Prisma Health launches $3 million endowed chair campaign named for outgoing cancer physician and innovator
GREENVILLE, S.C. — During his nearly 40-year tenure at the Prisma Health Cancer Institute, Dr. W. Larry Gluck has revolutionized cancer care in South Carolina, creating a cancer research-and-treatment powerhouse that has discovered new cancer-fighting medicines, brought first-in-nation clinical research trials into the Upstate and provided extraordinary care for countless cancer patients and families.
Now, on the eve of his retirement, Prisma Health is establishing a new $3 million endowed chair – the W. Larry Gluck, MD Endowed Chair of Translational and Molecular Oncology Research – that will honor his legacy and support even more breakthroughs and advances in cancer care.
“I’m proud to be part of this endowed chair, which will be a catalyst for our team at Prisma Health Cancer Institute to further expand their leading-edge work to unlock the mechanisms of cancer and find exciting new therapies to help patients,” said Gluck, the institute’s medical director.
The endowment will help attract and fund the work of a lead physician-scientist, whose in-depth research-based knowledge of the cellular and molecular basis of cancer will provide unique insights into complex medical problems – while their work as a physician, dealing one-on-one with patients, will help reveal where better solutions are needed. These insights can directly translate to better outcomes for patients.
“I’m so proud of our entire team – including our existing hub of physician-scientists – for all the incredible work they’ve already done. And I cannot wait to see the work yet to come,” said Gluck, who retires May 12.
Treatments developed at Prisma Health Cancer Institute include novel drugs that target and help shut down specific genes and proteins necessary for cancer to survive and spread. Its nationally renowned team has participated in more than 1,000 clinical trials along with other academic and bio-tech leaders worldwide. The institute recently collaborated with an international team of scientists on two research trials to find new ways to shut down a potentially deadly immune reaction, previously seen in cancer patients, but which had also been identified as a key complication for COVID-19 patients. Gluck’s familiarity with the process in the one area led him to create life-saving treatments for the other. His new protocol was fast-tracked by the FDA, while other effective treatments, including antivirals, came into broader use. The alternative treatments from the Prisma Health-led trials continue for some selected patients worldwide.
During Gluck’s tenure as medical director, the institute was designated as a prestigious National Cancer Institute Cancer Center. The Cancer Institute now has 30 physicians and 450 team members across 10 sites and five counties and has expanded into the Midlands. Its landmark research programs include the Institute for Translational Oncology Research (ITOR), which helps provide access to precisely personalized clinical trial options; a rare-tumor clinic; a pioneering blood and marrow transplant program; the Center for Integrative Oncology and Survivorship (CIOS) and a Center for Cancer Prevention and Wellness, which helps reduces cancer risk through free wellness screenings and lifestyle change.
He has also served as a professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, teaching the new generation of physicians.
The Cancer Institute has earned more than $30 million in research and grant funding, with an additional $15 million raised through exceptional community support. Through events like the Dragon Boat Festival, Challenge to Conquer Cancer and a Run4Life 5K event, monies are raised locally and stay local, supporting cancer research and patient advocacy – including the popular free screenings at Center for Cancer Prevention and Wellness.
Said Gluck, “It’s not enough to treat or even cure cancer. We need to prevent it altogether.”
“Dr. Gluck’s entire professional career has been devoted to championing the drive for new discoveries to advance cancer care,” said Mark O’Halla, president and CEO of Prisma Health. “A renowned physician-scientist, he has made significant contributions toward understanding the causes of cancer and finding therapeutic personalized solutions that directly translate to better outcomes. Dr. Gluck is both a visionary in the field of cancer treatment and prevention and a hero to the thousands of patients and their families he has cared for over the years. We will miss him personally, but his presence will be felt for decades to come through the system of premier cancer care that he spent his career assembling.”
“As a life-long academic physician-scientist, Dr. Gluck transformed cancer care delivery through his clinical research and exceptional patient care,” said Jonathan Gleason, MD, Prisma Health’s chief clinical officer. “His leadership in helping establish the state-of-the-art Prisma Health Cancer Institute, and now this endowment, will continue to fortify Prisma Health as the premier model for cancer research and patient care.”
For more information about the endowment or to make a contribution, visit www.prismahealthupstategiving.org/gluck.