The Hauptman-Woodward Institute (HWI) begins a celebration of its 60 years in Buffalo with a gala on September 24th to be held at the Institute on the Buffalo Niagara Medial Campus. As part of the event, awards will be presented honoring key members of the Western New York community who have had significant impact on the organization.
Being recognized for philanthropy are Jad Cordes and Michelle Heffernan, as well as The John Oishei Foundation. Service awards to the organization are being presented to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) and Tom Beecher, the BNMC’s first board chair. For scientific contributions the Institute is honoring Dr. Jane F. Griffin, an emeritus principal research scientist of the Institute. The James Cummings Foundation is also being recognized for long standing support of scientific advancement.
In 1956, Hauptman-Woodward was established as the Medical Foundation of Buffalo through the generosity of Helen Woodward Rivas, a patient of Dr. George Keopf, the Foundation’s founder. Ms. Rivas’s gift of $3 million is the equivalent of a $26 million gift today and established Buffalo’s only independent research institution, which now has an international reputation for excellence in structural biology.