$20 million gift propels IU fight to end lung cancer

As part of Indiana University’s IU 2030 strategic plan commitment to advance the university’s breadth of transformative research, the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center is announcing today a $20 million gift from Indianapolis philanthropist Julie Wood, which will deepen the center’s trailblazing fight to end lung cancer. 

This gift, made in honor of her late husband Tom Wood, a highly respected Indianapolis auto executive, will establish the Tom and Julie Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research.  

The Wood family members have been steadfast supporters of IU’s efforts to improve early cancer detection and develop clinical treatments for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Their generosity is already supporting cancer prevention efforts and the development of innovative personalized therapies and treatments for those suffering from the disease. Following a separate gift announced just last year, the family’s impact is already shaping the center’s mobile lung cancer screening program—the only one of its kind in the state—which will begin providing life-saving screenings to eligible high-risk Hoosiers in 2025.   

This newest gift will shape the development of innovative cancer drugs, support early-phase clinical trials, and advance the End Lung Cancer Now initiative. 

These efforts will further IU’s decades-long leadership in cancer research. From developing the cure for testicular cancer and pioneering treatments for pancreatic cancer to housing the world’s only biorepository for healthy breast tissue, which is helping to generate major discoveries in the effort to end breast cancer, the IU School of Medicine is breaking ground with life-saving achievements dedicated to eliminating the burden of cancer in the Hoosier state and beyond. 

With the support of generous donors like Julie Wood, IU will seek to find new treatments and therapies that save lives and shape the next breakthrough in the crucial fight to end cancer for Hoosiers everywhere. 

Pamela Whitten

President
Indiana University