$10 Million Gift Establishes Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute

A multi-million dollar gift from one of Rochester’s hometown entrepreneurs has created the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute, which will serve as an umbrella for a host of vibrant research centers and growing clinical care programs throughout the University of Rochester Medical Center and River Campus. 

Ernest J. Del Monte, chairman of E.J. Del Monte Corporation, a Rochester-based company that owns and operates 17 hotels in New York State, said that his family’s $10 million gift is the first installment toward what he hopes will amount to a $20 million commitment to the Institute over time. At $10 million, the Del Monte contribution is the second largest gift in the history of the Medical Center. 

“Neuromedicine is one of the most promising endeavors that the University has undertaken,” Del Monte said. “We have all the necessary ingredients to be successful internationally. My hope is that this gift will be the force to help scientists and clinicians collaborate seamlessly so that one day, from this Institute, the cure for Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and other neurological disorders will emerge.  I truly believe we can do it.” 

The gift promises to launch URMC’s vast neuromedicine programs into a nationally recognized, integrated and comprehensive center for investigating and treating neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy, stroke, and trauma to the brain and spinal cord. 

Since the Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute will focus primarily on bringing laboratory breakthroughs to everyday patient care, neuroscientists working in translational medicine will be relocated together into the current Medical Research Building Extension (MRBX).  The gift will fund the renovation of the building’s ground floor into 25,000 square-feet of new laboratories to accommodate growing numbers of neuroscientists.  The building will be renamed the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute in recognition of the gift. 

Click here to read more detailed information on the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute, or you can read a Q&A with Webster Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neurosurgery chair and director of the Ernest J. Del Monte Neuromedicine Institute.