The University of Colorado has received $1 million from Jane Butcher to provide support for groundbreaking interdisciplinary research in the emerging field of molecular biotechnology.
The gift represents major support for the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology (CIMB) and builds upon earlier gifts from Jane Butcher and her late husband, Charlie, to further research in an area at the forefront of science and medicine. The initiative has wide-ranging implications for patients who need sophisticated treatments.
Scientists, whose focus in the past was primarily in their respective areas of expertise, are now connecting with each other through CIMB, which is integrating the work of biological scientists doing research at the molecular level with engineers exploring new uses of technology and clinicians trying to improve human health.
According to Professor Leslie Leinwand, director of the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology, addressing a complex medical question requires a multi-disciplined approach.
"Unexpected connections are being made by bringing together colleagues in diverse fields," said Leinwand. "The Butcher gift will enable us to create a community of top researchers who will pool their respective expertise to make new discoveries that have tremendous potential- like tissue regeneration and biomarkers."
The Butcher contribution will not only stimulate new ideas and thinking, but also nurture collaborative research teams and provide seed grants for biotechnology research projects. The gift is the third major gift the Butchers have made to support CU's biotechnology initiative. Combined with earlier gifts, the Butchers have given more than $2.6 million to advance new discoveries that will have a direct impact on patient care.
The new gift will be matched with $1 million from the CU-Boulder chancellor's office. Prior gifts also were leveraged with university matching funds.
G. P. "Bud" Peterson, chancellor of the CU-Boulder campus, said that past support from the Butchers' has resulted in more than $18 million in additional research grants to support biomedical research. According to Peterson, several Colorado-based biotech companies that are making significant contributions to the Colorado economy have been a direct result of the Butchers' early gifts.
Two Butcher symposia, slated for fall 2007 and 2009, will bring together top scientists and researchers from all three CU system campuses to explore collaborative research possibilities in biomedical science.
Seed grants will support the work of newly formed, collaborative research teams. Preference will be given to projects that represent the potential for having a global impact and attracting national research grants and to teams that have not published together within the past five years.
"Charlie wanted to turn big ideas into reality-ideas that would be valuable 20 to 100 years from now," said Jane Butcher. "Supporting the work of new, collaborative teams of the best and brightest scientists, with the potential for impacting lives far into the future, is what he always wanted."
Jane and her husband, Charlie, have a track record of philanthropy. When they sold their cleaning products company to the S.C. Johnson Co., the Butchers gave $18 million to their 325 employees the day after the acquisition was complete.
When Charlie retired he pursued his interest in science by volunteering to work in the lab of CU researcher Professor Larry Gold, who conducted pioneering DNA and RNA research that resulted in new drug families. It was Charlie's personal connection with Gold, and his interest in helping humanity, that led to the generous gifts.
Jane continues to invest in research collaborations. For the past 10 years, she has co-chaired the Conference on World Affairs -- an event that brings together participants from around the globe who represent diverse backgrounds to discuss and debate a wide range of issues. Jane's involvement dates to when she first participated as a student. "It's a passion of mine," she said. "The insights that are possible with cross-disciplinary thinking are astonishing and yield new ways of looking at old questions."
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