FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2007

(BUFFALO, NY)  Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s President Emeritus and Professor of Immunology, Thomas B. Tomasi, MD, PhD, has been named the first chairholder of the M&T Bank Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, thanks to a $1.5 million gift from M&T Bank to the Leaders for Life endowment campaign. This gift will provide an annual source of flexible and secure support for the most promising cancer research led by the M&T Bank Endowed Chairholder.

M&T Bank offered a $1.5 million "dollar for dollar" challenge for the Institute's first-ever endowment campaign. As a result, an additional $1.5 million was raised from the community, making the grand total given to the Leaders for Life endowment campaign through this initiative $3 million. "We are extremely pleased to share this gift with Roswell Park to advance research leading to new and better ways to treat and manage cancer," said Robert G. Wilmers, Chairman and CEO, M&T Bank. "It’s a testament to our community and its pride in Roswell Park that so many people stepped forward to pledge their financial support."

Dr. Tomasi served as Institute Director from 1986-1996 before assuming his current scientific role at the Institute. He is credited with being an architect of change for Roswell Park, having led initiatives including the $241 Million Major Modernization Project. During his tenure, Dr. Tomasi also spearheaded the development of outstanding new clinical services and programs in bone marrow transplantation, pain management, solid tumor oncology, AIDS-related malignancies and much more.

"As important as philanthropy was during my tenure as President & CEO of Roswell Park, it is even more important today," said Dr. Tomasi. "I am grateful to M&T Bank for ensuring the endowment of the Chair in Cancer Research. This critical investment in the Institute will provide the stable support required for the completion of truly innovative research."

Wilmers said that M&T Bank's decision to become a major contributor to Roswell Park's Leaders for Life campaign was simply the right thing to do. "There is great value to our community in being home to an institution like Roswell Park," said Wilmers. "As a community bank, it is meaningful to us to support the ongoing cancer research that holds so much promise for our families, friends and neighbors."

The Leaders for Life campaign has a $20 million goal, and has raised over $16.2 million thus far. Endowment gifts provided through the campaign are invested and provide a stable source of annual discretionary funding for especially promising studies directed by Roswell Park's leaders in basic and clinical research.

"This extremely generous gift from M&T Bank joins other gifts that have recently been made through this campaign and supports research which offers the greatest hope for cancer patients today and tomorrow," explained Donna Gioia, Co-Chair of the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation and Co-Chair of the Leaders for Life campaign.

Additional recent endowed chairs include: the Lawrence P. and Joan Castellani Family Chair in Dermatology (held by Allan R. Oseroff, MD, PhD); the Garman Family Chair in Cell Stress Biology (held by Andrei V. Gudkov, PhD); and the Jacobs Family Chair in Immunology (held by Kelvin P. Lee, MD). The campaign hopes to provide funding for future endowed chairs for Surgery and Cancer Prevention.

Dr. Tomasi added that "the Leaders for Life campaign supports the teachers of tomorrow's scientists. Donors who give to the campaign are not only supporting today's research efforts, but they are helping to train the next generation of scientists."

"Securing endowment gifts has been a priority since the establishment of the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation in 1991," said Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, president and CEO, RPCI. "The success of the Leaders for Life campaign, launched in 2005, will allow Roswell Park to seize emerging opportunities - and to weather the immediate and long-term challenges of a variable funding climate. This is essential so that the most promising scientific ideas flourish."

About Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation's first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center headquartered in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers. Roswell Park has affiliate sites and collaborative programs in New York, Pennsylvania and in China. For more information, visit RPCI's website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.