Giving to Lankenau Institute for Medical Research

Support our research activities

Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR), located on the campus of the Lankenau Medical Center and part of Main Line Health, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing human health through research, technology transfer, and the education of the next generation of scientists and physicians.

Those who make donations to LIMR represent one-half of an important partnership. Their contributions result in significant discoveries and the development of new therapies to fight cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders and other illnesses.

Indeed, our donors are organizations, foundations, and people like you who support the quest for a greater understanding of disease causation in order to improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Your contribution helps accelerate our ability to bring research from the laboratory to the patient.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Katie Beddis, development director of the Lankenau Medical Center Foundation, at [email protected].

Make an online donation

Why give?

In medicine, hope springs from research. Every life-saving medication, medical device and health care procedure started as someone's experiment. Indeed, someone at some point thought, "I wonder if this could work and make a difference in patients' lives."

And that's how research starts to move theory into practice.

But research requires not just time, creativity and diligence. It also requires financial support.

Your investments in research at LIMR can have a significant impact on healthcare. Our scientists — several of whom are world-renowned for their work — focus on basic, clinical and translational research in cancer and cardiovascular, autoimmune and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as regenerative medicine and population health. Every day they seek to not only advance scientific discoveries in ways that can most rapidly impact patient care today, but to also train the next generation of scientists so that biomedical innovations can benefit the health of future generations of patients.

Benefits of giving

As a donor to LIMR, you will receive a copy of our bi-annual magazine, Catalyst, which highlights our latest discoveries and innovations. Additionally, you will receive invitations to LIMR events such as educational and community programs.

Whether you represent an organization or wish to donate as an individual, your contribution will help us maintain the highest quality of research and guarantee that the important work done at LIMR will continue to advance.

How to give

You can download a gift form and send it with a check payable to: Lankenau Medical Center Foundation. Please mail to: Lankenau Medical Center Foundation, 100 East Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, PA 19096. You can also send your credit card information using the gift form.

Make a donation online

Giving opportunities

Special funds have been created that may provide you with the opportunity to direct your contributions to research that matters to you. These funds include:

Immunotherapy Pioneer Fund

Immunotherapy entails the prevention or treatment of disease with substances that stimulate an immune response. LIMR has spearheaded unique studies of disease modifier pathways that impact immunity and cancer progression, developing new drugs to target them.

Indeed, immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer care, and LIMR is at the forefront of that continued effort. Your generous contributions to the LIMR Immunotherapy Fund can help us advance those innovative therapies.

Regenerative Medicine Vision Fund

Regenerative medicine is a term used to describe a branch of molecular biology that deals with the process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function.

LIMR is privileged to have one of the pioneers in regenerative medicine, Professor Ellen Heber-Katz, PhD, as a principal investigator. Dr. Heber-Katz is an internationally renowned immunologist who has made great strides in discovering the mechanisms of mammalian regeneration.

Your contributions to the Regenerative Medicine Fund will help further the research of Dr. Heber-Katz and her team, enabling them to continue their groundbreaking work that holds significant promise for the future of health care.

Biotechnology Innovation Fund

The Biotechnology Fund supports advancements of our work with sophisticated biological molecules that can enhance diagnosis, prognosis or treatment of disease.

Your generous contributions to this fund can help advance the work of our researchers, including, for example:

  • Susan Gilmour, PhD, is defining mechanisms by which tumor modifiers, such as polyamines and thrombin, support and accelerate the development of cancer to a malignant, metastatic state
  • Dr. Scott Dessain’s work on cloning human antibodies for use in the treatment of infectious disease, cancer and neurological illnesses
  • Marie Webster, PhD, seeks to understand the mechanisms underlying phenotype plasticity that contribute to therapy resistance and disease progression in melanoma.

Cardiovascular Breakthrough Fund

Cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly 800,000 deaths in the United States every year, according to the American Heart Association. That’s about one of every three deaths. Additionally, about 92 million American adults are living with some form of heart disease or the after-effects of stroke.

LIMR's investigators, who work closely with clinical colleagues at the Lankenau Heart Institute, include several world-renowned cardiovascular researchers:

  • Charles Antzelevitch, PhD, specializes in research on cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia syndromes. His research has helped establish diagnostic criteria and treatment approaches for both inherited and acquired arrhythmia syndromes. He was the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, a prestigious honor bestowed by the American College of Cardiology.
  • Peter Kowey, MD, is a physician and scientist who specializes in electrophysiology.
  • Gan-Xin Yan, MD, PhD, is an electrophysiologist and researcher whose studies of arrhythmias have contributed to an understanding of J wave syndromes. His innovation, arterially perfused ventricular wedge preparation (or wedge prep), is markedly impacting pharmaceutical development in the U.S.

Your gift to the LIMR Cardiovascular Fund will help further research that could benefit the lives of millions of heart disease and stroke patients.

LIMR Unrestricted Fund

Unrestricted gifts to LIMR are important because they allow us to decide where that gift will have the most impact.

Meet some of our donors

We recognize the incredible generosity of our donors, including the following:

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I make a gift to Lankenau Institute for Medical Research?

You can download a gift form and send it with a check payable to: Lankenau Medical Center Foundation. Please mail to: Lankenau Medical Center Foundation, 100 East Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, PA 19096. 

Or, you can use our secure, online donation form

Is my gift tax-deductible?

Lankenau Institute for Medical Research is a 501(c)(3) corporation. If no goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution, you can deduct the entire gift amount. If you received goods and/or services for your gift, you will be provided with a letter stating the amount of your gift that can be deducted.

Whom should I contact for more information on giving to LIMR?

Please contact Katie Beddis, development director of the Lankenau Medical Center Foundation, at [email protected].