Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny have committed a record-breaking $2 billion to the Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny have committed a $2 billion gift to the Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute. The donation is the largest ever made to a U.S. university, eclipsing the $1.8 billion given by Michael Bloomberg to Johns Hopkins University in 2018.
The gift to OHSU will be overseen by Dr. Brian Druker, a well-known cancer researcher who directs the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. Druker was the lead developer of Gleevec, a drug that transformed the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia.
“Penny and Phil Knight have always challenged us to do what no one else is doing,” Dr. Druker said in the university’s release. “It can seem impossible to navigate the health care system after being diagnosed with cancer. We’re going to change that. We have revolutionized the way we detect and treat cancer. Now we are going to transform the way we care for patients while continuing to develop innovative treatments.”
The gift is intended to help Druker develop a fully integrated cancer care model with accelerated diagnostics, better access to clinical trials and a seamless treatment experience for patients and families.
