Fueled by the work of more than 21,000 volunteers, The Pap Corps: Champions for Cancer Research, presented its annual gift to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine -- a check in the amount of $3.2 million.

The check presentation, made April 30 at the group’s President’s Meeting at the Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, is part of the group’s $25 million commitment to Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami.

Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School of Medicine, and CEO of the University of Miami Health System, called the gift “awesome” as he described what it means for South Florida’s only academic cancer center. “This annual gift allows us to continue funding research that leads to new treatments and diagnostics. I know that with The Pap Corps behind us, we will beat cancer.”

The Pap Corps: Champions for Cancer Research has grown tremendously in both size and scope since its inception in 1952, but its mission has remained the same: to enable and support vital research that someday may lead to a world without cancer.

“By raising millions of dollars each year for cancer research,” said Donna E. Shalala, President of the University of Miami, “The Pap Corps has made Sylvester a magnet for some of the top cancer researchers and clinicians in the nation. We couldn’t be more grateful for the Pap’s dedication.”

Among the top clinicians drawn to Sylvester is the cancer center’s new director, Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., who leaves Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to take the helm in early May. One of the world’s premier leukemia and stem cell transplant experts, Nimer brings 30 years of pioneering research and clinical experience to Sylvester. “Knowing the importance of research funding,” said Nimer, “I cannot overstate the value of having such a dedicated group of volunteers behind us at Sylvester.”

To read more about the Pap Corps gift, click here.