The University of Colorado Anschutz Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has appointed Professor Melanie Joy as the inaugural David and Nancy Lamb Endowed Chair in Pharmacy Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This newly created position is designed to drive entrepreneurial impact across pharmacy education and translational research. Dr. Joy currently serves as a tenured professor and Director of Innovation and Commercialization at the school. She also leads the Center of Excellence Program for Model Informed Drug Development.
“It is a tremendous honor to be named the inaugural David and Nancy Lamb Endowed Chair in Pharmacy Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” Dr. Joy said. “Disruption and creation of new technologies, tools, and processes across the pharmacy disciplines happens when novel scientific and clinical discoveries (the innovations), the how to package, translate, and commercialize it (the entrepreneurship), and patient and provider (the stakeholders) needs intersect.”
Dr. Joy has spent over 30 years advancing the development of drugs and medical devices, particularly for kidney diseases. She is the founder and CEO of Katharos Inc., a start up company focused on kidney disease treatments. Her career includes receiving the Chancellor’s Teaching Recognition Award in 2024 and being named an Outstanding Ally by Women in STEM in 2022.
“I am deeply grateful to David and Nancy Lamb for their vision and support, which will help us accelerate the translation of new ideas into novel therapies, devices, and solutions that improve patient care while also creating new opportunities for trainees to learn how to bridge laboratory and clinical science with the business of science,” said Joy.
The chair was established by alumni David and Nancy Lamb, who graduated in 1979 and founded Good Day Pharmacies. David Lamb was the first registered nuclear pharmacist in Colorado, while Nancy Lamb is a pioneer in home infusion and consultant pharmacy. Their support will allow the school to expand its mentorship of students.
“Dr. Joy embodies exactly the kind of bold, translational leadership that moves our school, and our profession, forward,” said CU Anschutz Pharmacy Dean Brian Tsuji. “She has spent her career bringing science to life by turning discoveries into therapies, technologies, and companies that improve patient care. I’m deeply grateful to David and Nancy Lamb for their vision in establishing this endowed chair, which will empower leaders like Dr. Joy to dream big, mentor the next generation of innovators, and accelerate the impact of our research. When we combine brilliant science with entrepreneurial thinking and incredible people, there is no limit to what we can accomplish—together.”
Dr. Joy noted that her interest in patient needs began during her undergraduate studies in the late 1980s. “I’m especially excited about the opportunity the Lamb family support creates for teaching and mentoring students and trainees toward translating their scientific and clinical ideas into impactful therapies, devices, and techniques,” she added.
