Jason Andrew/Getty Images/WCMC

The Englander Institute's expanded program will target additional areas of oncology including melanoma, a rare but serious form of skin cancer. Front left, Chair of Dermatology Dr. Richard Granstein, and front right, Englander Institute Director Dr. Mark Rubin. In white coats, from left, physician-scientists Drs. Jonathan Zippin, Himisha Beltran and Olivier Elemento.

A significant gift to Weill Cornell Medical College’s precision medicine program by overseer Israel Englander and his wife, Caryl, will expand the institution’s approach to understanding and treating disease through therapies customized to patients’ unique genetic profiles.

The family’s gift names the Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, which since 2013 has used genomic sequencing to understand factors that drive disease development and identify treatments most likely to be effective for each patient. The Englander’s gift will widen the institute’s mission to emphasize dermatological malignancies, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular disease, genetic disorders and respiratory diseases. The institute plans to eventually offer precision medicine to as many as 6,000 cancer patients a year.

“Precision medicine is the future of health care,” said Dr. Mark Rubin, director of the Englander Institute, the Homer T. Hirst III Professor of Oncology in Pathology. “Physician-scientists at the Englander Institute are making critical discoveries that are changing the lives of our patients and expanding our breadth of scientific knowledge. The Englanders’ gift provides us with the resources to further capitalize on this tremendous opportunity.”

The gift will support recruitment of six investigators, including a leader in immunotherapy and three computational biologists. It also will fund pilot grants for innovative, multi-investigator projects; outfit the Englander Institute with the latest technology and computational resources; and establish an endowment.

“We are deeply grateful to the Englanders for their visionary gift, which will enable Weill Cornell to transform the way we practice medicine,” said Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. “Precision medicine offers great hope for understanding and treating some of the most formidable diseases of our time, and the Englanders’ support will ensure that we can continue our work to enhance the care we provide our patients, both now and into the future.”

Cornell President Elizabeth Garrett said, “The Englanders have our thanks and admiration for their generosity and targeted investment in the future of one of medicine’s most promising fields and an area in which Cornell sets the pace.”

“We are immensely appreciative of our generous supporters Caryl and Izzy Englander, whose confidence in the power of precision medicine to enhance human health is as inspiring as it is essential to spark scientific discovery,” said Jessica M. Bibliowicz, chairman of Weill Cornell’s Board of Overseers. “The Englanders’ investment in Weill Cornell will help us expand a robust culture of innovation and maintain our position as a national leader in this field.”

“Philanthropic support is critical for the advancement of translational research,” said Sanford I. Weill, chairman emeritus of Weill Cornell’s Board of Overseers. “Our friends Caryl and Izzy Englander have made their generous gift in an area that holds enormous promise for patients and in which Weill Cornell excels. Joan and I are incredibly grateful.”

Computational biologists at the Englander Institute analyze tumor-sequencing data and summarize key clinical and genetic findings into physician-friendly reports in Weill Cornell’s electronic health record system. Using these reports, a team of interdisciplinary specialists, including radiologists, pathologists, computational biologists, basic scientists, oncologists and surgeons determine the best treatment options for each patient. With patients’ permission, tissue samples from sequenced tumors are saved in a biobank for further research.

The Englander Institute’s expanded program will target areas of oncology including melanoma, a skin cancer estimated to kill about 10,000 of nearly 74,000 Americans diagnosed with it in 2015. Recent breakthroughs in melanoma research have yielded new treatments that target genetic mutations driving the disease. Institute investigators will try to identify which patients would most benefit from the treatments. Weill Cornell will recruit an investigator who specializes in melanoma research and support research in immunotherapy, which uses the immune system to attack tumor cells.

“Groundbreaking research over the last few years has revolutionized our understanding of melanoma’s molecular changes, bringing newfound hope to patients with advanced metastatic disease for whom treatment has been particularly challenging,” said Dr. Richard Granstein, chairman of the Department of Dermatology and the George W. Hambrick Jr. Professor of Dermatology at Weill Cornell. “With our expertise in genetic medicine and the Englanders’ generous support, we expect to give our patients another powerful reason to hope.”

Alyssa Sunkin-Strube is an editor at Weill Cornell Medical College.