Designate Your Gift To A Specific Fund

You may direct your tax-deductible donation to a specific research program, or you may establish a named fund.

The Jeanette P. Kean Memorial Fund
Jeanette Kean was, above all, a woman who loved people from all walks of life. In 1985 at the age of 47 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She lived her remaining years as fully as possible leaving behind a husband, Dr. Herbert Kean, a daughter Marjorie, and a son Jon. The Keans were grateful for the help and hope that Wistar gave them and remained confident that a cure for cancer would come from the efforts of scientists such as those at The Wistar Institute. They established this fund upon Jeanette’s death and its resources are used to help support the laboratories and researchers who are working towards the goal of understanding and eradicating cancer.

To make a contribution to the Jeanette P. Kean Memorial Fund
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The Dr. Monica H. M. Shander Memorial Fellowship
Monica Shander received her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. After her years as a Ph.D. candidate working at The Wistar Institute she accepted a post doctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. She soon died in a tragic accident and this fund was established in her memory.

The purpose of the fund is to provide a one-year stipend for a pre-doctoral student who has demonstrated excellence in scholastics as well as aptitude and diligence in the laboratory, qualities that were consistent with Monica’s achievements.

To make a contribution to the Dr. Monica H. M. Shander Memorial Fund
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The Albert R. Taxin Brain Tumor Research Fund
The Albert R. Taxin Brain Tumor Research Fund was established in 1995 with gifts given in memory of Albert R. Taxin, who died in 1993 of an incurable brain tumor. Subsequently, Albert's wife, Doris Rousso Taxin, spearheaded an effort to establish the Albert R. Taxin Brain Tumor Research Center at The Wistar Institute, which was formally dedicated in 1999. In founding the Center, Wistar's scientists and Board of Managers began a long-term initiative aimed at developing new treatments and cures for brain tumors.

Through the Taxin Center , the Institute aims to promote basic research studies to determine the fundamental causes of brain tumors and to translate these findings for clinical use as rapidly as possible. Currently, a number of Wistar researchers associated with the Albert R. Taxin Brain Tumor Research Center are attacking brain tumors and other cancers in several distinct ways. Each offers its particular strengths

To make a contribution to the Albert R. Taxin Brain Tumor Research Fund
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The Louis C. Washburn Fund for Cancer Research
Louis Washburn was a friendly, unassuming man who believed very strongly in this maxim: "To whom much is given, much is required." He lived out his belief by giving to many charities, not only financially, but with his time. The Wistar Institute was one such charity that he believed was very deserving, not only of his support, but of that of his family and friends as well. Lou passed away in 1998 after a multi-decade long fight with a variety of cancers. His family has established this fund in order to support research in the environmental factors of cancer in the hopes of stemming the tide of this devastating disease.

To make a contribution to The Louis C. Washburn Fund for Cancer
Research Fund
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The Ching Jer Chern Memorial Fellowship
From an early age science was a major focus in the life of Ching Jer Chern. In 1974 Ching’s scientific promise came to the attention of The Wistar Institute and he was recruited and made an Assistant Professor. He was a Wistar scientist until 1987 when he died from cancer at the age of 46. Throughout his illness he devoted his professional life to the understanding the genetic basis of cancer.

After Ching’s death Mrs. June Chern established this fellowship. Contributions to the fund provide an annual award for the post doctoral student at Wistar who, in the opinion of the Institute’s Training Committee, has written the best scientific paper published during the year. Once the fund is fully endowed a year-long fellowship will be provided for a Chinese graduate student.

To make a contribution to the Ching Jer Chern Memorial Fellowship
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The Christopher M. Davis Memorial Fund
The Christopher M. Davis Memorial Fund was established in 1996 with gifts given in memory of Christopher M. Davis, son of Harold M. (Hal) and Eleanor L. Davis. Subsequently, the Board of Managers of The Wistar Institute adopted a resolution creating the Christopher M. Davis Memorial Fellowship as an endowed fellowship to be presented on an annual basis to a postdoctoral fellow conducting breast cancer research at Wistar.

Hal Davis has been an exemplary member of The Wistar Institute Board of Managers since 1987. Eleanor Davis has embraced the work of the Institute by naming it as a beneficiary of her efforts to heighten awareness about breast cancer and to raise funds for breast cancer research. Hal and Eleanor requested that contributions in memory of their son be made to Wistar.

Each year, candidates for the Fellowship are nominated by their advisor. They must submit their curriculum vitae, two letters of recommendation and a detailed description of their research and how it relates to breast cancer to the Institute's Training Committee. A recipient is selected in the fall of each year.

To make a gift to the Christopher M. Davis Memorial Fund
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The Elaine Ominsky Fund for Breast Cancer Research

Elaine Ominsky lost her life to breast cancer at the age of 56. Throughout her life, she met many obstacles and challenges by finding solutions to improve lives for others.

When her second child was born with Down Syndrome, she became active in local educational and fundraising activities and wrote a prize-winning book for schoolchildren titled "Jon O, A Special Boy".  To help Jon and others, Elaine was a  staunch supporter of JCHAI, an organization that helps developmentally disabled adults to live independently. One of its residential homes is named in her honor.

When her children were grown, she entered Bryn Mawr College for her M.S.W.  degree and worked in private practice and at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with families whose children were facing medical issues.

When she was 46, Elaine and her mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer within months of each other.  While very ill, she again returned to college, to New York University,  to earn her Ph.D. Her thesis: "Daughters of Mothers with Breast Cancer."

Elaine was a fierce advocat for breast cancer research. Knowing that her illness was advancing, she helped lead the fight for more research funding in Pennsylvania and the nation.  She got hundreds of signatures on petitions, marched in Harrisburg and Washington, met with President and Hilary Clinton and Governor and Mrs. Casey, and inspired her friends to follow her lead.  Ultimately she lost her fight against breast cancer, but never lost her spirit, her optimism, her fight for the cause.  She truly inspired her family and friends with her focus on helping others.

Because of her strong belief in the value of biomedical research, her husband Albert, sons Andrew, Jon, and Douglas, friends, and family established the Elaine Ominsky Fund for Breast Cancer Research at The Wistar Institute, the proceeds of which are used to further breast cancer research.

It was Elaine's hope that she would "not be forgotten."  Making  a gift in memory of this strong and courageous woman is the best way to make sure that her legacy will continue. Help support groundbreaking breast cancer research at The Wistar Institute.

To make a gift to the Elaine Ominsky Fund for Breast Cancer Research
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The Wistar Family Fund for Cancer Research:
established in memory of Ailsa Wistar
The Wistar Family Fund was launched in 2007 for the purpose of providing support for cancer research at The Wistar Institute. 

The fund was created with a generous foundational gift of $100,000 from Mr. C. Cresson Wistar and his family in memory of his wife Ailsa Wistar who passed away earlier in the year from breast cancer.  In making this initial gift Cresson’s desire was to establish a vehicle open to all members of the Wistar family who share an interest in providing continual support to cancer research at Wistar. 

All gifts to the fund will become part of the endowed principal and only the earnings from the fund will be applied towards the research efforts.  In the early stage of the fund these earnings will support novel pilot projects which might otherwise go unfunded.  It is hoped that the fund will grow through additional donations to the stage that it will endow a professorship which will become the Wistar Family Endowed Professorship. 

Giving to the fund can be through outright gifts, stock, or other assets.  Choosing to support the fund through your estate plans is also an option and is encouraged.  Minimum gift amount to this fund is $10,000, and will be recognized as a part of this fund.

To make a contribution to this fund please contact us.

The Robert and Penny Fox Distinguished Professorship
Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Fox have made an extraordinary philanthropic commitment to The Wistar Institute in establishing this Distinguished Professorship. This special and important gift will enable the Institute to recruit an outstanding researcher in the field of cancer research and allow its holder additional funding to conduct his or her research. A longtime friend of Wistar, Mr. Fox has been a member of its Board of Managers since 1974, serving as its Chair from 1984-94.

The Institute is extremely grateful to the leadership and philanthropic commitment that Mr. and Mrs. Fox have expressed in establishing this Professorship.

The Herbert Kean, M.D. Family Professorship
Established in 2002 through a generous gift from Dr. Herbert Kean, the Herbert Kean, M.D. Family Professorship will allow The Wistar Institute to recruit or retain an outstanding investigator who will have the unrestricted flexibility to pursue the novel scientific ideas that he or she believes will prove most promising in the fight against disease.

Dr. Kean has been a long time supporter of Wistar who felt he wanted to increase his philanthropy. This aspiration led to the establishment of the Kean Family Professorship, which promises to enhance the research capabilities of The Wistar Institute in perpetuity

The Dr. Hilary Koprowski Professorship
Hilary Koprowski, M.D. was Director of The Wistar Institute from 1957 - 91. During this time Dr. Koprowski was instrumental in providing the Institute with vital scientific leadership that enabled it to become an NCI- designated Cancer Center , a leader in vaccine development, and one of the top basic research institutions in the world. Dr. Koprowksi is one of the leading medical researchers of our time and had a major role in the eradication of poliomyelitis, overseeing the first mass inoculation with an oral polio vaccine in 1958.

The Dr. Hilary Koprowski Professorship was established in 1998 as Wistar’s first endowed Chair and as Dr. Koprowski has stated “is designed to support an eminent scientist who brings luster to the Institute”.