Source: Virginia Tech
Animal advocates Karen Waldron and Shawn Ricci have donated $15 million to Virginia Tech’s Animal Cancer Care and Research Center in Roanoke, the largest gift in the center’s history and the largest single non-estate donation to the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.
The gift will be divided evenly between clinical care and research. Clinical funding will endow three professorships and support additional staff, equipment, faculty recruitment, and startup costs. Research funding will support translational cancer research, scientists, graduate students, clinical trials, personnel, supplies, and equipment.
Waldron and Ricci were inspired partly by successful cancer treatments received by their cat, Beckham, and dog, Lafayette. They hope the investment makes advanced cancer treatment more accessible and affordable for pet owners.
The center’s research has implications beyond Veterinary medicine because cancers in pets and people can be similar. Researchers hope discoveries from treating animal patients can contribute to advances in human cancer treatment.
Read the full story HERE: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/09/vetmed-accrc-donor-highlight.html