$5 million gift creates first professorship of its kind at Northwestern University
A $5 million gift from the Hospira Foundation to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine will establish the Hospira Foundation Professorship in Translational Cancer Biology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. The professorship is the first of its kind at the University.
“This gift from the Hospira Foundation will help expand the groundbreaking research conducted at the Lurie Cancer Center and accelerate the development of innovative new treatments,” said Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean of Feinberg. “This extraordinary commitment will help ensure that Northwestern Medicine attracts and retains the nation’s top physician-scientists and allows them to make lasting impacts on medicine and society as a whole.”
In addition to creating the endowed professorship to exist in perpetuity, the gift will be used to support the research activities of the professor, including his or her laboratory and the training of graduate students and fellows.
“This generous gift will allow us to recruit and fund the research of outstanding investigators working to translate cancer biology into new treatments for our patients,” said Leonidas Platanias, MD, PhD, director of the Lurie Cancer Center. “We are grateful to Hospira for supporting our efforts to establish the city of Chicago as a global leader in personalized cancer treatment.”
The Lurie Cancer Center is committed to being a leader in the battle to overcome cancer by advancing medical knowledge; providing compassionate, state-of-the-art cancer care; and training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. The Lurie Cancer Center is one of 45 Comprehensive Cancer Centers as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). It is one of two NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Illinois.
The Hospira Foundation was the philanthropic affiliate of Hospira, Inc., which was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in September 2015.
The Hospira Foundation gift counts as part of We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern, a $3.75 billion fundraising effort to support strategic initiatives throughout the University. The gift also supports the Campaign for Northwestern Medicine, which represents $1.75 billion of the University’s goal and has featured endowed professorships as a key campaign priority.