Scope 48 - From the Chairman

This issue of Scope has inspired me to contribute, as I feel the Institute stands on the cusp of a wave of potential discovery. Both the melanoma vaccine, and the recently funded asthma and allergy programme, are important steps forward for the Institute and as Chairman I feel excited by where these will take us.

 

There are two things I’m keen to mention; firstly the very humbling experiences of two board members, David Mossman and myself, receiving Queen’s Birthday Honours. Mine is a shared honour as it has come about from my direct involvement with the Malaghan Institute, and recognizes the amazing talent and energy that the team, Director, Trustees and wider Malaghan family brings to research. David’s was in recognition of Services to Veterinary Science, however they forgot to mention his 10 years of personal contribution to the Malaghan’s Hawkes Bay Friends and recently as a Trust Board member. All our Trustees give of their time, experience, knowledge and contacts for the satisfaction of seeing the Institute succeed.

Secondly, I thought I’d give you a small insight into the Capital Endowment Fund. This was formed in the early days by bequests and significant donations and gifts. It is managed by professional investment advisors and overseen by the Trust Board. The income from this fund is used to support the Institute’s research, by contributing to the infrastructure and services; last month the Trustees agreed to fund three senior research positions from the fund’s capital, and more recently will directly support individual researchers. Some other examples include the fit out costs when we moved to our new premises; and the establishment of specialist labs for our Cancer Vaccine programme, which were also generously supported, by the Keith and Faith Taylor Family and also the Wade and Angela Thompson family.

However we can only do what we do because of the unyielding support we receive. To all of you reading this, who are supporters through our Friends groups or just as an individual, could I challenge you to find one other person, family, trust or sponsor that could add to our journey. This would really empower us to continue to succeed in these uncertain and trying times.

 

Download the full Scope 48 newsletter - 1 MB (PDF)

My thanks to you and the very best of health.

Graham Malaghan