UPenn receives $55 million for ‘cancer interception’ institute
The University of Pennsylvania has announced a $55 million gift from alumni Mindy and Jon Gray in support of early detection and prevention of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
The gift will establish the Basser Cancer Interception Institute at the Basser Center for BRCA, which is part of the Abramson Cancer Center. The new institute will work to intercept BRCA-related cancers by pioneering efforts to intercept disease when the first abnormal BRCA1/2 cells develop, rather than reducing cancer risk through surgery or treating cancer once it has grown enough to become visible. To that end, the institute will develop and deploy a toolkit of strategies that can be used much like HPV testing for cervical cancer screening and colonoscopies for colon cancer with potential methods ranging from drugs and immune-based approaches to new methods of detecting cancer cells with biomarkers and artificial intelligence.
Longtime supporters of the university, the Grays have now committed more than $125 million, including a $25 million gift in 2012 to establish the Basser Center in honor of Mindy’s sister, Faith Basser, who passed away at age 44 of BRCA-related ovarian cancer.
“The dream of intercepting these cancers at their earliest stages or preventing them in the first place is no longer science fiction,” said the couple. “We are thrilled to build on the decade of success at the Basser Center and work toward what should be a transformation in how future generations face these diseases.”
“Mindy and Jon are philanthropic visionaries who give of themselves in many creative ways that have made profound differences in the way we educate, care for, and engage with patients and families who are coping with and at risk of hereditary cancers,” said University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill. “We are so proud to partner with them to transform the outlook for individuals with BRCA mutations and give them better, non-surgical, options to live healthy, long lives.”
(Photo credit: courtesy of University of Pennsylvania)
