Former Charter Manufacturing Co. chief executive officer John A. Mellowes and his wife Linda Mellowes, a former Medical College of Wisconsin board chair, are donating $10 million to MCW to support new research and for MCW faculty studying the human genome to treat a wide variety of diseases.
In honor of their gift, MCW is dedicating its Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine Center as the Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine.
The gift is the largest philanthropic investment in the genomic sciences received by MCW, and establishes three new endowed chairs in precision oncology, precision medicine, and bioinformatics and data analytics. Additionally, an endowed innovation and discovery fund will support the center’s strategic research objectives.
“John and I are thrilled to make this gift, which we see as an investment in the future of medicine,” said Linda Mellowes. “We feel confident that the work of the center will attract intellectual talent to our region and lead to medical breakthroughs and new treatments for patients and families.”
“We are deeply grateful to Linda and John for their generosity and for the trust this gift represents in our work as researchers and clinicians,” said Raul Urrutia, director of the Mellowes Center and the Warren P. Knowles Chair of Genomics and Precision Medicine. “As we seek to transform how patients are diagnosed and treated, we are proud to have them as partners.”
Razelle Kurzrock, associate director of clinical research for the MCW Cancer Center and associate director of precision oncology at the Mellowes Center has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Endowed Chair of Precision Oncology to advance her research in cancer, including rare cancers.
“When leading scientists and clinicians are considering whether to join an institution, they look carefully at the support from the community for the work being done there,” said Kurzrock. “Philanthropy truly propels innovative research and makes it possible for us to deliver potentially life-saving new treatments to patients who need them.”
