May 18, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, has received a $100-million pledge from Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the publisher and real-estate developer, for the center’s new cancer-research facility, which includes a 23-story tower scheduled to open this month.
Mr. Zuckerman is chairman and chief executive officer of U.S. News & World Report, publisher of the New York Daily News, and co-founder of Boston Properties, a large-scale developer of office properties. He has been a member of the cancer center’s Board of Overseers since 1991.
The new facility will house the center’s research programs in cancer biology and genetics, immunology, and molecular pharmacology and chemistry. It will also provide space for a new research program in human oncology and pathogenesis, through which scientists and doctors will collaborate on translating laboratory findings into practical approaches to caring for patients with cancer.
“We are fortunate to have someone like Mort who recognizes the essential connection between scientific discoveries and advances in patient care,” said Harold Varmus, Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s president, in a statement.
The center recently announced plans to double the goal of its capital campaign to $2-billion and extend it by five years. The campaign was announced in October 2003 and had been scheduled to end this year. The drive, which has raised $1.1-billion to date, is now slated to end in December 2011.
