We hope you had a wonderful evening and saw firsthand the impact that your giving has made to improve the health of the public. Without you, none of the advances and innovations presented would have been possible. Our sincere gratitude for your inspiring support!
Each year, we honor supporters and volunteers who have made extraordinary contributions to advancing our mission of improving the health of the public. We are deeply grateful to the 2022 and 2023 recipients, and we invite you to learn more about them below.
Sherry Raisbeck
Sherry Raisbeck is being recognized for her support of many UW Medicine physicians over the past 20 years. “Giving to partners like UW Medicine, where you can meet the people who are receiving your support, is unbelievably rewarding,” she says. “With every dollar you give, you know that you have done something in this world beyond yourself.”
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The Kuni Foundation
Since 2020, the Kuni Foundation has provided 38 grants, totaling more than $14.5 million, to UW Medicine researchers. Learn about one recipient’s work on finding answers and solutions for why Black women have higher rates of, and disproportionately high death rates from, endometrial cancer.
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Norman Slonaker
Norman Slonaker has made contributions as a donor and volunteer supporting the creation and growth of the Cancer Vaccine Institute. “In one way or another, cancer touches nearly every family,” he says. “The more we can raise awareness of cancer vaccines and direct resources in the right direction, the more people we will be able to help.”
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Dr. Rayburn Lewis
Dr. Lewis has made many contributions UW Medicine, particularly focused on increasing racial equity and justice in medical education. He sees his role as a champion in this work. “It’s the job of the ‘Elders,’ as we are called, to provide a buffer, act as advocates for and advise the students on their pathway.”
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Learn more about the work featured at the interactive stations where you met some of our world-class faculty dedicated to groundbreaking and life-changing discoveries at UW Medicine. All of which is possible thanks to your generosity!
Estell Williams, MD, Department of Surgery and UW School of Medicine alum, gave you the chance to stitch up a banana just like a doctor! She also shared how she and her team are introducing healthcare fields to K-12 students from diverse backgrounds. Read all about the Doctor for a Day program.
Neil King, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry, presented 3D protein models and how protein design, together with advanced artificial intelligence, is helping to create new tools to improve human health and, perhaps, the planet. Find out more about IPD’s innovative research.
Daniel Promislow, DPhil, co-director, Dog Aging Project, and his four-legged friends provided background on the world’s largest canine research study to understand how genes, lifestyle and environment influence aging. Learn all about the Dog Aging Project.
Discover the smartphone apps that are putting health and healing in the hands of patients.
Ying Zheng, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering, showed how ISCRM researchers create the vascular structures that help them build 3D organoids. Suman Jayadev, MD, associate professor of neurology, and Jessica Young, PhD, associate professor of lab medicine and pathology, demonstrated how the brain adapts to new conditions by generating neural pathways. Learn more about the revolutionary work happening at ISCRM.
Thomas Grabowski, MD, director of the UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center, introduced the people and programs that make up the Memory Hub and discussed how the creative arts, nature and technology can promote well-being in people with dementia. Read more about the Memory Hub and the difference philanthropy has — and can — make.
Robert Sweet, MD, chief of the Division of Healthcare Simulation Science and executive director of WISH and CREST, showed how healthcare simulations improve patient safety by providing current and next-generation healthcare providers with a safe training environment to practice and improve their skills. Find out more about WISH.
Nora Disis, MD, director of the CVI, shared how her team is launching cancer vaccines to prevent and treat cancer. The CVI is close to launching cancer vaccines that could dramatically reduce, and even eliminate, suffering and death caused by cancer. Read more about the CVI’s work and how philanthropy can make a difference.
