Wood Family Foundation Donates $2M to IU
The grant will also support the creation of a high-end biomedical research center.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowLung cancer research received a boost in the form of a $2M gift to the Indiana University School of Medicine from the Tom and Julie Wood Foundation. The gift establishes the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Chair in Lung Cancer Clinical Research and will fund new treatments to test in clinical trials, as well as serve as a catalyst for other efforts.
The first chair is IU Professor and practicing oncologist Nasser Hanna. “I can’t even begin to tell you what a game changer this is,” Hanna said. “Money is critical to do research. No matter how great of an idea you have, if you don’t have the finances to run the experiment, it doesn’t matter.”
The gift follows another in 2011 that established an endowed chair in lung cancer research, currently held by lab researcher John Turchi. The two gifts total $3.5M to fight lung cancer. “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Indiana,” said Patrick J. Loehrer, MD, Director of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. “The research we’re doing at the IU Simon Cancer Center, which focuses on saving lives and reducing the suffering from lung cancer, got a big boost from the deep generosity of the Wood Family Foundation."
This gift, in memory of Indianapolis auto executive Tom Wood, is included in For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign. The $3 billion campaign is underway at all IU-administered campuses. The campaign ends in June 2020.