Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health received a $25 million gift from Dorothy Byrne of the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation to establish an interdisciplinary cancer research institute at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the system said Jan. 19.
The gift, the largest ever given jointly to the system, is the lead gift in a $50 million campaign to create the Byrne Family Cancer Research Institute. Half of the $50 million investment will be dedicated to the recruitment and retention of new scientists, acquisition of advanced research equipment, and enhanced training for medical students. The remaining half will support a clinical trials research program and fund further innovations.
"Thanks to the vision of Dorothy Byrne and her late husband, Jack, this transformative gift is the beginning of a major mobilization of investment in our research and discovery enterprise," said Steven Leach, MD, director of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. "The launch of the Byrne Family Cancer Research Institute at Norris Cotton Cancer Center will elevate and accelerate our contributions among global cancer research institutes and make new and novel cancer treatment a reality."