A new institute studying immunology was announced on March 29 at Johns Hopkins by Vice President Joe Biden, Michael R. Bloomberg, and more than a dozen additional supporters of this initiative. Embracing the Vice President’s “moonshot” initiative to cure cancer, the new Bloomberg–Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy was founded with gifts from Mr. Bloomberg, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and three-term mayor of New York City; and Jones Apparel Group founder Sidney Kimmel, who each contributed $50 million. An additional $25 million for the center is thanks to more than a dozen additional supporters.
While funds for the new institute will primarily support research, they also will be used to recruit additional scientists, provide additional infrastructure for engineering cellular products related to immunotherapy research, enhance partnerships with the private sector, and invest in critical technology development. Research at the Institute will focus particularly on melanoma, colon, pancreatic, urologic, lung, breast, and ovarian cancers. ■
