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Mike's direct involvement in medical research began in earnest in 1972 when his mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. That commitment accelerated during his father's battle with melanoma in the mid-1970s. In 1982, Mike formalized his philanthropy by co-founding the Milken Family Foundation, which would be endowed with hundreds of millions of dollars. Over three decades, the Foundation has worked closely with more than 1,000 organizations around the world, supporting medical research and education programs.
Programs and contributions by the Milken Family Foundation have made a difference in the battle against several grave diseases, including breast cancer and epilepsy. Earlier in his career, Mike endowed a chair at the Harvard Medical School Dana Farber Cancer Center, was the primary benefactor of the Venice (Calif.) Family Clinic (which serves tens of thousands of people), and gave his time and resources to a wide range of medical causes. The Foundation has provided grants to keep many young cancer researchers in their labs when they were tempted to pursue more-lucrative clinical practices. Mike has said, "Of all the programs we've supported over the last generation, the biggest payoff in terms of social benefit has come from the awards to young investigators." Among those who received awards in the 1980s were:
- Dr. Dennis Slamon, who later discovered Herceptin, a revolutionary breakthrough in the treatment of one type of breast cancer;
- Dr. Steven Rosenberg, who reported a major breakthrough in the development of successful gene therapy that for the first time in history harnesses the body's own immune system to shrink tumors;
- Dr. Bert Vogelstein, who did pioneering work on the incalculably important p53 gene, whose mutant form is believed to be involved in more than half of human cancers;
- Dr. Owen Witte, whose subsequent work provided the basis for the development of the breakthrough drug Gleevec, now used as a frontline therapy for patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia;
- Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, who as the developer of a highly successful chemotherapy regimen for testicular cancer later treated seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong;
- Dr. Philip Leder, a pioneer in molecular biology who contributed to the deciphering of the genetic code; and
- Dr. Charles Meyers, who went on to become Chief of the Clinical Pharmacology branch of the National Cancer Institute.
In 1993, Mike established the Prostate Cancer Foundation. See A Call to Action for details. But after more than 30 years of involvement in a broad range of medical research, Mike became frustrated with the pace of progress against all serious diseases and launched FasterCures / The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions in 2003. This Washington, D.C.-based "action tank" is helping break down barriers to progress against all life-threatening diseases. In 2007, the Melanoma Research Alliance was launched to support innovative translational studies that advance the diagnosis, staging and treatment of melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer.
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