| University of Florida Foundation, Inc. | |
| Christopher Brazda | 352-392-1633 |
| Public Relations | 100 NW 20th St |
| cbrazda@uff.ufl.edu | Gainesville, FL 32603 |
| For immediate release | Thursday, June 22, 2006 |
$5 MILLION GIFT CREATES BRAIN TUMOR THERAPY CENTER AT UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s McKnight Brain Institute is a step closer to being one of the world’s best centers for brain tumor treatment and research after receiving a $5 million gift from the Fort Lauderdale-based Lillian S. Wells Foundation, Inc.
The gift, which is eligible to be matched from the state of Florida’s Major Gifts Trust Fund, will enable the university to recruit world-class doctors and scientists and conduct research that could lead to a cure for brain and spinal cord tumors.
“We want to be one of the top five brain tumor centers in the world, and we’re not that far from being there,” said Dr. William Friedman, chairman of UF’s Department of Neurosurgery in the College of Medicine. “This gift will bring us much closer to our goal, which is to find a cure for brain tumors.”
In recognition of the gift, the McKnight Brain Institute’s brain tumor therapy center will be named the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy at the University of Florida in honor of the Wells’ family’s patriarch, pending approval by the UF Board of Trustees.
“My family’s relationship with Dr. Friedman and the University of Florida goes back 20 years,” said Barbara Wells, president of the Wells Foundation. “The University of Florida is absolutely the best-positioned research university for this new Brain Tumor Therapy Center. I have no doubt that it will yield amazing results in the years to come.”
One of the first orders of business from the new endowment created by the Lillian S. Wells Foundation’s contribution is to enhance the center’s adult neuro-oncology support. Plans are under way to recruit leading medical neuro-oncology experts to make it possible for the university to provide comprehensive care of brain tumor patients and their families.
Doctors at the University of Florida already do more brain tumor surgery than do doctors at most of their peer institutions, according to Friedman. A more comprehensive brain tumor therapy center will allow the university to conduct research leading to a cure of brain and spinal cord tumors and establish and implement educational opportunities for medical professionals, scientists, patients and their families.
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