Tow Foundation investments in medical innovation have concentrated on research and treatment of diseases that affect populations too small to attract significant public or private funding. We hope to facilitate breakthrough research and speed the path to prevention, treatment and cure for a number of life-threatening illnesses. We also recognize that as government and insurance companies dictate more of what happens in medicine, there has been a fundamental change in the way doctors interact with their patients. We are committed to honoring doctors who set an example for their peers with their humanistic qualities and excellence in patient care.

Columbia University Medical Center 

New York, NY

Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease
and the Claire Tow Professorship in Motor Neuron Disorders

To support the creation of this comprehensive clinical research program to address both neurodegenerative disorders and restoration of motor function after spinal cord injury. Research will focus on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), for which there currently is no treatment or cure, and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic killer of infants and toddlers. This grant also endows the Claire Tow Professorship in Motor Neuron Disorders, which is held by Thomas Jessell, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics. Dr. Jessel is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and recipient of the 2008 Kavli Prize for his contributions to neuroscience.

Arnold P. Gold Foundation
Englewood Cliffs, NJ

The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards

This program annually supports cash awards to a graduating medical student and a faculty member from more than 80 participating medical schools. Our goal is to ultimately make such awards at all medical schools in the United States. The awards recognize those individuals at each school who best demonstrate clinical excellence and the Gold Foundation’s ideals of outstanding compassion in the delivery of care and respect for patients, their families and healthcare colleagues. The Gold Foundation initiated the Humanism in Medicine Awards in 1991 at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center 

New York, NY

The Claire Tow Pediatric Pavilion and the Claire Tow Chair in Pediatric Oncology

To support the design and construction of the 28,000 square foot Claire Tow Pediatric Day Hospital and a 33-bed inpatient unit to serve children undergoing treatment for life-threatening cancers. The pavilion includes a variety of special features to provide a bright and comforting space for the children and their families. The Day Hospital includes 25 technologically advanced treatment rooms that allow the delivery of complex therapies on an outpatient basis, as well as space for a school program and recreation. More than 29,000 outpatient visits take place each year. This grant also endows the Claire Tow Chair in Pediatric Oncology, which is held by Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and chief of the Bone Marrow Transplant Service.

The Leonard and Claire Tow Research Floor of the
Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP)

To create laboratories and support the collaborative research work of approximately 20 scientists who seek to translate laboratory findings into clinical investigations and applications that will improve treatment and care for patients afflicted with a range of cancers. These translational researchers, who maintain active membership in clinical departments, will more sharply focus their work on the development of novel approaches to detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human cancer. This grant also endows the Emily Tow Jackson Chair in Oncology, which is held by Dr. Eric C. Holland, director of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Brain Tumor Center, a virtual interdisciplinary center that supports research on brain tumors and promotes its translation into clinical trials.

Lucille Castori Center for Microbes, Inflammation, and Cancer

The Lucille Castori Center supports Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s efforts to spearhead progress in the rapidly advancing field of research related to infections in cancer patients, microbial causes of cancer, and inflammation associated with the development or progression of cancer. The Castori Center brings together existing laboratories and investigators with research interests focused on these three areas.  Investigators include Eric Pamer, M.D., the Director of the Castori Center and and one of its founding members, and founding members Michael Glickman, M.D.; Alexander Rudensky, Ph.D.; Stewart Shuman, M.D., Ph.D.; and Joao Xavier, Ph.D.  To accomplish its objectives, the Castori Center helps underwrite academic and research activities that focus on microbial causes of cancer, infections associated with cancer treatment and inflammatory responses that lead to cancer. It supports the Molecular Microbiology Core Facility, which provides investigators with technical platforms and equipment to characterize microbial populations in clinical and experimental samples. The Castori Center sponsors an annual research symposium featuring a public lecture and seminars by leading investigators who address such topics as the role of inflammatory cells in tumors and the role of commensal bacteria in carcinogenesis.

Michael G. Harris Cell Therapy & Cell Engineering Facility

The Michael G. Harris Cell Therapy & Cell Engineering Facility will play an especially critical role in further developing innovative therapies for pediatric patients. With about 100 times as many adults as children being diagnosed each year with cancer, pharmaceutical companies focus their efforts on the larger adult population. In contrast, the creation of this state-of-the-art facility will enable Memorial Sloan-Kettering to move ahead aggressively with the development of investigational biological approaches for children as well as for adults.  In addition to meeting the need for cell-based therapies that benefit pediatric cancer patients, such as blood components engineered for heightened action against tumors, the Harris Facility will offer new promise for treatment of other severe blood disorders affecting children, including ß-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.

When completed in early 2014, the Harris Facility will dramatically extend Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s capacity to conduct the most advanced work in cell therapy and cell engineering.  It will be a leading-edge operation based on state-of-the-art technology, the most stringent manufacturing standards, and a deep dedication to pediatric and adult patients.

The Jackson Laboratory

To establish a national ALS mouse model repository. The goals of this repository are to:
1) actively acquire the current models being engineered;
2) standardize the genetic background;
3) provide genetic and phenotypic quality assurance around the new models;
4) establish embryonic stem (ES) cells for models that prove the most useful;
5) quickly make these resources available to the scientific community.
By providing genetically pure mouse models to the ALS research community Jackson Laboratory is creating a valuable new resource to help accelerate and focus ALS research where it can make the biggest impact. This program is also funded by ALS Therapy Alliance and ALS Association.