The University of Virginia Health System received a $5 million gift Feb. 9 from the Smithfield-Luter Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides need-based scholarships to the dependents of retired employees of the Smithfield Foods, Inc., group of companies, stated a University press release.
The grant, issued in honor Palmer Weber, a former executive of Smithfield-Luter Foundation, will be issued in $1 million increments over a period of several years.
The grant will help the University Cancer Center recruit a cancer prevention expert and increase the University's commitment to cancer prevention research, according to the press release.
Both Medical School Arthur Garson, Jr., and Michael J. Weber, director of the University Cancer Center and son of Palmer Weber, said that they hope this donation will help the U.Va Cancer Center to develop a treatment for each specific case of cancer.
"We are recruiting two teams with the goal of preventing cancer," Garson said. "The eventual goal of any cancer program is to prevent cancer, and, as we do that, we learn tremendous amounts about treating cancer. [The University is] top-5 in basic cancer research in the country," Garson said. These teams will bring strength in molecular epidemiology, which is the study of populations at the genetic level. These two teams will help us understand at a very basic molecular level how cancer forms," Garson said.
According to Michael Weber, the University Cancer Center is seeking to use money from the grant to hire two new physicians to head up the new research.
"We're going after a physician scientist who would be leading the prevention programs both medical care and lab research," Weber said. "The other is the person we're interested in recruiting will be doing what is called personalized medicine, which is where we use modern understanding of molecular biology of a specific cancer in a specific person to customize the best treatment options."
Palmer Weber, in whose honor the Smithfield-Luter Foundation awarded the grant to the University Cancer Center, was a University alumnus and served on the Board of Members of the U.Va Alumni Association.
"The gift was given in honor of my father who was on the Board of the Directors at Smithfield Foods in the early days when the company was just starting," Weber said "The president of the company, Joseph Luter, is giving this gift out of gratitude for the contributions my father made to that company."
This donation coincides with former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's plan to increase funding for researchas a foundation for higher education, said University spokesperson Carol Wood.
"As part of [Warner's] initiative, the University, if it has the opportunity to receive additional funding from the state, will go towards the building of a clinical cancer center," Wood said.
According to Wood, there have been many recent significant contributions to cancer research at the University.
"Cancer research is a priority at the University and this most recent gift complements the hard work that is already underway here," Wood said.
The gift follows other large donations towards University research facilities, Wood said.
In December, the Ivy Foundation of Charlottesville gave the University $45 million to expand laboratory space for biomedical research and to speed the translation of new discoveries into treatments and cures.
Read More
Department of Education reverses course, awards Federal Executive Institute to U.Va.
By Ford McCracken | 2 days agoThe ED had previously awarded the institute to Charlottesville City Schools.
Students reflect on the life and legacy of Pope Francis
By Bertie Azqueta | 3 days agoAt the University, students shared a range of perspectives on his legacy of reform, inclusivity and his impact on the global Catholic community.
What does the University’s contract with dining service Aramark entail?
By Brandon Kile | 4 days agoThe Cavalier Daily submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the University for its contract with Aramark to understand the specific terms of the agreement.
