Mass General Cancer Center receives largest donation in its history to fuel cancer research

BOSTON — The Mass General Cancer Center has received the largest gift in its 34-year history, but hospital officials would not disclose the donation amount on Wednesday.

The historic donation from philanthropists Jason and Keely Krantz will power the future of cancer research, the hospital announced Wednesday.

Boston 25 News reached out to Massachusetts General Hospital for the donation amount, however a hospital spokesperson said the hospital was not disclosing the figure.

In honor of the Krantz’s landmark contribution, the center’s research division will now be known as the Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research, the hospital said.

The Krantz family has provided the largest cancer research-directed gift in the hospital’s history, which includes annual funding for innovative and collaborative research projects, advanced technologies to support lab research and an endowment to ensure sustainability, the hospital said.

“Cancer research is at a crossroads,” Jason Krantz, founder and executive chairman of Definitive Healthcare, said in a statement. “We’ve seen incredible progress in the last decade, and yet cures for many forms of the disease remain out of reach. We’re excited to give Mass General Cancer Center researchers the support they need to close that gap. Keely and I believe that by making this investment, we can enable a monumental change in how cancer is diagnosed and treated for patients everywhere.”

“This gift from the Krantz family is pivotal for the future of cancer research,” Dr. David F. M. Brown, president of Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a statement. “It is both a powerful recognition of the work that Mass General Cancer Center researchers have accomplished to date, and a critical boost for all the research that is still to come — the knowledge and solutions that we have sought for decades.”

The Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research is home to 50 individual Mass General faculty members, appointed in multiple departments of Harvard Medical School, whose lab research spans fundamental cancer genomics, proteomics and cell biology, to molecular diagnostics, drug discovery and cellular immune therapies. Researchers have an international reputation for scientific excellence, particularly for the partnership between basic research and patient care.

As part of this historic gift, a new series of competitive awards will be available annually for Krantz Center researchers.

The awards will be distributed in three tiers: Quantum Awards, with up to $2 million given to research with the potential to transform overall understanding and treatment of cancer; Breakthrough Awards, with up to $1 million, given to projects that accelerate the most promising scientific concepts; and Spark Awards, $100,000, to test exciting new thought-provoking ideas. Awardees will be determined through a rigorous selection process with internal and external scientific review.

“Basic science is particularly exciting at a hospital like Mass General because our faculty are oriented toward clinically relevant questions and have unique access to patients to iterate more quickly on ideas.  This means that the time from discovery to an approved therapy can be dramatically shorted,” Dr. Daniel Haber, director of Mass General Cancer Center and of the Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research, said in a statement. “The Krantzes’ generosity and partnership will enable us to accelerate this process even further giving our faculty the funding they need to pursue the most cutting-edge research.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2023 Cox Media Group