The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, which partnered with McLaren Health Care in 2013, creating the largest cancer researcher and provider in Michigan, was the recipient of a $5.3 million grant from the Dresner Foundation on January 5. The grant, distributed over the next five years, is meant to enhance research and services to patients with blood-related cancers. This will elevate Karmanos to being a leader in hematologic malignancies research. It will also create an endowed chair position. Dr. Charles A. Schiffer, MD, currently the multidisciplinary team leader of Malignant Hematology at Karmanos and professor of medicine and oncology in the Department of Oncology at Wayne State University, will serve as the first chair. The Dresner Foundation was founded by the late Joseph and Vera Dresner to offer support to health researchers and those dedicated to improving the quality and length of life for patients. Joseph Dresner, who was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in 2002 and treated by Dr. Schiffer, previously made a $5 million personal donation in 2010. This allowed Karmanos to establish the Joseph Dresner Family Clinic for Hematologic Malignancies & Stem Cell Transplantation, which opened in May 2012, shortly following Dresner's death.