Madlyn K. Abramson
PHILADELPHIA—A generous $10 million gift from the Abramson Family Foundation will help ensure Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center remains on the leading edge of cancer research and care. In recognition of the gift, the lobby of the new Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania will be named in memory of the late Emeritus Trustee Madlyn K. Abramson, ED’57, GED’60, who passed away in 2020.
"Madlyn Abramson's impact on Penn Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania simply cannot be overstated," said J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine. "The Abramson family’s dedication to our institution, our research and care teams, and—most importantly—our patients, has led to the day when we can speak the word, 'cure.' This additional commitment means the Abramson Cancer Center will continue to transform care for generations to come, and we are honored to be able to celebrate Madlyn's enduring vision in such a meaningful way."
The Abramson Family has a long legacy of championing cancer care and research at Penn Medicine. Over the past several decades, they have given more than $163 million to the Abramson Cancer Center, moved by a vision to support the bold ideas and patient-centered approaches that have propelled the center to its global reputation as a leader in cancer care and research. The Abramsons were also steadfast, early partners in support of Penn’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing $1 million in support of COVID-19 research driven by the Abramson Cancer Center.
“Thanks to passionate leaders and partners like the late Madlyn Abramson, our dear friend and champion, we are even better equipped to galvanize our commitment to preventing, detecting, and treating cancer,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “This generous new gift from the Abramson family inspires us to build on Madlyn’s legacy as a longstanding supporter of Penn Medicine, a believer in the power of our faculty and staff’s bold ideas and compassion that brings hope to patients and their families. Inside the Pavilion and across every part of our health system, we are working together to build on the momentum she helped launch.”
“The Pavilion’s Madlyn K. Abramson Lobby truly reflects the vision of compassionate care held by its beloved namesake, and generations of Penn Medicine patients will now be inspired with the same hope and compassionate healing that Madlyn imbued upon our community,” added Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and John H. Glick, MD, Abramson Cancer Center’s director professor. “By investing in the innovation pipeline, the family’s gift will also fuel scientific discovery at the Abramson Cancer Center.”
The 17-story Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which opened in October 2021, is a 1.5 million-square-foot, future-ready facility featuring 504 private patient rooms and 47 operating rooms. The adaptable building helps accelerate bench-to-bedside research, allowing Penn Medicine to continue driving advanced care and research, including clinical trials for the next generation of personalized cell and gene therapies for cancer and a host of other diseases. The Pavilion also has a dedicated oncology ICU adjacent to the inpatient oncology unit on the same floor—a rarity in the country—which ensures patients receive the right level of care at every moment.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.