SUEZ North America Generously Donates $100,000 to Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation to Advance Research at the Center for Discovery and Innovation
NUTLEY, NJ – March 1, 2022 – Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation is pleased to announce a generous gift of $100,000 from SUEZ North America to support clinical research at Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation.
“We thank our friends and partners at SUEZ North America for their continued generosity, especially as we continue to battle against COVID-19,’’ said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Our scientists at the Center for Discovery and Innovation have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and they continue to make extraordinary strides in the fight against the virus, cancer and other diseases, and we are incredibly grateful.”
The Center for Discovery and Innovation is an academic-based entrepreneurial center that rapidly harnesses innovations arising from a new renaissance in biomedical sciences to restore patient health. It comprises the Institute for Cancer and Infectious Diseases, the Institute for Multiple Myeloma and Lymphoma and the Institute of Restorative Health.
“At Hackensack Meridian Health, the Center for Discovery and Innovation has been at the heart of medical advancement during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nadine Leslie, CEO, SUEZ North America. “The Center for Discovery and Innovation’s work on vaccines, diagnostic testing and therapeutics has fueled the advances that will improve public health and outcomes for New Jersey patients today and in the future. Our team at SUEZ North America understands the importance of this ongoing work, and is proud to help fund research necessary for all of us to keep getting better.”
Since 2020, the Center for Discovery and Innovation has made major developments in benefit to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the development of the first rapid response COVID-19 test in New Jersey. It has also partnered with Hackensack Meridian Health experts to conduct clinical trials for convalescent plasma therapy, which identified patients who recovered from the virus and produced high levels of antibodies.
As the virus evolved, scientists at the Center for Discovery and Innovation have continually tracked the emerging variants of the virus, to keep track of what is happening at the Hackensack Meridian Health sites across New Jersey. They have played a critical role in impacting clinical care through development of novel diagnostics, improved antiviral therapy, and support of numerous clinical trial regimens. Scientists are also studying the biology and genomics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, host factors that impact disease progression and discovery and development of novel drug candidates.
“The confidence that our communities and corporate partners continue to have in our abilities is truly inspiring,” said David S. Perlin, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Center for Discovery and Innovation. “We thank SUEZ North America for this gift, which will surely support our efforts to continue fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and further pioneering discoveries in cancer and other infectious diseases.”
The Center for Discovery and Innovation is dedicated to preventing, reducing and curing acute and chronic diseases related to cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and debilitating conditions. The CDI seeks to address some of society’s critical goals, from improving health and wellness to reducing health care costs and overcoming global health disparities.
To learn more about the Center for Discovery and Innovation, contact Bill Evans, executive director, at william.evans@hmhn.org or to donate, click here.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
The Center for Discovery and Innovation, a member of Hackensack Meridian Health, translates current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients. More than 18 laboratories, 155 professional researchers and physician-scientists at the CDI have set their sights on cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and other acute and chronic diseases. Clinical need drives the scientific insights, and their application, for these researchers, as shown in the real-time response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in new diagnostics, therapies, and surveillance abilities. The CDI leverages a new wave of scientific advances involving genetics, cell engineering of the human immune system, and imaging to better diagnose, treat and prevent disease through personalized medicine approaches. For additional information, please visit www.hmh-cdi.org.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit healthcare organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and JFK University Medical Center in Edison; one university teaching hospital – Ocean University Medical Center in Brick; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; eight community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Old Bridge Medical Center in Old Bridge, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness center, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having more top-ranked hospitals than anyone in New Jersey, as recognized by U.S. News & World Report, 2021-22. Hackensack University Medical Center is the only hospital in New Jersey with the #1 adult and children’s hospital rankings.
John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center is New Jersey's best cancer center, as recognized by U.S. News & World Report, 2021-22. This premier cancer center is also the largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, management, research, screenings, and preventive care as well as survivorship of patients with all types of cancers. John Theurer Cancer Center is part of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.
Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to ensure that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its campus in Nutley and Clifton. The Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
About SUEZ North America
SUEZ North America operates across all 50 states and Canada with 3,000 employees dedicated to environmental sustainability and smart and sustainable resource management. The company provides drinking water, wastewater and waste collection service to 6.7 million people on a daily basis; treats 560 million gallons of water and 460 million gallons of wastewater each day; delivers water treatment and advanced network solutions to 16,000 industrial and municipal sites; processes 160,000 tons of waste for recycling; rehabilitates and maintains water assets for more than 6,000 municipal and industrial customers; and manages $4.1 billion in total assets. The company posted revenues of $1.1 billion in 2019 and is a subsidiary of Paris-based SUEZ.
Photo Caption: Leadership from SUEZ North America, the Center for Discovery and Innovation and Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation. Pictured left to right: William Evans, executive director, Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation; Rich Henning, senior vice president, Communications, SUEZ Water; David S. Perlin, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Center for Discovery and Innovation; Nadine Leslie, CEO, SUEZ North America; and Joseph Burt, executive director, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation.