Milwaukee-Area Family Invests $10 Million in Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine Research

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May 12, 2022, 16:42 ET

Medical College of Wisconsin Research Center Renamed in Mellowes Family Honor

MILWAUKEE, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has dedicated its Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine Center as the Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine in honor of the couple's $10 million gift to support new research and for MCW faculty studying the potential the human genome has to treat a wide variety of diseases.

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, MD, 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, MD, FACP, 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.

MCW and its clinical partners, Froedtert Hospital and Children's Wisconsin have a strong record of achievements in the genomic sciences, dating back to the Human Genome Project and the 1999 founding of the MCW Human and Molecular Genetics Center. In 2010, MCW became the first institution in the world to deploy genetic sequencing to diagnose and recommend a treatment for a rare pediatric disease.

SOURCE Medical College of Wisconsin