The estate of Leonard and Majorie Wright of Mukilteo, Wash., recently bequeathed $2.5 million to Benaroya Research Institute for translational research. Marjorie Wright died in 2013 and Leonard Wright passed away in 2007. They were both patients at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

“We are so grateful to the Wright family for this generous bequest. Planned gifts such as this allow us to achieve our long-term vision of conquering autoimmune diseases,” says BRI Director Gerald Nepom, MD, PhD. “We can acquire new technologies and dedicated researchers to accelerate scientific discoveries.”

The Wright bequest will be used for translational research at BRI. Translational research is a scientific approach that “translates” new laboratory discoveries quickly into medical practices. Clinician findings are in turn shared with laboratory scientists to bring medical research full circle. An important part of translational research is the biorepositories consisting of blood and serum samples and medical histories provided by volunteers. Researchers study them to better understand genetics and environmental factors in diseases and how to better diagnose and treat them.

Innovative Technology

“We plan to use the funds from the Wright bequest to support our efforts to better understand human autoimmune diseases by using cutting-edge technology in combination with our biorepository of samples,” says Jane Buckner, MD, BRI associate director and director of the BRI Translational Research Program. “Part of this bequest will be used to support the purchase of a state-of-the-art flow cytometer. This instrument has the capability to examine blood cells on an individual basis, telling us not only how many immune cells are present in the blood but also how they function and what their role is in the immune response against the body. This approach at BRI has already helped develop important insights into the causes of type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and allergies. We hope to extend these studies to more diseases, and to more patient samples. In this way, we will be able to understand the diseases better, but also the differences between patients, their disease progression and response to therapy.”

The bequest will also be used to support scientists at BRI who are performing translational research. This gives them the capability to move quickly to test new hypotheses and pursue leads that are found in the laboratory. “This will accelerate our research,” says Dr. Buckner. “We greatly appreciate the foresight shown by the Wrights in making this gift possible.”

You can have a long-term impact on research at BRI by making an estate gift. Please contact the Virginia Mason Foundation for more information at (206) 583-6083 or e-mail foundation@vmmc.org or visit our donor information page.