A $25 million gift from the Smilow Foundation, led by William Smilow, will establish the Smilow Center for Precision Therapeutics at Penn Medicine, Penn announced on October 8, 2026. The center will advance gene editing and other precision therapies designed to address the underlying causes of cardiovascular disease.
“Heart disease has touched my family personally, which makes this mission genuinely meaningful to me,” said William Smilow, President and CEO of the Smilow Foundation. “The creation of the Smilow Center for Precision Therapeutics reflects our commitment to advancing the science needed to cure heart disease and spare future generations from its impact. As a Penn Medicine Board member and longtime partner, I am confident there is no institution better positioned than Penn to turn that vision into reality.”
Aiming for Cures, Not Just Treatment
Led by Thomas P. Cappola, MD, ScM, the William Smilow Professor, Division Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Center Director, the Smilow Center for Precision Therapeutics aims to develop curative therapies for heart disease for the first time. It will draw on Penn-led discoveries through research, first-in-human clinical trials, and patient care.
The center brings together experts from Penn Medicine’s Departments of Cardiovascular Medicine, Physiology, Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Bioengineering, Radiology, and others. It will build on the work of pioneers like Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, ML, MRA, and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, in breakthrough technologies like CRISPR and mRNA. Musunuru, the Barry J. Gertz Professor for Translational Research, has developed gene-editing therapies to permanently lower cholesterol levels, greatly reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
“The Smilow Foundation has made an extraordinary commitment to advancing groundbreaking research with the potential to achieve what was once considered impossible: curing previously debilitating forms of heart disease,” said Jonathan A. Epstein, MD, Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System. “Their support empowers our researchers to harness transformative innovations to redefine the future of cardiovascular medicine and strengthen Penn Medicine’s leadership in gene editing and cardiovascular care.”
“The launch of the Smilow Center for Precision Therapeutics marks a transformative moment for Penn Medicine and for the future of cardiovascular care,” said Michael Parmacek, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine and the Frank Wister Thomas Professor of Medicine. “Made possible by the exceptional generosity of the Smilow Foundation and with the visionary leadership of Dr. Cappola, the Smilow Center will build on Penn’s unmatched strengths in cardiovascular science, genetics, gene editing, and translational medicine. More than expanding existing programs, it will create entirely new scientific and clinical capabilities that accelerate discovery, attract world-class talent, and bring personalized therapies to patients with unprecedented speed and precision.”
A Long Partnership With Penn
The gift builds on the Smilow Foundation’s earlier support of Penn Medicine, which created the Smilow Center for Translational Research and the William Smilow Professorship. William Smilow and his late father, Joel Smilow, founded the professorship in 2012 as part of their gift naming the Smilow Center for Translational Research, a central part of Penn’s medical campus.
“The impact of philanthropy extends far beyond a single moment. Through their remarkable generosity, the Smilow Foundation is helping to fuel innovation and accelerate discoveries that will change the trajectory of cardiovascular medicine. William Smilow has already contributed immeasurably to our remarkable success in translating scientific discoveries into treatments, and this new gift is equally visionary,” said J. Larry Jameson, MD, President of the University of Pennsylvania.
“We are grateful to the Smilow Foundation for their remarkable generosity and vision,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “By bringing together experts from across disciplines through the Smilow Center for Precision Therapeutics, Penn Medicine is uniquely positioned to pioneer new approaches to treating, and ultimately curing, heart disease, accelerating the delivery of groundbreaking therapies to patients everywhere.”
About the Smilow Foundation
The Smilow Foundation’s primary areas of interest are medical research and education, with leadership gifts to institutions including Yale’s Smilow Cancer Hospital and NYU Langone Medical Center. It is also a founding donor of the Smilow Woodland TGR Learning Lab at the revitalized Cobbs Creek Golf Course in West Philadelphia. William Smilow serves on the Penn Medicine Board, the Penn Cardiovascular Institute Leadership Council, and the Penn Medicine Development Leadership Cabinet, as well as the boards of the TGR Foundation and the Cobbs Creek Foundation.
