Philanthropy Newsroom

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center hosted its ninth annual Boot Walk to End Cancer^® fundraising event on Saturday, Nov. 2, in the Texas Medical Center. This year, the Boot Walk’s 7,000+ in-person participants and 1,200+ virtual participants from Houston and around the world joined together to raise $1.4 million to support the institution’s mission to end cancer. Fundraising will continue through the end of November.

“The Boot Walk provides crucial funding for MD Anderson’s patient care, research, prevention and education programs – but most importantly, it provides hope to those facing cancer. Today, we walk together to give cancer the boot,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson, during the event’s opening ceremony. “I am honored to walk alongside our patients, caregivers and friends in support of our shared mission to end cancer.”

A promise fulfilled
For event chair Rachel Cruz Auwarter, the Boot Walk represents the fulfillment of a promise she made to herself when she was diagnosed with melanoma in 2011.

“During my first appointment, I remember thinking, ‘Give me my family and good health, and I can figure the rest of it out along the way.’ I was given both and decided that if I was ever given the chance to support and provide hope for someone else facing a cancer diagnosis, I would,” Auwarter said. “My cancer experience gave me a window into what is so special about MD Anderson. The quality and level of care, compassion and respect you are given is simply unparalleled.”

Auwarter has served MD Anderson in numerous ways, volunteering on the institution’s Advance Team and, most recently, as Boot Walk chair.

“For me, the Boot Walk represents hope in action, and collective dedication to MD Anderson's mission to end cancer,” Auwarter said.

Thousands gather for a day of celebration
The Boot Walk kicked off with a 1.2-mile walk around MD Anderson’s campus in the Texas Medical Center, featuring special performances along the route from more than a dozen community musicians, dance troupes and cultural groups. After the walk, participants were treated to live music, photo opportunities, healthy snacks and beverages provided by event sponsor, Walmart, and tons of kid-friendly activities led by the Houston Dynamo and Dash. Participants also were encouraged to sign the cancer strikethrough wall in honor or memory of anyone facing cancer. Additionally, MD Anderson’s mobile mammography vans and blood donation buses were onsite to conduct tours, perform mammograms and collect blood donations.

Thanks to generous event sponsors, 100% of the funds raised through the Boot Walk directly support MD Anderson’s patient care, research, prevention and education programs. This year’s sponsors include Walmart, Houston Dynamo and Dash, NRG Energy, MustangCAT, Third Coast Bank, York Construction, USI Insurance Services, Summit Industrial, Metro, Egon Zehnder, i-Pro and Constellation Energy. Media partners include Audacy (The Bull, Mix 96.5), Clear Channel, Outfront and the Houston Chronicle.

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has posthumously awarded Michael Frumovitz, M.D., with the Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence in Patient Care. The annual award recognizes employees who consistently demonstrate excellence in their work and dedication to MD Anderson’s mission to end cancer. The award’s focus rotates among the areas of patient care, research, education, prevention and administration, with this year’s award focusing on patient care. 

Frumovitz dedicated more than 20 years of service to MD Anderson, most recently as chief patient experience officer and professor in Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine. He passed away in July from pancreatic cancer.

“Dr. Frumovitz was an exceptional physician who committed his career to extending and bettering the lives of our patients, and he was an extraordinary colleague, friend and mentor to so many,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “His strength, his compassion, his wit and his impact will be felt for years to come. I will always be grateful for his commitment to our patients and for the example he set for us all.”

Pisters and Regina Rogers, a Life Member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors (BOV) who established the Rogers Award, hosted a ceremony on campus yesterday naming Frumovitz as the recipient and recognizing four other finalists for their compassionate patient care. Frumovitz’s wife, Karen, accepted the award on her husband’s behalf.

The four finalists:

• Hop Tran Cao, M.D., associate professor of Surgical Oncology

• Keith B. Felder, clinical nurse

• Douglas J. Harrison, M.D., professor of Pediatrics

• Ellen E. Reynolds, child life specialist II, Pediatrics

Remembering Frumovitz’s impact on patient care
Frumovitz was known by MD Anderson colleagues as a kind, caring and knowledgeable physician with a good sense of humor. 

He joined MD Anderson as a fellow in the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program. Upon completion, he joined MD Anderson’s faculty as an assistant professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine in 2005. He dedicated his career to improving patient care and outcomes and helped establish the department’s rare tumor clinic. 

Frumovitz was passionate about mentoring fellows and residents, as well advancing gynecologic oncology research. He served as a leader of the fellowship program – as assistant director from 2006 to 2012, then as director from 2012 to 2019 – and helped train many current and future leaders in the field of gynecologic oncology. The Society of Gynecologic Oncology honored him with the 2024 Distinguished Service Award for his accomplishments and his commitment to training and mentoring residents and fellows throughout his career.

In 2016, he began his role as associate chief patient experience officer. In 2021, he served as ad interim chief patient experience officer before being officially appointed a year later. In this role, Frumovitz led efforts to support patient-centered, value-driven care, working with teams across the organization to continually improve the experience of patients and caregivers. 

His research focused on cervical cancer, mucinous ovarian cancer and minimally invasive surgery for gynecologic cancers. He was internationally acclaimed for his work on rare tumors, especially neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix. His work included developing lymphatic mapping techniques for gynecologic malignancies and he served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on mapping studies of the vulva, vagina and cervix. He authored and co-authored more than 180 articles in peer-reviewed journals on these and other subjects.

Most recently, Frumovitz partnered with other clinical leaders to launch the institutional patient navigation program. His leadership was critical in improving the experience of MD Anderson’s patients, caregivers and providers. In 2023 and 2024, he was named to Becker's Hospital Review list of effective chief experience officers serving hospitals and health systems across the nation. 

“Michael was a tremendous colleague and friend who went out of his way to always comfort others,” said Rosanna Morris, senior vice president and chief operating officer, as well as chair of the award’s selection committee. “He had a huge impact on so many teammates and patients as chief patient experience officer, and our team will always hold him close to our hearts.”

Frumovitz openly shared his personal story  of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He said he chose to keep working through treatment because his work gave him purpose and he derived great joy from his colleagues, patients and caregivers.

“Michael showed us all what radical authenticity really looks like by sharing his experience as a cancer patient,” said Elizabeth Garcia, vice president of patient experience. “He shared what he learned, and that will continue to help us improve processes and polices for all patients.”

In honor of Frumovitz’s legacy of learning, the institution has established the Michael Frumovitz, M.D., Endowment for Gynecologic Rare Tumors. This fund supports clinical research and translational studies, medical education and lectures, physician trainings, and a strong, accessible rare tumor research-based registry. By enriching the research and educational experiences within the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, this endowed fund will allow MD Anderson to continue making meaningful advances in the study of rare gynecologic cancers. Gifts to this fund may be made in memory of Frumovitz.

HOUSTON ― The Tanoto Foundation today pledged $5 million to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to support cell therapy discovery and innovation research. These funds will accelerate crucial preclinical and translational research of CRISPR gene-edited, TGF-beta resistant CD70-targeted armored chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), developed by Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of Cell Therapy, and her team.

“Our philanthropic efforts in medical research are focused on improving people’s health and lifespan through collaborative relationships and catalytic funding,” said Anderson Tanoto, a member of the foundation’s board of trustees. “We believe Dr. Rezvani and her team are poised to redefine the standard of care for patients around the world and this pledge further builds on our existing ongoing medical philanthropy initiatives in Asia.”

Drawing on its strong research infrastructure, disease expertise and diverse patient population, MD Anderson hosts active CAR NK cell trials for patients with AML and MDS, as well as those with multiple myeloma, lymphoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, renal cell carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma and osteosarcoma. 

“Once-in-a-generation scientific advances require a high level of trust and support. On behalf of MD Anderson, I express my deepest gratitude to the Tanoto Foundation for its visionary support for cell therapy discovery and innovation research,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “Breakthroughs made here have the potential to benefit humanity for generations to come.”

Harnessing the power of NK cells to treat disease

MDS and AML are blood diseases characterized by an overproduction of immature blood cells that crowd out healthy cells.

Through groundbreaking research at MD Anderson, Rezvani and her team have developed and are furthering the study of an innovative treatment using engineered NK cells derived from donated umbilical cord blood. 

NK cells are tumor-destroying immune cells that serve as a first line of defense against disease; however, cancer cells can make themselves difficult to detect or resistant to treatment. By genetically modifying the NK cells with CARs, which are designed to bind to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells, the NK cells can find and eliminate target cancer cells more effectively. Rezvani’s laboratory multiplies the number of these engineered CAR NK cells, growing them in large numbers before infusing them into patients.

NK cell therapy is “off-the-shelf,” meaning it can be sourced from any healthy donor and given to any patient, without regard for most genetic matching parameters and without risk of graft-versus-host disease. This one-size-fits-all approach allows for production that can be scaled more easily and quickly than other forms of cell therapy. 

MD Anderson is home to one of the country’s largest cord blood banks, offering an ample supply of donated umbilical cord blood from which the NK cells are derived. Cells collected from a single umbilical cord serve as the basis for over 100 therapeutic doses. 

Building off success in treating blood cancers, MD Anderson’s researchers are now working to expand cell therapy’s application into solid tumors and autoimmune diseases.

“We are very grateful to the Tanoto Foundation for joining this endeavor to redefine the health care landscape for patients with AML, MDS and many other diseases,” Rezvani said. “Together, we are attracting global attention for this impactful research, and we aim to inspire others to join the mission to end cancer.”

HOUSTON ― Laurence Belfer, on behalf of Robert Belfer and the Belfer family, today announced a $20 million gift to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to strengthen neurodegeneration research through the Belfer Neurodegeneration Consortium (BNDC), a transformative multi-institutional initiative to advance the study and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

This $20 million commitment brings the Belfer family’s total giving to MD Anderson to $53.5 million in just over 10 years. Their generous gift will be matched through institutional philanthropic efforts, bringing an additional $20 million to neurodegeneration and other age-associated disease research efforts at MD Anderson.

The research of the BNDC, which is part of MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division, may also benefit patients with cancer, as cancer shares biological similarities with neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancer treatments are known to cause neural and cognitive impairments.

“Transformative gifts like this have the power to achieve more than we could have ever imagined,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “We are grateful to the Belfer family for their forward-thinking vision and for their renewed investment in the Belfer Neurodegeneration Consortium. Their generosity has and will continue to impact countless lives.”

To commemorate the Belfer family’s generosity, MD Anderson’s South Campus Research Building 4, a 208,000 sq.-foot research facility located at 1901 East Road in Houston, will be renamed “The Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Research Building.” The Belfer Building houses laboratories and offices of the BNDC as well as the Therapeutic Discovery division and the departments of Experimental Therapeutics, Cancer Biology, Genomic Medicine and Surgical Oncology Research.

“Since the consortium was formed, we have made tremendous progress in our understanding of the molecular and genetic basis of neurodegenerative diseases and in translating those findings into effective targeted drugs and diagnostics for patients,” said Jim Ray, Ph.D., executive director, Belfer Neurodegeneration Consortium. “Yet, we still have more work to do. Alzheimer's disease is already the most expensive disease in the United States. As our population continues to age, addressing quality-of-life issues and other challenges of treating and living with age-associated diseases must become a priority.”

With this latest gift, the Belfer family aims to do just that.

“We want to help aging adults lead better, longer lives,” said Belfer. “My family strongly believes in the work being done at MD Anderson through the Belfer Neurodegeneration Consortium to help those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of neurodegenerative diseases. We are proud to put our name behind this collaborative effort that will impact generations to come.”

Belfer Neurodegeneration Consortium to advance novel therapeutic strategies
Formed in 2012, the BNDC is a multi-institutional initiative between MD Anderson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Baylor College of Medicine, among others. The consortium was established to gain a deeper understanding of neurodegenerative disease biology and translate those findings into effective therapeutic interventions.

The BNDC is a core component of MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division, which unites scientists, clinicians and drug development experts to eliminate the bottlenecks stifling traditional drug discovery. Driven by unparalleled proximity to patients and unmatched clinical and research expertise, Therapeutics Discovery and the BNDC can advance effective new therapies in ways not possible elsewhere.

Building upon early successes, the BNDC aims to develop five new medicines for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders over the next 10 years, with the goal for two treatments to demonstrate clinical efficacy.

“Our goal is ambitious, but having access to the vast clinical trial expertise at MD Anderson ensures our therapeutics can improve the lives of patients everywhere,” Ray said. “The key elements for success are in place: a powerful research model, a winning collaborative team and a robust translational pipeline, all in the right place at the right time.”

MD Anderson researchers are working through its Cancer Neuroscience Program to explore the intersection between neurological disease and cancer. The work of the BNDC helps inform the Cancer Neuroscience Program, positioning the institution to make maximal impact on patients with cancer.

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center held its 38th annual Polo on the Prairie on April 27 in West Texas, raising over $1 million for patient care, research and education initiatives. The event drew more than 1,300 attendees to Rancho Verde in Breckenridge, Texas.

“Polo on the Prairie embodies the spirit of West Texans. It is a community dedicated to helping those who have been touched by cancer and the skillful doctors and staff at MD Anderson who care for them,” said Henry Musselman, long-time event host and member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors (BOV). “We are all a part of Making Cancer History® for MD Anderson’s patients and their loved ones in Texas, across the nation and around the world.”

The event featured a polo tournament, with Midland Polo Club winning the championship. The winning team's players included Jaun “Bauti” Crotto (4 goal), Ulysses Escapite (4 goal), Ulysses Escapite, Jr. (-1 goal) and Molly Smith (0 goal). Following the match, attendees enjoyed a Texas-size chuck wagon barbecue dinner provided by Joe Allen’s Pit Bar-B-Que. Guests also enjoyed a private concert by country music superstars, Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson, with surprise special guest Cowboy Troy. The evening concluded with fireworks by Pyro Shows of Texas.

“Polo on the Prairie is a testament to the incredible generosity and heartfelt support of our friends in West Texas,” said Darrow Zeidenstein, senior vice president and chief philanthropy officer at MD Anderson. “We are grateful to the Musselmans and the many volunteers who make this event a success, year after year.”

A philanthropic tradition with West Texas roots
Before Polo on the Prairie became a longstanding philanthropic tradition, the late Mary Anne McCloud, of Eastland, and Musselman, her son-in-law, planted the seed of the idea with Charles LeMaistre, M.D., then-president of MD Anderson. McCloud served as a BOV member and wanted to spread awareness in West Texas of the innovative cancer research, care and prevention happening at the nation’s top cancer hospital. She also wished to honor those impacted by cancer and to raise funds to save more lives.

Musselman suggested a polo tournament and began transforming a pasture on the family’s Lazy 3 Ranch into a regulation-sized polo field. The first event was held in 1987, and it has been an annual tradition ever since, with rare exceptions due to weather and COVID-19. This year, Polo on the Prairie found a new home at Rancho Verde, a few miles south of the original polo grounds.

The first Polo on the Prairie raised $25,000. Today, the tournament nets many times that amount and attracts amateur and professional athletes from as far away as Argentina, England and South Africa. To date, Polo on the Prairie has raised more than $11 million for patient care, research and education initiatives at MD Anderson.

“My husband was a patient at MD Anderson, so I know firsthand that MD Anderson saves lives,” said Marci Pearson, a long-time volunteer on the event committee. “Polo on the Prairie contributes to the institution’s ability to do that, and I consider it an honor to be able to participate. I know the money raised for this event is used to benefit the programs and research that help improve and save the lives of many people.”

MD Anderson extends special thanks to this year’s presenting sponsor, ConocoPhillips, and event sponsors Melinda and Henry Musselman, as well as the many sponsors and individuals who have contributed to the success of the event.