Weitzmans Contribute to Stem Cell Research

Appreciation, friendship and gratitude led Herbert “Herb” and Genie Weitzman to contribute to flexible stem cell research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The couple chose to evenly divide a $100,000 gift between the UT Health Science Center and the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Herb and Genie Weitzman

“I think there’s dual motivation,” Weitzman said of the decision to donate to the UT institutions in Houston. “Genie has been a patient at M. D. Anderson since September 2000, and we’ve had wonderful treatment and support there. The other motivation is that Jim Willerson and I went to school together. How do you not help Jim do his good work?”

Weitzman said that upon learning more from UT Health Science Center President James T. Willerson, M.D., about the investigations into how stem cells can be used to regenerate other cells, he and his wife chose to designate their contribution to this research.

“We talked to him about it and decided to help him because, without a doubt, I think it’s important to support medical research. That’s what’s helped keep my wife alive,” Weitzman said. “She’s kind of a walking miracle.”

A Stem Cell Research Core Facility is part of the Laboratory for Developmental Biology at the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM). As the only stem cell facility of its kind in the Texas Medical Center, this lab offers scientists intellectual and technical assistance in research and conducts original research in stem cell therapy.

Recently, the scientists at the IMM’s Stem Cell Research Core Facility derived new mouse stem cells that may be modified to emit a green light. The modified, glowing stem cells can be seen when re-implanted and may serve as a valuable tool in studying the way stem cells regenerate tissues and organs damaged by disease.

Weitzman said he is hopeful that work at the health science center will further advance research that might be used to fight diseases such as cancer.

“I hope that the work continues and it could certainly one day help our family,” Weitzman said. “Good results will happen sooner rather than later.”

Willerson echoed this sentiment and emphasized the need for private sector funding for such research.

“Without support from conscientious individuals, such as Herb and Genie Weitzman, research into the arena of cellular therapy would progress at a much slower rate,” Willerson said. “We are very grateful to the Weitzmans for their gift and their belief in our research. Stem cell therapy is a promising armament in the fight to conquer the most common diseases of our time, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.”

Weitzman said that he has another reason to feel good about his gift to UT in Houston.

“As a UT graduate, I have a great sense of pride in what’s being done in the whole UT System and M. D. Anderson is a part of that,” Weitzman said. “We feel very blessed to have the best doctors in the country so nearby.”

A number of collaborative projects exist between M. D. Anderson and the UT Health Science Center, including the joint operation of the UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston.

By Wendy K. Mohon, Institutional Advancement