The mission of SPARK Colorado is to advance academic research from the lab to patient care.

SPARK Colorado is modeled after the Stanford SPARK Program that was established in 2006 by Dr. Daria Mochly-Rosen as a cost-effective model to advance biomedical discoveries into treatments for patients. Similarly, the SPARK Program at CU Anschutz is focused on commercialization and the major emphasis is on product development and technology transfer activities.

SPARK advances new technologies towards the clinic by providing education, access to industry expertise, a culture of innovation, and SPARK Awards, our flagship commercialization funding mechanism. SPARK Awards support CU Anschutz faculty and students developing therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics to address unmet medical needs.