Read Time: 3 minutes
Author: Susan Sheehan
Endowed chairs show the important role philanthropy and grateful patients play in advancing cancer research and care. Financial resources made possible through an endowed chair are used to recruit and retain top faculty, fund laboratories, and pursue innovative research. A gift to establish the Vincent P. and Janet Mancini Presidential Endowed Chair in Genitourinary Malignancies is a perfect example of how generosity fuels the future of cancer treatment.
Twenty-six years ago, Vincent Mancini was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the University of Utah (U of U) Hospital. He received initial treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Since then, he has continuously benefited from the care and treatment advancements at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the U of U. In gratitude, he and Janet made the generous decision to "pay it forward" by creating a Presidential Endowed Chair in Genitourinary Malignancies at HCI. They feel it is important to announce this gift to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. They feel so fortunate to have HCI in their community.
"A Presidential Endowed Chair confers the highest recognition and accolade awarded. We are immensely grateful to Vincent and Janet for making this chair possible," says Susan Sheehan, president and chief operating officer of Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
Vincent Mancini moved to Salt Lake City in 1962 and opened his food brokerage company—V. Mancini & Co. It later expanded to seven Western States. Sixty years later the company continues to operate in several markets and is known today as Mancini-Rodon Group, with his son Tad Mancini as CEO.
Cancer has been all too familiar in the Mancini Family. Vince's mother, one of his sons, and his daughter have all experienced cancer. His son Tad, was the first member of the Mancini Family to be treated by Dr. Tward. Cancer also took Janet's Father and other members of her extended family in Canada.
The inaugural Vincent P. and Janet Mancini Presidential Endowed Chair is Jonathan Tward, MD, PhD. Tward is a tenured professor and also serves as the lead physician on several operational committees and working groups within the Department of Radiation Oncology. He is recognized as a major authority and leader in prostate, bladder, and penile cancer treatments. Tward is the leader of Huntsman Cancer Institute's Genitourinary Cancers Center, coordinating 100 members across 45 different departments or colleges at the U of U and HCI. He directs collaboration of patient care, community engagement, research, and donor relations.
Tward is an expert at delivering highly precise and targeted radiation therapy to people afflicted with cancers of the prostate, bladder, kidney, testis, and penis. The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) selected him as a distinguished member and he received the ASTRO Fellow (FASTRO) designation in 2022. This award recognizes individuals who have made substantial contributions to the Society and the field of radiation oncology through research, education, patient care, and service to the field. Since its inception in 2006, the FASTRO designation has been awarded to just 4% of ASTRO's 10,000 members worldwide.
Tward earned his bachelor's degree in biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, his PhD in biochemistry, and his MD at Tufts University in Boston. He completed a residency in radiation oncology at the U of U. Before joining Huntsman Cancer Institute, Tward founded and worked for several pioneering e-commerce and health-related websites.