Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently announced a $20 million gift from the Ge Li & Ning Zhao Family Foundation to support lung cancer research and the development of new therapies to treat this disease. Lung cancer is responsible for 25% of all cancer deaths and is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women in the United States. Although lung cancer rates are dropping, more research and treatment advances are essential.
The Ning Zhao & Ge Li Family Initiative for Lung Cancer Research and New Therapies will work toward gaining a deeper understanding of the biology of lung cancer in order to develop new targeted therapies to overcome drug resistance and to prevent metastasis. It will create three Ning Zhao & Ge Li endowed chairs at MSK and a research fund to underwrite basic, translational, and clinical research. The initiative will also support critical new research projects led by research fellows and fund essential related work in the Department of Pathology.
Ge Li, PhD
Ning Zhao, PhD
MSK has pioneered advances in lung cancer and continues working to develop new and more durably effective treatment approaches. Recent breakthroughs include novel targeted therapies, immunotherapies, robotic bronchoscopy, and newer forms of precise radiation, such as proton therapy. Treatments have become more individualized and accurate through approaches like minimally invasive surgery, leading to optimism about the future of lung cancer treatment.
About the Donors
Ge Li, PhD, is Chairman of WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics, providers of research, development, and manufacturing services that enable companies and innovators in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors worldwide. Ning Zhao, PhD, is a member of the board, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Human Resources at WuXi AppTec, and President of the Ge Li & Ning Zhao Family Foundation.
“We are excited to contribute to the significant research being done at Memorial Sloan Kettering in the field of lung cancer,” Drs. Li and Zhao said. “Advancing cancer research is a cause we care deeply about, and it will be extremely gratifying to witness the doctors and researchers put this gift to good use. We look forward to seeing their advances and discoveries in the future.”
