SANTA MONICA—It was announced on Monday, November 16 by an official of Providence Saint John’s Health Center that $8 million was donated towards cancer research at John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI) in Santa Monica. The Rosalie and Harold Brown Charitable Foundation donation will go towards immunotherapy and genomic research, which will further cancer studies.
The donation is part of the hospitals initiative, the Power of Partnership Campaign, which is to raise $200 million for JWCI and their partnered hospitals at Pacific Neuroscience Institute and Providence Saint John’s Health Center.
After immunotherapy treatment as a cancer patient, Harold Brown, the trustee of the Rosalie and Harold Brown Foundation is named after his parents. After family members passed away from cancer, Brown donated $8 million and establish the Rosalie and Harold Brown Cancer Immunotherapy Research Program.
“This wonderful gift provides us the opportunity to further build on our deep work in immunotherapy and is faithful to the vision of bringing immunotherapy and precision medicine together,” said hospital Chief Executive Michael Ricks in a press release.
Immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to identify and attack cancer cells. While this form of cancer treatment is approved in the United States, it is not effective for every cancer type and individual, according to Cancer Research Institute.
Genomic is the study of a person’s gene and the interactions of other genomes and the individuals environment, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. Immunotherapy and genomic research provide JWCI and their partnered hospitals to study and the possibility to predict treatments for various types of cancers.
Brown has stated that his donation will help cancer patients and doctors answer “the mechanisms” that creates cancer and “that’s what I’d like to see them find.”
