THE BARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE received a grant of $5,375,000 from the Dresner Foundation. The grant, focused on hematologic malignancies research, will be distributed over the next five years.
The grant will create an endowed chair position, help recruit scientists and fellowship positions, and establish a patient registry and tissue bank for blood-related cancers.
It will also establish a Patient Assistance Fund to help low-income cancer patients with financial challenges during their cancer care. This grant, combined with the personal giving from the Dresner family, brings their total giving to Karmanos to over $10.4 million since 1998.
Charles Schiffer, multidisciplinary team leader of Malignant Hematology at Karmanos and professor of medicine and oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, will serve as the first endowed Joseph Dresner Chair for Hematologic Malignancies.
The Dresner Foundation was established by the late Joseph and Vera Dresner to support health researchers and those dedicated to improving the quality and length of life for patients. Joseph Dresner was diagnosed with MDS in 2002 and was treated by Schiffer at Karmanos.
