When Camille Dan decided to create the Camille Dan Family Research Chair in Translational Cell Biology, she was thinking of the future.

“I feel like part of a team that’s on the brink of something major. This research will help a huge number of people,” said Ms. Dan. Her leadership gift will support stem cell research conducted by Dr. Robert Casper, Senior Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Dr. Casper works with stem cells from donated cord blood to treat peripheral vascular disease – the narrowing of arteries outside the heart – a common condition for diabetics and people over age 50. He is also renowned for his work in the areas of fertility treatment, endometriosis research and hormonal connections to cancer.

The Lunenfeld, one of the world’s premier biomedical research institutes, is the site of groundbreaking advances in stem cell research. Canada’s first stem cell lines were established here in 2005 by Dr. Andras Nagy, and earlier this year, Dr. Nagy developed a method of creating stem cells from adult tissues.

“I was presented with the research being done at the Lunenfeld, and the amazing advances that have already been made,” says Ms. Dan. “But it was Dr. Casper’s focus on stem cell and cancer research, and the number of diseases and conditions that his research applies to, that really excited me.”

Ms. Dan’s gift may be firmly fixed on the future, but the reasons behind it can be found in the past. As a nurse in Mount Sinai’s ICU in the 1980s, Ms. Dan witnessed the benefits of the Hospital’s implementation of patient-centred care. Later, as a patient of the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre, she experienced the compassion, dedication and expertise of “the best physicians and staff.

“I remember all I’ve been given by this hospital,” she said, “and I’m truly blessed to be able to give back to Mount Sinai.”