Since its creation, HSCI has relied on the vision and generosity of individual donors to support its research. In fact, the institute was launched with a major challenge grant from a Harvard Law School alumnus and his wife who believed in the promise of stem cell research and its power to transform medicine. This philanthropic tradition continues with a recent major gift to HSCI by Scott Schoen, a graduate of Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School.

Schoen directed $1 million to help establish the HSCIMassachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) Fund. The fund will be used to support investigators, programs, and projects within the CRM that are aligned with HSCI’s mission, including research, education, training, and faculty recruitment. Founded and led by HSCI Co-Director David Scadden, MD, the CRM is an integral part of HSCI and home base to many renowned HSCI faculty.

Schoen is a vice-chairman of Thomas H. Lee Partners, a leading Boston-based private equity firm, where he is currently a director of the Nielsen Company. He is on the Board of Trustees of Partners Continuing Care and the Board of Advisors of Yale School of Management, and is an active member of the CRM Advisory Board.

Schoen became intrigued by the work of the CRM in 2007, when he attended an event about stem cell science. He became “hooked” by the potential of stem cell research, and particularly the pioneering work of Scadden and others, to transform the understanding and treatment of many intractable diseases. “As a philanthropist, you’re always looking to find something that strikes the right chord with you,” said Schoen. “This is a potential new path to curing disease, which is very compelling and worthy of our strong support.”

“This fund, which gives the Center for Regenerative Medicine the resources to accomplish so much in many key areas, was one of the first joint fundraising efforts between HSCI and one of its affiliated institutions,” said Scadden. “We anticipate that it will be a model for future joint efforts that will give other philanthropists the opportunity to direct their gifts to a specific institution while also supporting HSCI’s mission.”