University of Iowa Health Care Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Receives Transformational Gift
Cancer is on the rise in Iowa. According to a 2024 report from the Iowa Cancer Registry, the Hawkeye State has the second-highest cancer rate in the nation—a statistic that continues to grow.
The Iowa-based Roland & Ruby Holden Foundation is combatting this grim reality by investing in groundbreaking University of Iowa research that will revolutionize cancer treatment and care.
The foundation’s most recent gift—a pledge of $5 million to establish an endowed directorship for University of Iowa Health Care Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center—will provide game-changing support for patients with cancer.
“This extraordinary generosity continues to fuel breakthroughs that benefit people throughout Iowa—and beyond.” —Denise Jamieson
The Holden Foundation made this donation to inspire others to give—and to honor George Weiner, the renowned UI physician-scientist who was director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1999 to 2023 and who currently holds the Dr. C.E. Block Chair of Cancer Research.
“The Holden Foundation is helping us lead the way in a new era of cancer research, prevention, and care,” says Denise Jamieson, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. “This extraordinary generosity continues to fuel breakthroughs that benefit people throughout Iowa—and beyond.”
In 1998, the Holden Foundation created the Roland W. Holden Family Program for Experimental Cancer Therapeutics. Together with members of the Holden family, the foundation went on to make a landmark $25 million gift to establish Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2000. This gift also created a state-of-the-art cancer research lab in Iowa’s Medical Education Research Facility.
Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center is the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. This designation recognizes Holden Cancer Center for providing a range of treatment options that few others in the nation can offer, including a vast array of clinical trials of the most cutting-edge therapies.
“We’re committed to providing high-quality, individualized patient care; advancing cancer research; and training the next generation of physician-scientists,” says Mark Burkard, a renowned medical oncologist who became the center’s new director in October 2024. “We’re grateful for the Holden Foundation’s visionary support of this life-saving mission.”