About the fund

The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research was established in 1937 by the late Miss Alice S. Coffin and Mr. Starling W. Childs as a gift in trust to Yale University for the furtherance of research into the causes, origin, andtreatment of cancer.

The structure of the Fund is designed to express the original purpose of the Fund — free, wide ranging scientific inquiry.The Fund consists of two Boards—the Board of Managers andthe Board of Scientific Advisors. The original Board of Managers was appointed in 1937 by the Yale Corporation and was chaired by Frederic C. Walcott, a former Senator from Connecticut and friend of Starling W. Childs. By the Deed of Gift the Board became self perpetuating and is solely responsible for the administration and management of the Fund. However, all actions relating to scientific matters are taken upon the initiation, or with the advice, of the Board of Scientific Advisers.

This Board, originally with seven, and now twelve, members is also self perpetuating. The first Chairman of the Board of Scientific Advisers was Stanhope Bayne-Jones, Dean of theYale University School of Medicine. To ensure continuing interest and new ideas, both Boards have adopted limited terms of office and regular rotation schedules.

The interests of the Scientific Advisers are reflected in the research emphasis of the Fund as it has evolved from 1937 to the present: carcinogens of organic and inorganic origins,virus studies, epidemiology, endocrinology, tissue transplants, genetics and mutagenesis, microbiology, biochemistry, recombinant DNA, gene isolation, development, structural biology, growth control.