Lemieux, UPMC foundations donate $10M to start pediatric cancer research institute

A $5 million gift from the Mario Lemieux Foundation and a matching gift from the UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation will create a pediatric cancer research institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital.

The institute will be known as the Mario Lemieux Institute for Pediatric Cancer Research at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. It will be led by Dr. Linda McAllister-Lucas, chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at UPMC Children’s Hospital.

The new institute is designed to make significant research and treatment options available in pediatric cancer. It will bring together the firepower of UPMC Children’s Hospital’s pediatric-cancer programs and then add to them with new hires and labs.

The foundations’ gifts come at a time when pediatric cancer research is mostly funded by the government, while at the same time only a small portion is dedicated to pediatric cancers.

“This is a large and exciting opportunity for Children’s,” said Thomas Grealish, president of the Mario Lemieux Foundation Board of Directors.

Click here to read more from the Pittsburgh Business Times.

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