Contributor Stories

Each year, generous philanthropists support Houston Methodist's research, education and patient care initiatives. These gifts play an important role in advancing our leading medicine mission. Each gift makes a difference in our patients’ lives and the future of medicine. 

Transformational Gift from The Levant Foundation Enables Cardiovascular Advances
Through a generous donation from The Levant Foundation, three important positions in the field of cardiovascular health care and research have been established.

“I am incredibly proud of The Levant Foundation’s support for driving innovation and advancing cardiovascular research at Houston Methodist,” said Jamal Daniel, founder of the The Levant Foundation. “I know that the outstanding work of Dr. Nagueh, Dr. Nasir, and Dr. Zoghbi as well as the numerous other researchers and physicians will be instrumental in saving many lives.”

Dr. Sherif F. Nagueh, the inaugural holder of The Levant Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases, will advance the applications of cardiovascular imaging in the evaluation of patients with heart failure and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction to address the disorder’s higher morbidity, mortality and rates of hospitalization.

The Levant Foundation Innovations in Cardiovascular Disease Research Endowment, led by Dr. Khurram Nasir, Director of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness and the William A. Zoghbi, MD Centennial Chair in Cardiovascular Health, DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, will provide steady funding that will allow physician-scientists to harness the power of artificial intelligence and big data to pioneer new techniques for early heart disease detection and prevention.

The recipient of The Levant Foundation Presidential Distinguished New Century Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases will launch new research and health care strategies and strengthen existing ones, such as the Adult Congenital Heart Program, to find and care for the high percentage of adults with congenital heart disease who go untreated.

“In keeping with The Levant Foundation’s long history of commitment to health care organizations throughout the world as well as the impact they have had in our community, we are tremendously grateful that they are choosing to support Houston Methodist and the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in such a meaningful way,” says Dr. William Zoghbi, Elkins Family Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Health at the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, and chair of the Department of Cardiology. “This transformative gift will have a profound impact on our ability to provide outstanding care to the population we serve and improve their quality of life through the various proposed avenues of innovation that will be enabled. I want to personally thank Jamal and Rania Daniel as well as The Levant Foundation Board for their commitment to improving health care and their trust to realize this bold and comprehensive vision.”

Two Philanthropic Couples Commit $10 Million to EnMed
EnMed is the nation’s first fully integrated engineering and medical curriculum that leads to both a doctorate of medicine and a master’s degree in engineering in four years. The program—a partnership among Houston Methodist, Texas A&M College of Engineering and Texas A&M College of Medicine—will train a new kind of physician with an engineering mindset that will invent transformational technologies to address health care’s greatest challenges. Craig Brown and Sue Smith and Frank and Jean Raymond each generously directed $1 million to endow chairs for EnMed leaders and $4 million to fund Capstone Innovator Awards. 

Houston Methodist Receives Gift to Launch Houston Alzheimer’s Study
Jeanne and Joe Bob Perkins established a challenge initiative that has helped attract some twenty generous benefactors to date, supporting the Houston Alzheimer’s Study. Houston Methodist is partnering with investigators from Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center on this multi-institutional project. 

Ann Kimball and John W. Johnson Center for Cellular Therapeutics
In 2019, Ann Kimball and John W. Johnson made a transformational gift to support the building and equipping of a 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art cellular therapeutics laboratory and fabrication facility located in the Houston Methodist Outpatient Center. 

Fondren Foundation Commits $15 Million 
The Fondren Foundation has made a $15 million commitment to Houston Methodist to support the Food and Health Alliance, the Immunology Center and to create the Fondren Inflammation Collaborative, a new multidisciplinary program that will provide hope for people with complex allergy, immunologic, autoimmune and GI conditions. 

Houston Methodist Receives Record $101 Million Gift
Houston Methodist has received a $101 million philanthropic gift from Paula and Rusty Walter and the Walter Oil & Gas Corporation to attract and retain the most talented physicians and scientists who will help pioneer lifesaving new treatments for patients suffering from diseases of all kinds. This gift is the largest in the institution’s 100-year history. 

Jerold B. Katz Foundation Makes $21 Million Commitment