East Lansing, Mich., — The Doug Meijer and the Meijer Foundation have given Michigan State University $19.5M for biomedical research.

“We are creating a facility defined by the ability to create and implement tools and approaches that make affordable, compassionate and equitable care a reality,” MSU’s executive vice president for health Norman J. Beauchamp Jr said.

The gift will fund a theranostics clinic. Theranostics is a combined drug identification process in which medical practitioners use one radioactive drug to identify and diagnose a second radioactive drug to deliver therapy to treat the main tumor and any metastatic tumors.

The clinic includes a cyclotron-equipped radiopharmacy and a PET/MR scanner in a new building at the MSU Grand Rapids Innovation Park.

The building will be named after Doug Meijer, a cancer survivor and advocate for treatment for all cancer patients.

“This new medical innovation building will help save lives and improve the quality of life for many people through remarkable cancer-fighting technology,” Meijer said. Patients will no longer have to travel overseas to receive needed treatment. I am living proof this technology works.”

In addition to the $19.5 million gift given by the Meijer family, Peter and Joan Secchia announced Nov. 1 they are giving $5 million to complete the $30 million campaign for the $88 million building that opened in 2017.

“Joan and I are committed to helping MSU and the College of Human Medicine and are happy to help them close the books on this building project,” said Secchia.

Peter Secchia is a 1963 graduate of MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business and the former U.S. Ambassador to Italy. Joan Secchia is a 1964 graduate of the College of Education. In addition to their $5 million gift, they have donated sculptures to MSU as part of their Community Legends program. The sculptures are displayed at the Grand Rapids Research Center and honor three female scientists from Grand Rapids who discovered the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine.

Construction of the Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Center is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the MSU Grand Rapids Innovation Park.

The scheduled opening date is 2021.