September 25, 2016
Source/Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced this week a new $50 million initiative to support genetics research and improve patient care.
The Roberts Collaborative for Genetics and Individualized Medicine was made possible in part by a $25 million gift from the Roberts family, the hospital said Friday in a release.
Madeline Bell, president and CEO of CHOP, thanked the Roberts family for their commitment to improving the quality of life for city residents. The family includes former CHOP board member Aileen Roberts, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Suzanne Roberts, Catherine Clifton, Anthony Clifton, Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer.
"We are extremely grateful to the Roberts family for this remarkable gift, which will help [CHOP] usher in a new era of genetics and broaden the scope of genetic medicine across all clinical areas of the hospital," Bell said. "Research is core to CHOP's mission, and growing CHOP's Research Institute is fundamental to our strategy and commitment to breakthroughs."
The effort will allow CHOP to pursue cures for childhood diseases through genetics research.
"Philadelphia is fortunate to have some of the nation's leading biomedical research institutes, and they are achieving great success in making the latest cures and therapies available to adults and children," Aileen Roberts said. "The Roberts family is honored to be able to contribute to CHOP's efforts to create a world-class collaborative and clinical center for genetic and individualized medicine in pediatrics."
The hospital identified seven core components for the new initiative to improve care: genetic diagnostics, clinical counseling, education for patients and families, training for residents and medical students, developing innovative solutions, targeting therapeutic options, and creating a data repository.
