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How the generosity of donors helped propel Massey to NCI comprehensive designation

Orbital shakers whirr for hours on end in the laboratory of Xiang-Yang (Shawn) Wang, Ph.D., co-leader of the Developmental Therapeutics research program and holder of the Harry and Judy Wason Distinguished Professorship at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Wang, who is also associate scientific director of immunology at the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, describes his team’s immunotherapy work as the new frontier of cancer research and treatment.

He knows Massey’s standing with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as an NCI-designated center, which it’s held since 1975, has opened doors for funding and helped recruit and retain promising, diverse researchers and clinical scientists. And, as an institution where nearly a quarter of the annual operating budget comes from philanthropy, he also knows how important giving is to the center’s – and to his own – work.

“Being an NCI-designated center is outstanding for our research,” Wang said. “It’s also positive for translational research that brings the technology developed in the laboratory to the patient and, eventually, to benefit the entire community.” NCI funding and philanthropic support are the linchpins to making this possible. Wang was part of the research team that discovered that T cells – immune cells that help fight cancer – can be armed with a gene to broadly attack solid tumors.

Massey researchers, Kathy Tossas, Ph.D.; Devanand Sarkar, Ph.D., and Xiang-Yang “Shawn” Wang, Ph.D., at a 2022 Massey event.

As a national leader in the field, Wang has been actively recruited by other institutions. Thanks to philanthropic leadership from the Wasons and other donors who recognized the promise of immunotherapy, including Darlene and George Emerson and East West Communities Foundation, Massey was able to create the Wason Professorship and to build a fund that now totals $6.6 million to support immunotherapy research at Massey. The generosity of these donors enabled the center to leverage the Glasgow Trust, which matches endowed research gifts greater than $500,000, and to attract other philanthropic gifts.

Wang remains a leader in the field of immuno-oncology and in 2021 was recognized with a $2.3 million, five-year R01 grant from the NCI to investigate immunotherapy treatment options for advanced prostate cancer. Massey’s vision to be a premier community-focused cancer center leading the nation in cancer health equity research and ensuring optimal health outcomes for all is reflected in the center’s 2021-25 Strategic Plan, with particular emphasis on prostate, as well as lung, breast, and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, which disproportionately impact many of the communities in Massey’s catchment area.

“Philanthropy is a critical component in building a stronger infrastructure, providing resources for our brilliant researchers, giving our community members access to lifesaving clinical trials and ultimately saving more lives,” said Becky Massey, a longtime donor and volunteer leader at the center, which bears the name of her family in honor of a major gift bestowed in 1983. “Faculty recruitment and retention is just one of the things we achieve through philanthropy, and Massey’s status as a NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center will give donors additional confidence.”

Leaders from VCU and across the commonwealth, including Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, Virginia Secretary of Health John Littel, VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., Massey director, Robert A. Winn, M.D., former Massey director Gordon Ginder, M.D., and Massey Advisory Board incoming chair Becky Massey, and others, came together to celebrate Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center’s NCI comprehensive designation in June 2023.

National Cancer Institute’s highest distinction

Massey was one of the earliest cancer centers designated by the NCI in 1975, just four years after the creation of the NCI Cancer Centers Program as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971. The program recognizes centers around the country for meeting rigorous research, education and training standards.

As an NCI-designated cancer center, Massey was already among the top 4% of the nation’s 1,500 cancer centers and a national leader in the cancer fight. “But why stop there?” challenged Robert A. Winn, M.D., Director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at Massey, when he started his tenure in December 2019. His highest priority was to achieve comprehensive designation.

To support Winn’s ambitious challenge, in 2021, Massey embarked on a two-year fundraising campaign to raise an additional $22 million to position Massey for NCI comprehensive designation. The initiative, called the “Quest for Comprehensive,” focused on raising additional philanthropic dollars to help Massey grow key initiatives, including: recruit and retain acclaimed scientists; increase research and clinical trials offerings; expand Massey’s Molecules to Medicine program and expedite cutting-edge new treatments; combat cancer health disparities through community outreach and engagement; and improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship for all.

Massey advocates and donors answered the challenge, providing vital resources that boosted Massey’s research and clinical trials numbers and helped the center retain and recruit premiere researchers and clinician-scientists, as well as build its community outreach and engagement initiatives.

Robert A. Winn, M.D., Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center director and Lipman Chair in Oncology, Becky Massey, Massey Advisory Board chair, and Charles Crone, Massey Advisory Board member and long-time supporter, at a 2023 donor event hosted by the MCV Foundation.

In June 2023, Massey was awarded the NCI’s highest-level distinction as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Massey is one of just two comprehensive cancer centers in Virginia and 56 in the United States. Winn is the first African American to lead a cancer center to comprehensive status.

"We were thrilled to commit our philanthropy to advance Dr. Winn's vision for the future of Massey as a place that will transform the future of cancer care for Virginia,” said former Massey Advisory Board chairs, Mike Gracik and Anne Whittemore. “We've watched Massey grow for many years and felt we were on the precipice of reaching our aspirational goal of NCI Comprehensive status.” Gracik and Whittemore were instrumental in engaging the community to join the campaign and invest in Massey.

“If you didn’t know about Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center – now you know.” – Robert A. Winn, M.D.

“Comprehensive is not just a name; it is validation from the NCI that Massey has proven excellence in basic laboratory research, population science and clinical research,” Winn said at a June 2023 celebration event announcing the center’s new comprehensive designation. “I’m walking with a swagger not just because of what we’ve just done but because of the men and women whose shoulders I stand upon who brought us here. If you didn’t know about VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center – now you know.”

“We truly are one team with one fight against cancer,” Winn said to the room filled with Massey donors and advocates whose connection to the center spans decades. Included were Becky Massey, C.T. Hill, who nearly 20 years ago co-chaired the $108 million Research for Life campaign that laid a foundation for swift research progress by supporting the center’s people, places and program. Also on hand was Alice T. Goodwin (B.S.’66). She and her husband, William H. “Bill” (H.L.D.’05) Goodwin Jr., are among VCU’s and Massey’s most generous and visionary donors.

“Bill and Alice Goodwin’s philanthropy has been nothing short of transformative,” Winn said of the couple whose leadership gift named the Goodwin Research Laboratory, which since its opening in 2006, has housed Massey’s scientific labs, including Winn’s. “The Goodwins’ generosity has enabled and inspired others to support Massey and VCU and to help them build state-of-the-art facilities, attract world-class faculty, provide scholarships and other financial assistance to deserving students, and fund groundbreaking research that has transformed the institution into a national leader.”

C.T. Hill, pictured with his wife, Moira Hill, at a 2023 donor event, co-chaired a $108 million “Research for Life” campaign nearly 20 years ago that laid a foundation for Massey to become a NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2023.

Former Massey director Gordon Ginder, M.D., who led the cancer center for over two decades, from 1997 to 2019, recognized Massey’s wide network of supporters for their part in helping Massey achieve NCI comprehensive designation.

“I’ve been accused of being a master of understatement, but I have nothing but superlatives today in my thanks to all of you who made this possible,” Ginder said.

Inspiring giving

Having the nation’s principal authority on cancer research and training recognize Massey further inspires donors who are proud of their role in helping Massey achieve this distinction.

For Chip Lacy, a long-time Massey Advisory Board member, and his wife Connie, investing in a nationally-recognized cancer center that is right here in Richmond is important. The Lacys have established or contributed to six endowed funds at Massey.

“Directing financial resources to endow a position or program at Massey is a way that our philanthropy can have a lasting impact,” Lacy said. “It gives researchers the resources and time they need to advance new ideas and to expand Massey’s expertise and caliber of research.”

Endowments provide financial stability for researchers and for the broader institution, which in turn helps to recruit and retain top talents to advance science and bring increased prestige to the Center. Dozens of Massey researchers are supported by endowed professorships and chairs, including Leslie Randall, M.D., medical director of the Clinical Trials Office and holder of the Dianne Harris Wright Professorship of Gynecologic Oncology Research at Massey. “Endowments are important because they show that an institution is committed to providing a self-sustaining source of revenue for its researchers,” Randall noted.

Robert A. Winn, M.D., Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center director and Lipman Chair in Oncology, with Advisory Board members Sarah Cossé and Mike Gracik, and Susan Gracik, at a donor reception in 2023.

A new generation of cancer centers

With its new NCI status, Massey is leading a new generation of community-focused NCI-designated cancer centers where world-class research is informed by the community it serves. At Massey, high-quality cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care is a promise to every person, regardless of zip code or economic status. The center is bringing Massey’s mission directly to the 66 contiguous localities it serves across central, eastern, and southern Virginia.

Massey prioritizes community input in driving research and was one of the first cancer centers to create a senior-level position dedicated to disparities research, a role held by Vanessa B. Sheppard, Ph.D. Sheppard, who also holds the Theresa A. Thomas Memorial Chair in Cancer Prevention and Control, was honored as the American Cancer Society’s 2022 Researcher of the Year for her advances in cancer research.

In addition to supporting endowed professorships and chairs, the generosity of an active network of donors, corporate partners and grateful patients has propelled Massey’s growth by helping to build an infrastructure that supports faculty at all stages of their career.

“Support from Massey for junior faculty like me is invaluable,” said Paula Bos, Ph.D., co-leader of the Cancer Biology research program and associate professor in the Department of Pathology at the VCU School of Medicine. “Not only do we have access to outstanding core facilities, but also pilot funding to explore new research directions, acquire preliminary data for extramural grant applications and build meaningful collaborations across the university.” Bos recently secured a $2.5 million, seven-year MERIT award from the NCI to explore the biology of brain metastasis.

Driving toward a future without cancer

Hamilton Glass and Sir James Thornhill are two Richmond-based community artists who created original artwork for two Massey on the Move mobile health vans. The vans are being deployed to deliver information and education about cancer prevention and screenings to communities across Massey’s catchment area.

Corporate support for Massey grew by 35% between 2021 and 2023, while overall giving increased 18%. Dominion Energy and its Charitable Foundation, one of Massey’s largest corporate supporters in the region, is a strong backer of Massey’s work to combat cancer and to reduce disparities in cancer incidence rates and outcomes.

Most recently, Dominion Energy partnered with Massey on two Massey on the Move mobile health vans that are now being deployed across Virginia to bring education about cancer prevention and screenings across traditionally underserved communities in Massey’s catchment area.

“Having a world-class cancer center like Massey in our community is a gift,” said Hunter A. Applewhite, Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation president. “We are proud to support Massey’s great work advancing research and access to information and care. Being on the ground level of supporting Massey in these efforts is more than an honor. It’s the right thing to do.”

Educational materials funded by Bank of America focusing on cancer prevention and screenings, and healthy living and wellness will be distributed from the vans.

The center also received significant funding to advance its work in cancer health equity through grants from the Merck Foundation to advance the Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care and from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation for a diversity in clinical trials awards initiative.

“When a cancer center bears your name, it is a remarkable honor. But, it also comes with responsibility.” - Becky Massey

“When a cancer center bears your name, it is a remarkable honor,” said Becky Massey, who is serving as the current chair of the Massey Advisory Board. “But, it also comes with responsibility. We are most grateful for those who love and support Massey as we do. Comprehensive status validates the hundreds of individuals and families across the Richmond region who have embraced Massey, both by receiving their cancer care and by funding the center's lifesaving research to achieve this acclaimed, highest-possible designation.”

Suzanne S. Youngkin, Virginia first lady and Becky Massey, Massey Advisory Board chair, with Monica Rao, wife of VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., at a February 2023 fundraising luncheon.

“What does ‘Comprehensive’ mean, really?,” VCU and VCU Health System president Michael Rao, Ph.D., asked attendees at the June event announcing the NCI designation. “Comprehensive is only a word – until you look at the meaning behind it.” Being a NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center means Massey can save more lives, can dive deeper into this disease and its many forms and can attract the nation’s top talent, Rao said. “And that’s key.”

With comprehensive status now achieved, Massey Nation looks ahead to the future of the cancer fight and Massey’s role in improving care and outcomes for all people. “NCI designation doesn’t mean our work is done,” Becky Massey added. “It just means we’re going to start working even harder.”