Over the past three decades, the Ellison family has had a uniquely close relationship with Mass General, the largest recipient of grant support from the Ellison Foundation, after which the hospital’s inpatient Ellison Building was named. During their lifetimes, both the late Bill Ellison and his sister Harriet Ellison Rogers gave more to the hospital than to any other charity. The foundation that survives them continues this tradition of philanthropy to the hospital, much of it to the Cancer Center.
The Ellison Foundation’s pioneering support for cancer care and research includes much needed capital support for the investment of cancer facilities. The research of Ellison Foundation Scholars (pictured here) Hanno Hock, MD, PhD, (2004) and Jeffrey Engelman, MD, PhD, (2006) is enhancing cancer therapies with support from the foundation. Most recently, the Ellison Foundation contributed to the Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Project, helping the project achieve international prominence and enabling researchers to further advance CTC-chip technology that holds the potential of earlier detection and, therefore, treatment of cancer.
