Dr. Thomas Schulz, assistant professor, Internal Medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, will be invested with a professorship to boost cancer research and treatment on the Wichita campus, 1010 N. Kansas. The professorship was established by a $1 million gift from Frank and Beverly Gaines, of Hamilton, Kansas.

The Gaines’ Professorship supports a research program that enrolls Wichita patients in Phase I clinical trials, which test a new drug or treatment in a small group. As the recipient of the professorship, Schulz will be an integral member of the KU Cancer Center Phase I drug program, as well as the clinical trials program for the Midwest Cancer Alliance.

Schulz is an alumnus of the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. Since July 2000, he has held a joint appointment with the Cancer Center of Kansas and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. He practices hematology and medical oncology, and teaches medical students and residents. He received the Faculty Teaching Award and the Resident Teaching Award at the medical school.

Cancer survivor Frank Gaines and his wife, Beverly, made the gift for the professorship in 2007, two years after Frank was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. A former state representative, senator and member of the Kansas Board of Regents, Frank Gaines is chairman and CEO of First National Bank in Fredonia. Beverly Gaines, a 1970 graduate of the KU School of Nursing, is vice president of the bank.

Their gift is part of the Kansas Masonic Foundation’s Partnership for Life campaign to support the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute and KU’s efforts to become designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. The Kansas Masonic Foundation recently completed its $20 million campaign for the KU Cancer Center.

“We are extremely grateful for Frank and Beverly Gaines' generous gift, because it helps enable us to expand our Phase I clinical trials program here in Wichita,” said Roy A. Jensen, MD, director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center.  ”By building on the exceptional cancer expertise and clinical trials program that already exists in Wichita, their gift will have a significant impact on the lives of Kansans for many years to come.”

KU Medical Center Executive Vice Chancellor and KU School of Medicine Executive Dean Barbara Atkinson, M.D., said the Gaines Professorship will support essential clinical research at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

“We’re so pleased that the Gaines’ gift has created this professorship in Wichita so that we can capitalize on this community’s great expertise in cancer research,” Atkinson said. “Putting patients on clinical trials in Wichita is a very critical component of our effort in seeking National Cancer Institute designation. And with his education, experience and record of excellence in patient care, Dr. Schulz is the right person to help KU achieve this goal.”

Schulz, who is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, completed a Fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado where he was named Chief Fellow in Medical Oncology and was the recipient of a Susan G. Komen grant to study breast cancer in the Latina population. Schulz received his undergraduate degree from Newman University.

The Gaines’ gift is managed by KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.