City of Hope® has received a $150 million gift from entrepreneurs and philanthropists A. Emmet Stephenson Jr. and his daughter Tessa Stephenson Brand to support pancreatic cancer research.
A Transformative Gift From the
Stephenson Family
City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S. and ranked among the nation’s Top 5 cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, has received a historic gift that will dramatically change the trajectory of pancreatic cancer research. The donation will help City of Hope develop advances that deliver breakthroughs in the prevention, detection and treatment of this all-too-often deadly disease.
The Stephensons explain why they decided to focus their resources and energy on fighting pancreatic cancer and why they chose City of Hope for this important work.
The Goal: End the Devastation of
Pancreatic Cancer
There is an immediate need to address pancreatic cancer. It remains one of the deadliest and most complex cancer types, devastating individuals and families worldwide. The disease has a low average five-year survival rate (13%) and accounts for the third-highest number of cancer deaths annually. This lethal cancer is also notoriously hard to detect and resistant to many new therapies. Additionally, there are significant disparities in incidence among African American and Hispanic communities.
Despite the urgent need to address this disease, pancreatic cancer research is often siloed and significantly underfunded. The Stephensons’ gift emphasizes collaboration among the world’s most promising pancreatic cancer researchers and represents nearly two-thirds of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) total annual research budget for this cancer type.
An Extraordinary Gift of Generosity and Hope
The centerpiece of the gift is the $1 million Stephenson Prize, one of the largest privately funded awards for scientific investigation, which will be awarded annually to a leading scientist or team making the most promising advancements in pancreatic cancer research, treatment and cures. The prize is open to individual investigators and teams driving innovation at institutions around the world. The first prize will be awarded in 2025.
The gift will also fund:
- Establishment of the Stephenson Fellows Program, which will award grants to researchers and support their work in pancreatic cancer research*
- An annual Stephenson Pancreatic Cancer Research Symposium to support innovative ideas and promote scientific collaboration
- Studies of novel immunotherapies and other groundbreaking clinical research in pancreatic cancer, as well as further investment in City of Hope’s Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center
- A pancreatic biorepository at City of Hope to enhance genomic-informed patient care, aid in early disease detection, deepen understanding of cancer biology and immune response and contribute to developing innovative therapies
Honoring the Legacy of
Toni Stephenson
The Stephensons’ investment is in honor of Toni Stephenson, loving wife and mother who, after surviving lymphoma, passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2020. Toni and Emmet Stephenson Jr. met in kindergarten and were happily married for nearly 53 years. After Toni was treated for lymphoma at City of Hope, the Stephensons funded a lymphoma research and treatment center in her name here. Emmet is an entrepreneur and philanthropist, a board member of the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope and a longtime philanthropic partner. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Tessa Stephenson Brand is Emmet and Toni’s daughter. The Stephensons believe in the power of innovation and recognize City of Hope’s leadership in pioneering breakthrough cancer research and treatments.
A Message From the Stephenson Family
Why City of Hope Was Chosen
City of Hope is uniquely qualified to build this innovative approach to pancreatic cancer research and discovery. As an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, City of Hope translates leading-edge research into effective treatments through partnership and scientific exploration.
City of Hope is working to defeat pancreatic cancer by attacking the problem from many pathways. Its researchers are focused on early detection, transforming laboratory findings into promising treatments, and evaluating the safety and effectiveness of leading-edge investigational therapies for people with pancreatic cancer. City of Hope is also working on an investigational vaccine to prevent people who survived pancreatic cancer from cancer recurrence.
2024 Projected Survival Rates for Pancreatic Cancer
Although pancreatic cancer is currently the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, it is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, after lung and colon cancer. (Source: PanCan)
Top Researchers Will Guide the Program
An independent LLC will manage the program alongside an advisory group of the nation’s top pancreatic cancer scientists, who will help determine the process for selecting the annual prize winner and awarding grants to support innovative research.
*We will share additional details on the prize selection process later this year. The fellows program will have clear eligibility and application requirements and researchers from any institution will be able to apply. The eligibility and application details will be made publicly available once confirmed.
Reflections From Our Leadership
