A generous $1 million gift to Dana-Farber’s Presidential Initiatives Fund from the Ambrose Monell Foundation enables Dana-Farber’s President and CEO, Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, to strategically deploy funds that bolster promising opportunities and meet unexpected needs. The Presidential Initiatives Fund has already made a powerful difference in the lives of patients by supporting clinical trials and faculty development, as well as advances in precision medicine, drug development, and digital innovation.
The Ambrose Monell Foundation, established in 1956, focuses on early stage research and social initiatives that strive to build a more creative, equitable, and innovative society. Since 2002, the foundation has given more than $6.6 million as a visionary supporter of Dana-Farber’s work. In recent years, including the current generous gift, this support has allowed Dana-Farber researchers to move the field of immunotherapy forward to better match patients with the treatment most appropriate to their cancer.
Among Dana-Farber’s immunotherapy priorities are recruiting scientific experts in emerging areas of research and treatment, such as CAR T-cell therapy—which involves giving patients modified versions of T cells from their own immune system—for pediatric brain tumors. A top physician-scientist who recently joined Dana-Farber draws on bioengineering techniques to focus on enhancing the potency and specificity of CAR T cells for children with cancer.
Another priority is the advancement of the Center for Personal Cancer Vaccines. Established in 2020, the center brings the best scientists together to develop new vaccines, test them in clinical trials, and examine the immune system response. Unlike vaccines that prevent disease, these therapeutic vaccines treat existing cancers by stimulating the immune system to recognize and kill tumor cells. Philanthropy such as the foundation’s allows Dana-Farber to progress with more investigator-initiated immunotherapy clinical trials and establish the research and infrastructure to generate such personalized vaccines.
By encouraging strategic risk-taking and rewarding experimentation and new ideas, the Ambrose Monell Foundation enables Dana-Farber to capitalize on our collective expertise to develop a new generation of innovative cancer-fighting immunotherapies tailored to the specific needs of our patients.
“Innovation and the hope for a better tomorrow are our core,” said Ambrose Monell, president, director, and treasurer of the foundation. “That is why we are proud to continue funding the groundbreaking work happening every day at Dana-Farber, where patients get the most leading-edge care and the research is changing the lives of cancer patients everywhere.”
For more stories about the impact of philanthropy at Dana-Farber, please visit DanaFarberImpact.org.