PITTSBURGH, September 19, 2024 — The Orland Bethel Family Foundation, already a major supporter of the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, has committed $18.5 million to create a biological specimen repository within the Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC), a project that ultimately will help develop treatments for arthritis and other painful conditions affecting millions of people around the world.
With this latest gift, the foundation has committed more than $45 million to Pitt, including $25 million last year to create the BMRC and a previous $2 million gift to create the Orland Bethel Professorship in Spine Surgery.
“The Biobank will give researchers in the BMRC—and across the globe—access to important materials to accelerate discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets, enhancing our understanding of musculoskeletal disease and improving patient outcomes through personalized medicine,” said Anantha Shekhar, the John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice chancellor for the health sciences at Pitt. “The material collected for the repository will place the Center on the forefront of global discovery.”
The Orland Bethel Musculoskeletal Research Center Biobank will collect, house and properly distribute specimens that will shed light on disorders such as arthritis, osteoporosis and a range of spinal conditions and orthopedic joint issues. The symptoms associated with these disorders diminish quality of life for millions of individuals and lead to billions of dollars of health care costs. Despite that, such comprehensive musculoskeletal biobanks are rare outside a few select institutions in Europe.
“We hope to establish a first-in-kind encyclopedic and accurate data repository that will foster cross-institutional collaboration,” Shekhar said. “Once the Biobank database is established, we can explore the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning data analysis for more accurate treatment of musculoskeletal diseases.”
What began as seeking care for incapacitating pain has become a series of gifts to benefit future patients, researchers, educators, and physicians. Orland Bethel suffered from spinal pain before turning to scientists and clinicians at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC for help. Bethel, founder of Hillandale Farms, which is one of the United States’ largest egg producers, received relief and restored function following surgery performed by Dr. Joon Y. Lee of the Pitt Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and UPMC.
“When Dr. Lee and the other surgeons, physicians, and researchers took over my care nearly a decade ago, it transformed my life and gave me new hope. I see they are doing the same thing for others with support from my family’s foundation,” Bethel said. “I know this newest gift will enhance the work of the Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center and will have an impact on the entire field of orthopaedics.”
The Biobank will establish standardized procedures and create frameworks to support four key areas:
-
Infrastructure—Collaborating with the existing University of Pittsburgh Biospecimen Core, the Biobank will create modern storage, processing, and access systems for long- term specimen storage. In addition, it will leverage the existing infrastructure within the School of Medicine for tissue collection and data processing for large datasets.
-
Specimen Collection and Processing—Using the new infrastructure, the Biobank will acquire with prior consent during surgery and other procedures, catalog, and store high- quality biospecimens including pathologic and normal bone, muscle, ligament, tendon, cartilage, and whole blood samples.
-
Data Collection and Management—A data management team will develop a comprehensive, secure, expandable, and searchable database with the capability to integrate clinical, genetic, and molecular data with biospecimen information.
-
Operational Sustainability— The University will seek new sources of funding through grants, partnerships, and additional philanthropic support to ensure the long-term health of the operation.
“Mr. Bethel’s first gift of $2 million in 2018 to establish the Orland Bethel Professorship in Spine Surgery was generous. His second gift to create the BMRC was transformative. His most recent gift to establish the Biobank will support work beyond what is currently underway,” said Dr. Lee, who now holds the Orland Bethel Professorship in Spine Surgery. “This gift will change the way we—and other scientists from across the globe—approach research because we will have assets at hand in a way we have never before experienced.”
About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
As one of the nation’s leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt is in the upper echelon of all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support.
Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region’s economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see www.medschool.pitt.edu.
