The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research has announced that its founder, Alex Knaster, has committed an additional $500 million in support of cancer research.

Since establishing the foundation in 2017, Knaster has pledged more than $650 million toward its efforts to enable new scientific discoveries and help accelerate the development of those discoveries into new treatments, preventions, and cures for cancer patients. In less than five years, the foundation has awarded more than 200 grants totaling $150 million to individual scientists and teams at more than 80 academic institutions across the world. In addition, it has made investments totaling more than $20 million in seven oncology-focused start-up companies.

The foundation also announced the appointment of Raymond N. DuBois as executive chair of its board. DuBois will assume his new role in addition to his current role as distinguished university professor at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and director of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.

“I have been tremendously impressed by the Mark Foundation’s extraordinary progress funding impactful cancer research around the world in just over four years’ time,” said DuBois. “I am acutely aware of the need for this funding, which supports innovative projects that may not otherwise move forward. The Mark Foundation is poised to accomplish much more in the coming years with Alex’s generosity.”

(Photo of Raymond N. DuBois provided by MUSC Hollings Cancer Center)