$30M donated to McMaster for stem cell therapies

A family donating $30 million to McMaster University wants to speed up the development of stem cell therapies.

Of the total going to the Hamilton, Ont., university, $24 million will be used to establish the Boris Family Centre in Human Stem Cell Therapies, which will speed the commercial development of discoveries made at the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute.

The other $6 million is for a unique clinic that will allow patients with complex health problems to see several specialists and have related tests during one visit.

"McMaster University has proven its ability to fast forward discoveries from the lab bench to the patients' bedside,” Les Boris said in a news release on behalf of his parents’ Marta and Owen Boris Foundation.

“It made perfect sense to make this investment in this world-class university.”

The McMaster institute is world-renowned for its human stem cell discoveries, such as the ability to generate blood from stem cells grown from human skin, said Mick Bhatia, scientific director of the research institute.

The funds will:

Establish two senior research chairs, one in blood stem cells and the other in neuro stem cells.

Set up several fellowships and technician positions.

Build the facility and provide a fund for emerging opportunities.

Owen Boris was the founder of the Hamilton cable company Mountain Cablevision. It was sold to Shaw Communications in 2009.

After Boris died last April, the family donated $6 million to alcohol addiction research at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. Owen and Marta Boris’s youngest son, Peter, struggled with alcohol addiction before his death.

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$30M donated to McMaster for stem cell therapies