Gift Funds Stem Cell Research

A $6 million gift to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will fund researchers developing cutting-edge stem cell therapies and surgical techniques to augment such therapies.

Many of these researchers will likely collaborate with members of the nascent Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI).

This donation—given by Boston real estate developer Stephen R. Weiner and his wife Roberta—is the one of the three largest contributions that Beth Israel, a major teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School (HMS), has ever received.

The $6 million will fund research in two areas—developing stem cell therapies to combat genetic diseases, and developing surgical techniques for delivering those therapies to human bodies, according to Paul F. Levy, president and CEO of Beth Israel.

The donation, announced Sunday, coincides with the expansion of the surgical department and creation of a minimally invasive surgery program at Beth Israel, which has recruited an unprecedented 29 surgeons in the last three years.

“What we expect is that the technology and techniques for minimally invasive surgery will improve over the coming years, and that [those techniques] will become the delivery mechanism for stem cells,” Levy said.

“The idea is to integrate the two over the years,” Levy added.

The contribution follows Beth Israel’s financial turn-around last year, when the hospital announced a profit margin for the first time since the initial merger between Beth Israel Hospital and the New England Deaconess Medical Center in 1996.

For that reason, Levy said that philanthropy for Beth Israel has increased in the past year.

Levy said that the Weiners—who served on the board of overseers for Beth Israel and are “long-time friends” of the hospital—were enthusiastic about the prospect of funding stem cell-related endeavors.

“They called us and asked for some advice in what the proceeds of the gifts should be used in. The one that has tremendous potential is stem cell work...and that’s what they got interested in,” Levy said.

The creation of a stem cell initiative at Beth Israel comes almost a year after the University established the HSCI with significant backing from private donors.

The institute, which is not yet housed, was founded with 25 principal investigators and five disease targets.

Charles G. Jennings, the executive director of the HSCI, said that the proximity of research at Beth Israel will benefit both groups’ researchers.

“We’re delighted to hear of this gift,” Jennings said. “It’s very good news to them, and to the stem cell research community at Harvard. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with them and find new opportunities for synergy.”

Jennings also said that he was pleased to see the Weiners’ donation—particularly in light of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s recent challenge to embryonic stem cell researchers.

He said that contributions such as theirs affirm the public’s confidence in therapeutic stem cell research.

David T. Scadden, professor of medicine at HMS and co-director of the HSCI, expressed a similar sentiment.

“This gift signifies the unwillingness of leaders in the lay, medical, and scientific communities to allow ideology to stand in the way of developing promising new therapies,” he said.

—Staff writer Risheng Xu can be reached at xu4@fas.harvard.edu.