University Times

The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and UPMC Cancer Centers have concluded a five-year, $100 million capital campaign, thanks in part to a $3 million gift from the Mario Lemieux Foundation, which will be used to establish the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Diseases at the Hillman Cancer Center. The philanthropic funds raised were matched by UPMC, for a total of $200 million contributed to the capital campaign.

The campaign was launched with a $20 million gift from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and the Hillman Foundation, which created the Hillman fellows program for innovative cancer research. The campaign funds will continue to be used to recruit physicians and researchers, invest in infrastructure and expand key areas of cancer research.

The Mario Lemieux Center, serving an estimated 25,000 patients a year, will offer comprehensive diagnostic services, individually designed treatment plans and long-term follow-up services to patients with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma and other blood malignancies.

In addition to the Hillman fellows program and the Mario Lemieux Center, several endowed chairs and endowed funds have been established during this campaign, including the Arnold Palmer Endowed Chair in Cancer Prevention, the Thomas and Sandra Usher Endowed Chair in Melanoma, the Jane and Carl Citron Chair in Colon Cancer and the Stanley M. Marks, M.D., Endowed Research Fund.

Critical research initiatives also have been accelerated during this campaign, including efforts to identify nutritional and dietary methods of combating cancer, developing new treatments for melanoma and mesothelioma and expanding early detection efforts by identifying specific proteins in the blood responsible for cancer development and recurrence.