Endowed Chairs

Robert Braun, Ph.D.

Donor: Weslie Janeway

Weslie Janeway is a philanthropist-turned-scientist and former vice chair of the Board whose generous support has supported JAX faculty at every stage of their career. Her establishment of an endowed chair ensures that the incumbent, who might have expertise in a broad range of scientific fields, can expand their research and advance JAX's mission to improve human health.

Carol Bult, Ph.D.

Donor: Winthrop Knowlton

Former JAX Board chairman Winthrop Knowlton and his family have a remarkable legacy in JAX's history. His father, Hugh Knowlton, also served as a Trustee; his daughter Samantha Knowlton, M.D. served on the Corporation board, and his granddaughter Adeline is a 2011 alumna of the JAX Summer Student Program. He established an endowed chair to amplify JAX's commitment to advancing discovery.

Gregory Carter, Ph.D.

Donor: Lusia Milch

The indelible experience of surviving the Holocaust compelled Bernard and Lusia Milch to dedicated their lives to helping others and giving back. After enduring Bernard's struggle with Alzheimer's disease later in his life, Lusia was inspired to support research at JAX that uses data-driven modeling to identify the genetic variants most likely to trigger Alzheimer’s.

Elissa Chesler, Ph.D.

Donor: Arthur K. Watson Charitable Trust

Children of the late Ann and Arthur K. Watson, both lifelong philanthropists who summered in Maine for more than 20 years, established the Watson Symington chair in their mother's honor to empower JAX in exploring the biological basis of addiction and to address it one of the most pressing and urgent health challenges of our time.

Gary Churchill, Ph.D.

Donor: David and Barbara Roux

Donald A. Roux Chair: Awaiting Appointment
Karl Gunnar Johansson Chair: Gary Churchill, Ph.D.
Florine Deschenes Roux Chair: Awaiting Appointment

In 2014, Trustee David Roux and his wife Barbara made a transformative gift to JAX that created the Roux Family Center for Genomics and Computational Biology and endowed three faculty positions within it. The Center enables JAX scientists to harness the full power of innovative genomic technologies and computational strategies, using them to analyze the human genome and discover new and better ways of preventing and treating disease.

Gareth Howell, Ph.D.

Donor: The Diana Davis Spencer Foundation

As a longtime supporter and daughter of a former Trustee, Diana Davis Spencer and her family share with JAX a deep, storied history. She established an endowed chair to support JAX's research and training in the field of neurodegenerative diseases of the eye. Diana's mother suffered from glaucoma, and her oldest daughter only has full sight in one eye.

Ron Korstanje, Ph.D.

Donor: Judith and Anthony Evnin, Ph.D.

Evnin Family Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Research: Awaiting Appointment

JAX Trustee Anthony B. Evnin and his wife Judith, both passionate about improving health through the study of human genetics and genomics, were among were among JAX's first supporters of endowed chairs when they established the Evnin Family Chair in 2015. They later established a second endowed chair, the Evnin Family Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Research, to support new and evolving research at JAX that focuses on protecting people from Alzheimer's disease even if they carry the genetic disposition toward it.

Charles Lee, FRSC

Donor: Robert Alvine

Chair emeritus of the JAX Board and longtime Connecticut resident Robert Alvine was inspired to endow a chair in part because of the positive impact of the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, which opened in 2014 in Farmington, CT. The gift will permanently endow the scientific leadership position in the State of Connecticut at JAXGM.

Karolina Palucka, M.D., Ph.D.

Donor: Multiple donors

To honor former president Edison Liu's decade of leading JAX through unprecedented growth, change, and achievement, a generous group of JAX donors came together to establish an endowed chair in his name. The faculty position is housed within JAX's NCI-designated Cancer Center, which seeks to discover precise genomic solutions for cancer and to support cancer research worldwide.

Donor: Multiple donors

To honor former president Edison Liu's decade of leading JAX through unprecedented growth, change, and achievement, a generous group of JAX donors came together to establish an endowed chair in his name. The faculty position is housed within JAX's NCI-designated Cancer Center, which seeks to discover precise genomic solutions for cancer and to support cancer research worldwide.

Nadia Rosenthal, Ph.D., FMedSci, FAAHMS
Donor: Maxine Groffsky

Maxine Groffsky established The Maxine Groffsky Endowed Chair to honor her personal connection to The Jackson Laboratory. Her husband, Winthrop "Win" Knowlton (donor of the Knowlton Family Chair) served as chair of the Laboratory's Board of Trustees from 1991-1997. Groffsky held a distinguished career in publishing, first at Random House and then followed by eight years as Paris Editor of The Paris Review. She went on to establish the Maxine Groffsky Literary Agency, representing a notable list of writers until she closed the Agency in 2009.

Jennifer Trowbridge, Ph.D.

Donor: Tim Dattels and family

JAX Board of Trustees member Tim Dattels established the Dattels Family Chair to support JAX's groundbreaking research in pursing innovative treatments and therapies for human disease. He said of the gift, "My family and I are honored to establish a chair that recognizes the exceptional talents of a rising star whose research is changing the scientific landscape.”