College grads donate $25 million to open new cancer research center

Mindy and Jonathan Gray, both 1992 College graduates, have donated $25 million to create the Basser Research Center, a new cancer research center focused on researching BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are correlated with the development of breast and ovarian cancer. The center is named in honor of Mindy Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44.

“We hope that the Basser Research Center will eliminate BRCA-related cancers and, in doing so, provide a road map for curing other genetic diseases,” the Grays said in a Penn News press release.

Susan Domchek, professor of hematology and oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine and current director of the MacDonald Women’s Cancer Risk Evaluation Center, will head the research center, which will function within the Abramson Cancer Center.

According to Domchek, a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer is 20 to 45 percent if she inherits a harmful mutation of the BRCA1 gene. The risk is 60 to 80 percent for breast cancer. The Basser Research Center’s work could help identify drugs that could lower the risk in mutation carriers and find ways to detect ovarian cancer earlier.

“In creating this first-of-its-kind center,” President Amy Gutmann said, “the Gray’s gift endows Penn researchers and clinicians with the crucial resources required to identify innovative ways to prevent and treat inherited diseases. The possibilities for the future of women’s health and cancer research are vast.”

In addition to the Center, the $25 million donation will also create the Basser Professorship, an endowed professorship in oncology, and establish the Basser Prize honoring cutting-edge research.

Jonathan Gray, also a 1992 Wharton graduate, is the global head of real estate at the Blackstone Group, an investment and advisory firm. Mindy Gray serves on the executive committee of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Inc., a philanthropy dedicated to funding ovarian cancer research.

The initial $25 million donation would support about five years of research.

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