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Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. A painter recovering from burns over 80 percent of his body. A young girl getting cancer treatment tailored to her DNA. A team of scientists working to cure heart rhythm disorders. A doctor probing the origins of Alzheimers disease. A medical student on the cusp of a promising career.

The faces and stories of these extraordinary people show why the University of Michigan Health System has earned its national reputation for excellent patient care, research and education.

Now, theyre illustrating how donations of all sizes can help transform health care and biomedical science well into the future. Those gifts can come from patients and their families, from U-M faculty, staff and alumni, and from families, philanthropists and businesses that believe in the Health Systems ability to create the future of medicine through discovery.

A new web site, http://www.medicineneedsvictors.org, features the stories of some of these remarkable patients, professionals and students and information on giving.

More than 46,000 donors have already contributed to the Health Systems Victors for Michigan campaign to support medical research, patient care and medical education. With its $1 billion goal, it is the Health Systems most ambitious fundraising effort ever, and is a significant portion of the $4 billion university-wide Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign that kicked off last November.

The fundraising effort will have a profound impact on the care of seriously ill or injured children and adults, on medical discoveries made by scientific teams, on the careers of current and future doctors and medical scientists, and on UMHS facilities where care, discovery and learning happen.

According to Richard Rogel, the U-M alumnus and major donor who chairs the UMHS campaign, Everyone here has a passion, a goal they want to achieve, a way to make the world a better place. Its tremendous. We have top researchers, great administrators, fabulous students all dedicated to saving lives. This is Collaboration University. Ive seen it in action, and everybody can be a part of it. This campaign is just the beginning of what we can accomplish together.

UMHS campaign co-chair and major U-M donor A. Alfred Taubman says, By investing in research and supporting the people who can push the boundaries of medicine, we will save lives. And by expanding U-Ms capabilities as one of the nations top translational research institutions, we will help drive a resurgence in the Michigan economy, establishing the region as a global epicenter for the biomedical sector.

See more here:
Medicine Needs Victors: $1B UMHS Fundraising Effort Supports Medical Research, Patient Care & Education