The Wilson Hospital Foundation Donates Millions for Cancer Research, Medical Education Programs

A $16.9 million gift from The Wilson Hospital Foundation of Houston will be used to further cancer research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and for new medical education initiatives and cancer research at Baylor College of Medicine. Each institution will receive $8.45 million.

At M. D. Anderson the gift will be divided among four emerging areas of cancer research and diagnostics - gastrointestinal cancer research, radiation oncology and biology, diagnostic imaging and immunology.

The gift to M. D. Anderson, which is one of the largest research-oriented donations in the institution's history, will help support the addition of several physician-scientists, expansion of laboratory facilities and equipment, enhancement of new technology, development of clinical trials and infusion of seed money for therapeutic innovations.

One of the many interesting research projects to be furthered by the foundation's gift is studying the effectiveness of the virtual colonoscopy, which has been developed to offer a less invasive method for early detection of colorectal cancer. M. D. Anderson has completed the pilot study with promising results and will further test the technology in a multi-institutional trial involving hundreds of patients.

"We are in the midst of an explosion of scientific discoveries that will light the way for even more clinical progress in the years ahead," says Dr. John Mendelsohn, president of M. D. Anderson. "The Wilson Hospital Foundation is showing genuine forethought and vision in dedicating such generous resources to these developing areas of cancer medicine that are full of life-saving potential. We gladly welcome this important philanthropic partnership."

The Wilson Hospital Foundation gift will assist Baylor in the development and implementation of a new medical student education curriculum, designed to focus on a multidiscipline approach and individualized learning.

This new focus includes proactive recruiting, integrating and leveraging information technology, protecting faculty time for teaching activities, and developing reward systems for teaching excellence as well as funding new faculty.

The gift will also benefit Baylor's nationally recognized research programs including areas of adult cancers that target the breast, prostate and bladder, and cancers such as leukemia and other solid tumors.

"We are grateful to the trustees of the Wilson Hospital Foundation for the confidence they have shown in our commitment to quality medical education and cancer research programs," says Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, Baylor president and CEO. "At no point in the history of medicine have we faced such exciting opportunities and challenges that promise to benefit all mankind."

The Wilson Hospital Foundation was established in 1980 in the will of Wallace D. Wilson, who, in 1921, founded Wilson Industries Inc., a Houston-based oilfield services and product distribution company. Upon Wilson's death, his son, Wallace S. Wilson, became chairman and chief executive officer of Wilson Industries until he merged the company with Smith International Inc. in 1998.

"These two institutions are exemplary and deserving research leaders that will utilize this gift for truly worthwhile purposes," says Wallace S. Wilson, a trustee with The Wilson Foundation. "Cancer is a disease that has touched almost everyone in some way, and we are very pleased to help fund work in these groundbreaking areas of study and technology."

- DOREY ZODROW AND DANNI SABOTA

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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