Newswise — Dallas entrepreneur Harold C. Simmons and his family have given $15.4 million to UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas to enable the institution to significantly increase its cancer research program and simultaneously to become a destination for those seeking cancer treatment from around the country. As a result of the new opportunities made possible by the gift, UT Southwestern has attracted one of the nation's top oncologists to lead the effort.
The donation will enhance the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was established in 1988 with a $41 million gift to support cancer and arthritis programs at UT Southwestern. The new commitment will underwrite the work of the center's newly recruited director, Dr. James Willson, former director of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland and a pioneer in colon and rectal cancer research.
"The Simmons family is committed to ensuring UT Southwestern's position as a leader in comprehensive cancer care and research, and they understand what is required to achieve excellence," said Dr. Kern Wildenthal, president of UT Southwestern. "Harold Simmons' foresight and remarkable generosity allowed us to establish a comprehensive cancer center 16 years ago, and the family's ongoing commitment will now enable us to achieve a still higher level of distinction. We are especially fortunate that this latest gift enabled us to recruit Dr. Willson to direct the program."
Dr. Alfred Gilman, Nobel laureate and interim dean of Southwestern Medical School, said, "Dr. Willson is an international leader in oncology who can help propel us to the final degree of excellence to which we aspire. He not only is a world-class physician and researcher, but he also is a proven academic and administrative leader. We are tremendously excited about what he will bring to the medical center and to Dallas."
The additional Simmons funds will accelerate a broad spectrum of clinical and scientific initiatives. The expanded program will benefit significantly from new space it will occupy in the new Biomedical Research Tower that will open in early 2005, as well as renovation and expansion of space in both the Seay and Simmons Biomedical Buildings.
Mr. Simmons, a native Texan who is one of the few self-made American billionaires, is the middle son of rural schoolteachers. After he graduated from UT Austin in 1952 with a master's degree in economics and a Phi Beta Kappa key, he worked first for an agency of the U.S. government and then for a Dallas-based bank. At age 29, he became an entrepreneur, borrowing money to buy a small drugstore while using his $5,000 savings for a down payment. Within a decade he had built a statewide drugstore chain worth more than $50 million.
He sold the drugstore chain in 1973 and launched a career as an investor. He has prospered as a brilliant and creative financier, and he now controls numerous companies, including five corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange.In 1988 Mr. Simmons established the Harold Simmons Foundation, for which he serves as chairman. His commitment of $41 million to UT Southwestern in 1988 ranked as the largest philanthropic gift in Dallas history at the time and one of the largest gifts ever made for medical research in the United States. "Simply put, it brought our cancer programs from the middle of the pack to the threshold of greatness," Dr. Wildenthal said. "Now, with this major addition to our resources, plus Dr. Willson's leadership, we are positioned to achieve true preeminence."
"My family is proud to be part of the UT Southwestern team and its great achievements over many years," Mr. Simmons said.
Dr. Willson was director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1995 until his appointment at UT Southwestern. He led groundbreaking approaches to treating colon cancer and opened the field of targeted therapeutics for the disease. Under his direction, Case achieved certification as one of 38 National Cancer Institute "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" in the country, the highest level of recognition awarded by the NCI. His top priority in Dallas is to bring the NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Center designation to UT Southwestern.
"Dallas-Fort Worth is the largest metropolitan area without an NCI-designated cancer center," Dr. Willson said. "Based on UT Southwestern's great current strengths and reputation, we are well-positioned to fill in the gaps necessary to provide the total array of programs necessary for NCI designation. Doing so will require us to take full advantage of the environment UT Southwestern offers for cancer research, while demonstrating our impact on cancer care and prevention in the community."
A rigorous peer review is required to attain NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center recognition. The center must perform work in three major areas " basic research; clinical research; and cancer prevention and population-based research. It also must conduct activities in outreach, education and cancer information for both health-care professionals and the general community.
While this process will take time for UT Southwestern, Dr. Willson said many of the necessary components already exist.
"Cancer centers are never finished," he said. "You're always building, and the idea is that you begin with an infrastructure that brings value and engages a larger network of individuals, both in the academic community and the community at-large. The end point is building differentiated cancer research that otherwise would not exist without a cancer center, and this is done by linking together activities within the excellence of the already existing departments."
Dr. Willson, a board-certified internal medicine and oncology specialist, has been appointed as holder of the Lisa K. Simmons Distinguished Chair in Comprehensive Oncology, professor of internal medicine and associate dean for oncology programs at UT Southwestern, as well as director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.
His research has led to development of cell and animal models for human colon cancer that have been the key to identifying genetic factors in disease progression. His current research focuses on identification of novel molecular targets for cancer therapy, which he will continue at UT Southwestern.
Dr. Willson joined the Case Western faculty in 1987 and, prior to that, served at the University of Wisconsin. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina and his medical degree from the University of Alabama, with additional training at the NCI and Johns Hopkins Hospital. His numerous honors include the John Peter Minton Hero of Hope Research Medal of Honor from the American Cancer Society.
"We are extremely pleased to have Jim join our faculty," said Dr. Gilman. "I am confident he will be able to integrate the many cancer-related activities at UT Southwestern into a dynamic, functional unit that will rapidly bring advances in research and clinical care to our patients." Dr. Gilman directs the Cecil H. and Ida Green Comprehensive Center for Molecular, Computational and Systems Biology and holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science; the Raymond Willie and Ellen Willie Distinguished Chair in Molecular Neuropharmacology, in honor of Harold B. Crasilneck, Ph.D.; and the Atticus James Gill, M.D., Chair in Medical Science.
The newest Simmons gift to UT Southwestern brings the total contributions from his foundation and family to more than $70 million. Previous support led to the creation of the Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, a professorship in his name, five distinguished chairs in honor of his wife, Annette, and his four daughters, and the Simmons Biomedical Research Building in honor of his parents. In 1998 a gift from the Simmons Foundation established a Violence Intervention and Prevention Center run by Parkland Health & Hospital System " believed to be the first of its kind in the United States.
The Simmons Foundation makes grants in the areas of medical research; health and human services, including programs that target high-risk youth and families; and educational, cultural and civic improvement programs, primarily in the Dallas area. Mr. Simmons' daughters " Lisa Simmons Epstein and Serena Simmons Connelly " serve, respectively, as president and associate director of the foundation.
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