Since 1993 Emory has poured talent and resources into fighting lung disease. Whether it’s lung cancer—the leading cancer killer worldwide—asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cystic fibrosis, lung disease causes years of suffering before taking lives. Today Emory has Georgia’s first and only lung transplant program, and Emory specialists are learning how to better predict, treat, and prevent all forms of lung disease.
At age 12 Andrew McKelvey delivered eggs door to door for a dime-a-dozen profit and was hooked on business. Eventually he founded online job-search giant Monster.com. His great success, he said, carried the obligation to do good.
In 1967 McKelvey was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a debilitating disease that causes inflammation and scarring of the lungs and reduces their capacity. Crediting pulmonologist Clinton Lawrence for improving the quality of his life, McKelvey designated more than $25 million to the McKelvey Center for Lung Transplantation and Pulmonary Vascular Diseases at Emory.
With that gift, Emory recruited a dozen star faculty, built new laboratories that enabled groundbreaking research, advanced treatment of patients with lung disease, and more than tripled the number of lifesaving lung transplants. The gift has provided “seed” money to young researchers pursuing new approaches to lung disease. Emory now is involved in multicenter clinical trials of new lung transplant drugs and pulmonary hypertension treatment.
“His support has been just remarkable for its impact,” says Lawrence, the late McKelvey’s friend and medical adviser for more than 25 years. “These resources have been a real catalyst and helped us expand dramatically.”
Your support will leverage federal funding for promising ideas and inspire others to breathe new life into lung disease research.
