MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Medical College of Wisconsin announced a $27 million gift Monday, June 22 from Tim and Barbara Michels and the Michels Family Foundation, the largest personal donation ever made to the MCW Cancer Center, according to a Monday press release from MCW.

The gift’s goal is to fund recruitment of additional cancer researchers and clinicians, expand technology used to move lab discoveries into patient treatment, train new cancer scientists and expand access to early detection and prevention strategies in rural and underserved parts of Wisconsin, according to MCW.

The donation is personal for the Michels family, according to the press release, referring to their daughter, Sophie, who was diagnosed with a rare pediatric brain cancer called choroid plexus carcinoma in 2012 at age 11 and is now healthy nearly 15 years later.

In recognition of the gift, MCW's cancer research building will be named the Michels Center for Cancer Discovery. The facility opened in Aug. 2025 and is reportedly the only building in eastern Wisconsin dedicated exclusively to cancer research.

A formal dedication ceremony for the building is planned for later in the year.