En Novembre 2016, la Fondation Victor Dahdaleh a réalisé la plus grande donation à ce jour envers la British Lung Foundation pour égaler les 5 millions de livres sterling versées par le gouvernement britannique pour financer la cause, un don annoncé au mois de Mars de cette année. La donation financera et viendra soutenir la recherche dédiée au développement de traitements pour les mésothéliomes. A travers un nouveau réseau pour la recherche sur les mésothéliomes créé par la British Lung Foundation, l’étude sera basée à l’Université de Leicester et l’Hôpital Papworth à Cambridge, en collaboration avec le Centre National de Recherche pour les mésothéliomes à Imperial College London. Ce don inégalé est déterminant pour la cause car une guérison pour cette pathologie n’a pas encore été découverte ; ce type de cancer est associé avec l'exposition aux fibres d'amiante et affecte le plus souvent le système respiratoire. En tant que philanthrope, Victor Dahdaleh a considérablement contribué à l’avancement de causes médicales par le passé : son soutien de l’Université McGill de Montréal a rendu possible le développement du département de neurosciences de l’institut et a amélioré l’accès a la faculté pour les étudiants internationaux grâce à des bourses d’étude. Il a aussi soutenu la recherche pour la découverte de nouveaux traitements des maladies cardiovasculaires, et a fait des dons envers Imperial College London et l’Hôpital Royal Brompton au Royaume-Uni.

1. Victor Dahdaleh Foundation Makes
Landmark Donation to Mesothelioma
Research
News provided by
The Victor Dahdaleh Foundation
04 Nov, 2016, 14:46 GMT
LONDON, November 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The Victor Dahdaleh Foundation has this week made a £5million donation to the British
Lung Foundation to fund vital research into mesothelioma, matching UK government funding
announced in March. The donation is the largest ever made to the BLF.
The landmark gift from the charitable organisation of Canadian philanthropist Victor
Dahdaleh will support the research teams at the University of Leicester and Papworth
Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge, both of which will join forces with the
government-funded National Mesothelioma Research Centre at Imperial College to develop
new treatments for the disease.
In a further boost to mesothelioma research and to maximise patient benefit, the British Lung
Foundation will also establish a Mesothelioma Research Network, to include the research
programmes at Leicester, Papworth and Imperial together with other specialist mesothelioma
centres across the UK.
Speaking at the announcement on Tuesday, Victor Dahdaleh said: "The Foundation is
delighted to be working with the British Lung Foundation and the teams at Leicester,
Papworth and Imperial to support this vital research, ultimately to find a cure for
mesothelioma.
"While the UK already has world leading expertise in studying and treating mesothelioma,
we hope that our donation, matching the government funding announced earlier this year,
will enhance research programmes and enable closer collaboration between all those working
hard to bring tangible benefits to patients affected by this dreadful disease.
"The professionalism and commitment already shown by all the teams involved give us
confidence that together we can make a real difference over the next four years."
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer which affects the chest or abdomen, and is particularly
associated with exposure to asbestos fibres. There are more than 5,400 sufferers in the UK,
and numbers have increased over the last four decades. With no cure, 2,500 people die in

2. Britain each year from the disease, often with frightening speed - the average survival time
after diagnosis is just 11 months.
Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation said:
"This unprecedented and generous donation from the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation means we
can co-ordinate a network of researchers into mesothelioma and ensure that the number and
scope of research projects and clinical trials can be greatly increased. This investment will
help to speed up much needed progress in finding better treatments and, eventually, a cure for
this awful killer disease.
"We will continue to pursue further funding from individuals and industry, including insurers
and businesses to secure the long-term future of the Mesothelioma Research Network. We
won't stop until a cure is found."
The donation from the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation is the latest in a long history of support
for health-related issues around the world. In Canada last year, the Foundation funded the
Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health, a state-of-the art research facility at York University in
Toronto. The institute, which was funded by a record $20million donation to the university,
will seek to reframe the ways in which high- and low-income countries collaborate on global
health challenges.
At McGill University in Montreal, the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation this year funded the
establishment of a new chair in neurosciences, which will integrate the university's
neurology, psychiatry and rehabilitation science expertise. The Foundation also doubled an
existing scholarship endowment, which gives overseas students the opportunity to study at
the university.
Back in the UK, the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation supports efforts to find new treatments for a
range of cardiovascular diseases, and has funded research at Imperial College London and
Royal Brompton Hospital in London and Middlesex.
Alongside health and wellness, the Foundation is committed to giving young disadvantaged
people opportunities for higher education at some of the world's top universities. Through
Victor Dahdaleh's strong affiliations with a number of leading academic institutions, his
charitable organisation has set up several scholarship programmes aimed at students from
lower income countries.
Victor Dahdaleh is the owner and chairman of Dadco, a privately owned investment,
manufacturing and trading group established in 1915. A lifelong promoter of closer
collaboration between Canada and the UK, he served as president of the Canada-United
Kingdom Chamber of Commerce from 2004 to 2009.
For more information on the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation, visit
victordahdalehfoundation.com
SOURCE The Victor Dahdaleh Foundation
https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/victor-dahdaleh-foundation-makes-landmark-
donation-to-mesothelioma-research-600006671.html