will be relentless pursuing what we do best—not trying to do everything—but targeting high potential research and clinical trials in our areas of strength. The tipping point is here for the Gates Institute, and the future is promising.

Thank you for your support and interest as the adventure continues,

Diane Gates Wallach Gates Frontiers Fund