Phil and Margaret Howe

Changing lives through: a gift supporting the Terry C. Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research.

K-State connection: Both Phil and Margaret graduated from K-State in 1954. Phil was a business major, and Margaret studied home economics. Phil chartered the Kansas State Bank, Manhattan, in 1969 and has spent the majority of his career as CEO.

Why they gave: “I had visited with Dr. Rob Denell at the Terry C. Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research,” Phil said. “He said the university could get an additional $350,000 for a research facility if they raised enough matching money locally. As a former cancer patient, I was impressed with the work they do there. If you make a gift, you hope to pay back those who do the research.”

The power of matching: The Howes’ gift to the cancer center served as a catalyst for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $353,504, which was used to purchase microarray equipment for K-State’s Gene Expression Facility (GEF). The facility supports disciplines ranging from biology to cancer research.

Impact: “The new equipment makes a whole new set of analyses possible,” said Karen Garrett, associate professor in plant pathology and lead principal investigator for the NSF grant. “The new systems offer leading technology for gene-array preparation and analysis. K-State researchers working with cells or tissues derived from animals, plants and microbes now have greater capacity to make use of high-quality commercial arrays, as well as print their own arrays from clones. These facilities make it possible to analyze thousands of genes in a single experiment.”