Grand Canyon Times

The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies (CAMI) recently received a $10 million gift from the Steele Foundation, according to a Nov. 2 release from the university.

The center is slated to receive $2 million from the gift, making it the first private philanthropic support for the center, the release stated. The contributions follow a $150 million investment in the school from the Arizona government.  

"CAMI will open new doors of discovery and advance precision medicine to improve health and human potential for even the youngest of people across Arizona and around the world," Dr. Michael D. Dake, senior vice president for health sciences at the university, said in the release.

The Steele Foundation's donation will also support the creation of the Daniel Cracchiolo Institute for Pediatric Autoimmune Disease Research at the Steele Children's Research Center (SCRC), the release stated.

"Thanks to the Steele Foundation's generous gift, CAMI will be able to accelerate the development and delivery of revolutionary treatments for the management of pediatric autoimmune diseases, which can be rare and difficult to diagnose and treat," Dake said.

The $10 million donation is the largest made by the Steele Foundation, the release stated. The foundation has now provided approximately $21 million to support medical research and learning initiatives at the University of Arizona (UA).

"Our children deserve the best we can possibly give them, and this extends to pediatric healthcare, where new cell- and gene-based therapeutics hold immense potential to ease the toll of autoimmune diseases like lupus and Type 1 diabetes," University President, Robert Robbins, said in the release. "The Steele Foundation has supported pediatrics research at the university for more than three decades, supporting kids whose steps forward will mean everything for our future society and world. The combination of private giving and public investment of the kind we announced from the state for CAMI today is truly transformative, for the Steele Children's Research Center, for the kids and families who come to us for care, and for our entire health sciences enterprise."

The Steele Foundation was founded by Arizona attorney Daniel Cracchiolo, who died June 1, according to the release. The foundation distributed more than $100 million to beneficiaries in Arizona including Cracchiolo's alma mater, the UA James E. Rogers College of Law, where he graduated in 1952, and the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library now bears his name.

"My dad was deeply loved and respected, a force of nature, and a die-hard Wildcat," said Marianne Cracchiolo Mago, president and CEO of the Steele Foundation. "In 1992, he helped establish a children's research center bearing the Steele name, and this was deeply gratifying to him. Today, it's my dad's turn to be recognized through the creation of the Daniel Cracchiolo Institute at Steele Children's Research Center. The foundation is honored to be the first private philanthropic investment in CAMI.”

Approximately $8 million will be used to establish the Daniel Cracchiolo Endowed Chair for Pediatric Autoimmune Disease Research and to provide financial support for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as the Pamela Grant Endowed Professorship and the Fayez K. Ghishan Endowed Professorship. Ghishan is the director of the Steele Children's Research Center and head of the Department of Pediatrics at the UA College of Medicine in Tucson, Arizona, the release stated.

"We were inspired by the mission and how it will complement the incredible work at the Phoenix Bioscience Core," Mago said. "It's compelling to have pediatric and adult researchers collaborating under one roof and feels like a huge opportunity for CAMI to become a national model in research and discovery. As a proud alum, this experience with Dr. Ghishan and the University of Arizona Foundation has helped my family craft a beautiful tribute for an irreplaceable man."

Ghishan reflected on his relationship with the Steele Foundation.

"When I first arrived in 1995 and met Dan Cracchiolo, then president of the Steele Foundation, I knew that the Steele Children's Research Center was destined to be successful," he said. "And the friendship that grew between our families is something I will always treasure. I remember fondly our visit to his home in Victoria, which solidified our relationship. Dan has supported the Steele Center from day one.”

Ghishan said he is “forever grateful” for Cracchiolo’s generosity, friendship and support.

John-Paul Roczniak, president, and CEO of the University of Arizona Foundation expressed thanks for the gift.

"We are incredibly grateful for the Steele Foundation's longtime relationship with the university, and we are proud to steward its gift as part of its philanthropic legacy," Roczniak said. "The Steele Foundation's generosity will continue to ensure we can provide the best state-of-the-art care for children in Arizona."