A historic investment from Board of Fellows member Israel Englander will advance Weill Cornell Medicine’s growing research enterprise and support critical initiatives throughout the institution.
The gift will broaden the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine and bolster institutional biobanking services.
Mr. Englander’s investment was made as part of Weill Cornell Medicine’s $1.5 billion We’re Changing Medicine fundraising campaign, thus far. With this gift, he becomes the largest donor to this campaign to date, and one of the most generous benefactors in the institution’s history.
In recognition of his transformational gift and ongoing commitment to Weill Cornell Medicine, the institution has named two departments in his honor: the Israel Englander Department of Dermatology and the Israel Englander Department of Ophthalmology. The departments were chosen due to Mr. Englander’s personal appreciation for their exceptional leadership, research and clinical care.
“We are immensely grateful to Mr. Englander for his generosity and his vision, which will further our leadership and innovation in health care,” says Dr. Robert A. Harrington, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University. “Investment in cutting-edge research, including precision medicine, will open new avenues of exploration as we seek to better understand and treat some of the world’s most challenging diseases and ensure that we keep pushing medicine forward for the betterment of our patients.”
A portion of the gift builds on Mr. Englander’s previous investment in Weill Cornell Medicine that helped to revolutionize personalized medicine through the creation of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine. Since its founding in 2013, the Englander Institute has emerged as a key translational research hub that uses advanced tools such as genetics, genomic sequencing and clinical data to better understand the factors that drive disease development and progression. Applying this research, investigators work to identify treatments that are most likely to be effective for each individual patient and improve the well-being of those with cancer, genetic diseases and other illnesses.
Precision health is a priority of the We’re Changing Medicine campaign, and this new gift will empower Weill Cornell Medicine to build on and expand the institute’s work, broadening research initiatives and ensuring a wider array of patient treatment opportunities.
The gift will also enhance the institution’s centralized biospecimen repository, or biobank – collections of human biological samples and related health data – extending essential clinical and translational research opportunities.
“Weill Cornell Medicine is extremely fortunate to have the enduring and generous support of our friend and benefactor, Izzy Englander,” says Jessica M. Bibliowicz, chair of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Board of Fellows. “Izzy’s belief in the power of innovation in medicine is inspiring, and this gift will have a deep and lasting impact on our faculty, our patients and the wider community for decades to come.”
