“ Empowering physicians to dedicate themselves to research is critical for the prevention of disease as well as for the development of treatment and cures.” Elsa Brulé
Elsa Brulé’s passion for education and academic achievement inspired her to donate $3 million to Weill Cornell Medicine’s Fund for the Future, an initiative within the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine that supports promising researchers in the early stages of their careers.
“Contributing to Fund for the Future felt like a perfect marriage of my long-standing interest in education and literacy, and my deep respect for the doctors and health-care workers who helped so many people during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms. Brulé says.
Established by Denise and Board of Fellows member Michael Kellen and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, the Fund for the Future supports selected junior faculty during the crucial period of career development – spanning completion of research training through the early years of their first faculty position held at Weill Cornell Medicine.
The Fund provides initial funding to pursue a wide range of breakthrough research, up to $300,000 over a two- to three-year period for each recipient. The work it funds is varied and often global in outlook; one recent awardee, for example, is studying the prevalence of diabetes in India.
Ms. Brulé believes that education is a lifelong endeavor.
“Young scientists and doctors need our help in their quest of discovery and innovation,” she says. “There is a lot more to learn about human biology, the intricacies of anatomy and all the things that could possibly go wrong. Empowering physicians to dedicate themselves to research is critical for the prevention of disease, as well as for the development of treatments and cures.”
Ms. Brulé has felt the desire to help people ever since she was a child growing up in a small town in northern Michigan. She eagerly participated in classroom drives for the American Red Cross care boxes in the 1950s. She also recalls, at age 10, hearing a dignitary from India speak about his country’s problems with poverty and other social ills. That encounter inspired her to promise that “someday I’ll help.” It was a promise she never forgot.
Over the years, Ms. Brulé has promoted literacy by restoring school libraries and provides thousands of books for children in the United States and abroad. She also funds health-related projects across Africa and other charitable causes.
“When I first met Ms. Brulé, I was struck by her great eagerness to help,” says Dr. Anthony Hollenberg, the Sanford I. Weill Chair of Medicine in the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine. “Cutting-edge science needs the backing of people like her, who are passionate about making a real difference in the lives and health of others.”
Ms. Brulé takes a long view of her philanthropy. She readily acknowledges that the research she is funding today might not bear fruit for another 10 or 20 years. Breakthroughs happen only after decades of hard work in the lab.
“I know that some of my philanthropy will be a legacy,” she adds. “There’s an adage that I recently read and appreciate and paraphrase: ‘She who plants a tree, knowing that she will not live to sit under its shade, has now understood the meaning of life.’”
“Ms. Brulé is a shining example of the power of philanthropy, at home and abroad,” says Dr. Hollenberg. “We are deeply grateful for her support and for her commitment to advancing medicine.”
