Emory Report
December 15, 2008
Volume 61, Number 15

Campaign
Emory update

With a strong November for fundraising, Campaign Emory is trending well toward meeting its $1.6 billion goal by 2012. By the end of November, the campaign had raised some $881 million, receiving gifts last month totaling more than $24 million.

“Even in this difficult economic climate, people still realize the value — and impact — of investing in higher education,” says Susan Cruse, senior vice president for development and alumni relations. “We are grateful to our donors for their past generosity and hope that in the spirit of this holiday season, our supporters will continue to make investments in the future.”

Learn more at campaign.emory.edu.

 

    

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December 15, 2008
Cancer patient family funds faculty chairs

By Holly Korschun

Two endowed faculty chairs at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute and the Georgia Institute of Technology will support innovative research in cancer nanotechnology. Worth a total of $6 million, the chairs are the result of donations from Coca-Cola Enterprises Chairman and CEO John Brock, his wife Mary and their children, Rebecca, John IV and Major, who have teamed up with the Georgia Research Alliance and the Georgia Cancer Coalition to boost cancer research in this groundbreaking field.

“These heartfelt gifts from the Brock family in honor of John’s late mother will contribute significantly to cancer nanotechnology research at Emory and at Georgia Tech,” says Brian Leyland-Jones, director of Emory Winship.

Brock’s mother, Anise McDaniel Brock, was an active member of her community in Moss Point, Miss. Anise Brock, who never smoked and who lived a healthy lifestyle, was stricken with lung and colon cancer in 2006. She was treated primarily in Mississippi until her family brought her to Emory.

After her death in December 2007, the Brock family began looking for ways to help researchers develop new leads in the early detection and treatment of cancer. A Georgia Tech alumnus, Brock talked with cancer researchers and physicians at Emory and Georgia Tech about their nanomedicine research program. In addition, he worked with the Georgia Cancer Coalition and the Georgia Research Alliance to help enhance the value of his donation. The result is the Anise McDaniel Brock Chair and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Cancer Nanotechnology at Emory University, with a second chair at Georgia Tech.

The National Cancer Institute and scientists at Emory Winship and Georgia Tech believe nanotechnology holds great promise for radically increasing options for prevention, detection and treatment of cancer. In 2006 the NCI selected the Emory and Georgia Tech joint research program as one of seven National Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. The CCNE’s goal is to function as a “discovery accelerator” to integrate nanotechnology into personalized cancer treatments and early detection. Nanotechnology deals with the engineering and creation of materials or devices that are less than 100 nanometers — 1-billionth of a meter — in size.

“These visionary gifts to Emory and Georgia Tech by John and Mary Brock in support of two chairs in cancer nanotechnology epitomize the collaborative and productive relationships between these two great institutions,” says William J. Todd, president of the Georgia Cancer Coalition.

Brock says the care his mother received at Emory Winship and the strength of the joint research programs at Emory and Georgia Tech led to the gifts.

“After she passed away, we started talking more about our interest in trying to help researchers get new leads in the early detection and treatment of cancer,” Brock says. “My mother was a caregiver in her community. She would be thrilled that some value can be created in the search for better ways to manage cancer.”

This gift is part of the private support being sought for Campaign Emory, a $1.6 billion fundraising endeavor that combines private support and the University’s people, places and programs to make a powerful contribution to the world.