ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Virginia Tech’s medical school received a major gift to support the development of new treatments for diseases affecting people worldwide, according to a press release from Virginia Tech.
The William Jacob and Barbara Boyle Lemon family made a $1 million gift to the Fralin Biomedical Research Center at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine to help the institute recruit scientists to conduct research in their core focus areas such as cancer and cardiovascular science.
“If the institute achieves what we think it’s going to, it will continue to grow its impact and visibility as a recognized example for changing medical discovery worldwide. It’s going to have the potential to make medical breakthroughs that will benefit the world population,” said William J. Lemon, a Roanoke lawyer, army veteran, and philanthropist.
An expansion project slated for completion next fall will make room for an estimated 400 additional scientists and staff when it reaches full capacity by 2027.
“The Lemon family’s gift will help us competitively recruit and retain the very best people in immunology to advance the pace and impact of discovery and the translation of those discoveries to practice in the key health areas that we have targeted,” said Friedlander.
Recruitment is scheduled to begin this summer.
