Salt Lake City: Livability in the 21st Century

Besides making innovative strides forward in genetics,
the University of Utah is also celebrating new facilities
to help researchers and clinicians in other fields
of science.
In 2013 the University of Utah also unveiled its breathtakingly
beautiful new pharmacy building and broke
ground on the country’s first new dental school in almost
forty years.
The pharmacy building, named in honor of L. S. “Sam”
Skaggs, stands as a tribute to Skaggs’ dedication to scientific
discovery and many years of friendship to the University’s
College of Pharmacy. A businessman and philanthropist
who revolutionized U.S. shopping habits and led one of
the country’s largest food and drugstore chains, American
Stores, Skaggs and charitable organizations he created
donated more than $50 million to help construct the
150,000 square foot Institute.
The School of Dentistry is a similarly impressive building.
Anticipated for completion in 2014, the $30 million school
is possible because of donations from Ray and Tye Noorda
and their children. The nearly 80,000 square foot building in
the university’s Research Park will provide state-of-the-art
lab and classroom facilities, administrative and faculty
offices, and a dental clinic.
More growth is on the horizon as new projects—which
will undoubtedly be home to future groundbreaking
discoveries—find roots at the University of Utah.
Interesting achievements from University of Utah
Health Sciences:
• The University Health Systems Consortium has ranked
the University of Utah in the top ten in the nation in
quality among 110 academic medical centers.
• For twenty years running, U.S. News & World Report
has ranked the University of Utah as one of the top
performing health systems in the country.
• In 2013, Consumer Reports named the University of Utah
number ten in the nation for quality and safety, among
450 academic medical centers.
• In 2013, Becker’s Hospital Review named the University of
Utah one of 100 “Great Hospitals in America.”
• The field of biomedical informatics was developed at
the University of Utah. The Department of Biomedical
Informatics was created in 1964. It was the first in the
nation and today remains one of the most renowned
programs of its kind in the world.
• In 1970, University Hospital established the first
cerebrovascular disease unit in the U.S. west of the
Mississippi River.
• On December 1, 1982, the first artificial heart implant
was performed at the University of Utah.
• Utah is known throughout the world as a leader in
the study of human genetics. The school has
been involved in some of the most valuable research
in field, such as the sequencing of the tumor
suppressor genes responsible for breast cancer in
the 1990s.
• WebPath, the world’s most popular pathology education
website, was created in 1994 by Edward C. Klatt, a
professor in the Department of Pathology at the time.
• Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) is a certification
course created at the University of Utah in 1997.
AWLS is the gold standard program—both nationally
and internationally—for teaching management of
medical emergencies in wilderness situations.
• The John A. Moran Eye Center annually ranks among
national leaders in research grants from the National
Institutes of Health.
• From 2000 to 2012, the residency training program in
diagnostic radiology has been ranked No. 1 in the world
by the American Board of Radiology.
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More growth is on the horizon as new projects—which will undoubtedly
lead to groundbreaking discoveries—find roots at University of Utah
Health Sciences.
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