On Jun. 16, 2016, The University of Michigan Board of Regents announced a $17.5 million commitment for cancer research from Madeline and Sidney Forbes of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

This gift to the university’s $4 billion Victors for Michigan campaign helped create the Forbes Institute for Cancer Discovery within the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. It was the largest private donation for cancer research in the school’s history.

The Forbes’ gift will:

• Advance cutting-edge science from the laboratory to patients by stimulating innovative technology and new therapies.

• Offer team research awards for cross-disciplinary efforts — bringing together faculty from disparate areas including medicine, business, pharmacy, dentistry, engineering and public health. Such research will be aimed at developing better cancer treatments.

• Create Senior Forbes Scholars and Emerging Forbes Scholars programs in cancer discovery.

• Establish the Madeline and Sidney Forbes Professorship in Oncology within the Comprehensive Cancer Center. This professorship has been awarded to Dr. Max S. Wicha.

The goal of the Forbes Institute will be to encourage scientists across the university to undertake high-risk, high-reward initiatives with the potential to drive new advances in cancer research. The intent is to fuel rapid development of innovative technology and new therapies, bringing better, more targeted treatments to the 1.6 million Americans diagnosed with cancer each year.