Research

Eng

Charis Eng, MD, PhD

Philanthropy Empowers Us to Explore New Ideas

The alignment between research and patient care remains a powerful guide for Cleveland Clinic, where breakthroughs in diagnoses and treatment create more than innovation, they create hope.

And philanthropy affects nearly every phase of research — from seed money to staff.

With 11 research departments and nearly 2,000 employees, Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute is focused on investigating the causes of disease and discovering novel approaches to prevention and treatments.


Over the last five years, philanthropy has supported more than 600 new research projects. Contact us to learn how you can help.

Susan Sasvari
Senior Director of Development
Lerner Research Institute
216.445.8523

Catalyst, Spring 2010

Read more about philanthropy's impact on research

Seed Money

Do viruses cause certain types of bone marrow cancer, aplastic anemia and other blood disorders? Because of philanthropic gifts that provided seed money for generation of essential preliminary data, Jaroslaw Maciejewski, MD, PhD, of the Taussig Cancer Institute won a $1.9 million NIH grant that allows him to pursue his theory.

Research and Development

A gift allowed William Fissell, MD, of the Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, to hire a full-time, post-doctoral fellow to help develop an artifical kidney the size of a soda can that fits easily inside a human body as an alternative to transplant. The research is a collaborative effort among 11 institutions.

Bringing Technology to Market

In the near future, patients needing mitral valve repair may benefit from an innovative system that will enhance robotic and minimally invasive mitral valve repair operations. A philanthropic gift supported promising research by Marc Gillinov, MD, of the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute, which led to a medical technology company's decision to develop the system.

Exploring and Refining

Philanthropic gifts helped support the initial research that found a new human virus in prostate cancer patients. "If cause and effect are established, there would be a new oportunity for prevention and treatment," said Robert Silverman, PhD, of the Taussig Cancer Institute and Lerner Research Institute.

Focusing on the Patients of Tomorrow

  • First clinically-long term bioartifical kidney
  • Nanomedicine and microdevices
  • Translational studies using stem cells to cure diseases, such as diabetes, bone loss, brain damage, spinal cord injuries and heart failure
  • Personalized healthcare — predicting a patient's predisposition to diseases and treatments through genomics-based research and screening
  • Algorithms that assess patient outcomes to assist clinicans with optimized treatment options
  • Electronic Nose (ENose) to detect lung cancer by breath analysis
Highlights from Lerner Research Institute

  • Discovered a "heart attack gene" that links a genetic mutation to greater risk for heart attacks
  • Developed a laser technique to eradicate inoperable brain tumors
  • Unlocked how the body can use its own stem cells to regenerate heart tissue damaged during a heart attack
  • Designed the prototype of the Total Artifical Heart
  • Discovered a new human retrovirus — XMRV — in tumor-bearing prostate tissues