$10M gift will power Neuromedicine at URMC

Webster H. Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D.

A Q&A with Dr. Web Pilcher

In mid-May, University of Rochester and Medical Center leadership gathered to announce the formation of The Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute, made possible by a founding gift from Rochester entrepreneur Ernest J. Del Monte, chairman of E.J. Del Monte Corporation, a Rochester-based company that owns and operates 17 hotels in New York State. Del Monte said that his family’s $10 million gift is the first installment toward what he hopes will amount to a $20 million commitment to the Institute over time. At $10 million, the contribution is the second largest gift in the Medical Center’s history.

“Neuromedicine is one of the most promising endeavors that the University has undertaken,” Del Monte said. “We have all the necessary ingredients to be successful internationally. My hope is that this gift will be the force that helps scientists and clinicians collaborate so that one day, from this Institute, will emerge the cures for Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, brain tumors, and other neurological disorders. I truly believe we can do it.”

The Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute will serve as an umbrella for a host of vibrant research centers and growing clinical care programs throughout the Medical Center and River Campus. Since the Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute will focus primarily on bringing laboratory breakthroughs to everyday patient care, teams of neuroscientists working in translational medicine will be relocated together into the current Medical Research Building Extension (MRBX), which will be renamed the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute.

Webster Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neurosurgery chair, will serve as the director of the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute. Pulse sat down with Pilcher to discuss the Institute in more detail.

Why the need for a Neuromedicine Institute?

Despite the fact that Congress declared the 1990s the “Decade of the Brain” and invested billions of new dollars into NIH-funded neuroscience, the brain – and the diseases associated with it – remains one of the greatest medical mysteries of our time. We have before our nation a looming epidemic of brain diseases. For example, by the year 2050, the number of new Alzheimer’s cases is expected to quadruple. Stroke, which kills nearly 150,000 people a year, is currently the third leading cause of death, and the leading cause of disability in the U.S. By the year 2050, there will be one million cases of stroke per year. When you think about muscular dystrophy, ALS (“Lou Gehrig's Disease”) and other neuromuscular disorders, brain malignancies, developmental disabilities, behavioral and mood disorders, we have a huge task before us.

How will the Institute be organized?

Today, in almost every major city in America, patients with cancer have the option of securing their treatment in a comprehensive cancer center, which offers teams of physicians, scientists, and therapists to provide the best available treatment to patients and to push the frontiers of research to reduce the burden of cancer. The Del Monte Institute aims to produce similar results in patients with brain disease by bringing together the most inspired brain scientists in the country, the patients afflicted with these diseases, the most visionary physicians committed to the deployment of new therapies to relieve suffering and the most talented students and resident physicians who are attracted by our vision. Our goal is to eventually house all these programs under one roof, but we will first start by relocating our translational neuroscientists into the new Institute facility.

Are there specific areas you will initially concentrate on?

We are going to lead with our strengths, and fortunately, we have a lot of those. Across our University, we have many brilliant and passionate neuromedicine physicians and scientists whose insights I believe will transform the care for patients with brain diseases, not only here in Rochester, but nationally. Gifted clinicians like Paul Maurer, who helped save the life of the Rochester police officer shot earlier this year; Ira Shoulson and Karl Kieburtz, who lead an international network of physicians and scientists searching for new cures for a host of neurological disorders; Betza Zlokovic, whose world leading insights into Alzheimer’s and stroke will produce new treatments within our lifetimes; Steve Goldman, an international leader in brain stem cell research and the application to innovative therapies in patients; Charles Thornton, who is closing in on the first effective treatment for muscular dystrophy; Maiken Nedergaard, a world leader in astrocyte research whose discoveries will impact patients with spinal cord injury, stroke, epilepsy, aneurysm rupture and many other brain and spinal cord diseases. I could go on and on, because our neuromedicine community is so deep with internationally recognized investigators, and I have just skimmed the surface, but suffice it to say, we are well poised to take on this challenge.

We’ll begin by identifying champions of our flagship programs in Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, spinal cord and brain injury and brain tumors. Each of these programs within the Institute will be charged with introducing new therapies for these diseases within the next decade and improving outcomes and cost of care of treatment for these diseases in Rochester within five years.

How soon will it be before our patients experience such care?

Work is already underway to develop these programs in an innovative way. Here is the first example, and there will be others. Under the leadership of world recognized Alzheimer’s scientist, Betza Zlokovic, a multidisciplinary team comprised of outstanding researchers and clinicians is being assembled. This team, which includes Charles Duffy, Anton Porsteinsson, Roger Kurlan, Fred Marshall and others who specialize in Alzheimer’s clinical care and research throughout our University, are working to develop a nationally recognized program in Rochester. As a result, patients with Alzheimer’s in our community will experience more streamlined and coordinated care, enjoying just one point of contact to access all the latest diagnostic techniques and therapeutic interventions available, as well as support group programs and other important services for family members. This integrated approach also will lead to the creation of a central database, that will allow us for the first time to identify early risk factors for Alzheimer’s and to bring to the bedside the cutting edge research directed at new therapies being developed in the laboratories of Dr. Zlokovic and others. It is our goal to leverage our scientific leadership to create a nationally leading program, right here in Rochester.

For more information on the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute, click here.

Home»