Jan. 8, 2018

Winship to benefit from groundbreaking Woodruff Foundation gift

Photo of Winship to benefit from groundbreaking Woodruff Foundation gift

The new Winship Cancer Institute Tower will be located near the existing Emory University Hospital Midtown.

A $400 million pledge to Emory University from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation will be used to construct a new Winship Cancer Institute Tower in Midtown Atlanta and a new Health Sciences Research Building on Emory's Druid Hills campus.

"This outstanding, transformational gift, the largest ever received by Emory University, will support our efforts to find new cures for disease, develop innovative cancer patient care models, and improve lives while enhancing the health of individuals in need," says Walter J. Curran, Jr. MD, Winship's executive director.

The Winship Cancer Institute Tower in Midtown will house a full range of outpatient cancer services fully aligned with Winship's innovative cancer research programs. In April 2017, Winship became Georgia's first and only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, joining an elite group of top cancer centers nationwide.

The new Health Sciences Research Building on Emory's Druid Hills campus, a laboratory-focused facility, will house faculty and staff who are charged with developing a pipeline of cures, interventions, and prevention methods, all aimed at improving the health of patients. Research teams working in the state-of-the-art facility will partner with Emory colleagues to target five emerging priorities in 21st century medicine: cancer; brain health; heart and vascular health; immunology and infectious diseases; and radiology, biomedical engineering, and imaging sciences.  In a continuing partnership with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory researchers in the new building also will investigate childhood diseases, focusing on discoveries that advance treatments and cures for our youngest patients.

"This gift will allow us to accelerate the scientific discoveries needed for breakthroughs in patient care and to extend our reach in reducing the burden of disease for patients and their families," said Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, Emory's executive vice president for health affairs and CEO of Emory Healthcare.

Winship was founded 80 years ago by Robert W. Woodruff, the late legendary leader of The Coca-Cola Company. He wanted to honor his mother who lost her battle to cancer in 1937. His mission was to bring together cancer physicians and researchers so that no one would need to leave the state of Georgia for the best cancer care.

 

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