Dee and Jimmy Haslam, the managing partners of Haslam Sports Group and owners of the Cleveland Browns, are putting serious money behind a very personal cause, pledging $12.5 million to speed research into chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other rare blood cancers. Most of the gift will bankroll a transatlantic research partnership, while a smaller slice will create an endowed CLL chair and an innovation fund at UH Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland. The effort hits close to home. Dee Haslam was diagnosed with CLL in 2021 and has been closely involved with University Hospitals' fundraising work ever since.
Under the commitment, $10 million will go to the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre and $2.5 million to UH Seidman, with an Ohio-to-Oxford pipeline aimed at turning lab discoveries into clinical trials. In a press release, the Oxford-Harrington centre said the funding will accelerate drug development for CLL and related blood cancers and support early-stage therapeutics. The transatlantic model pairs Harrington's Cleveland-based drug-development infrastructure with Oxford's academic discovery engine to move promising medicines faster toward patients, according to the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre.
In that same press release from the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, Dee Haslam said, "I am extremely grateful that I am living a full, healthy life after being diagnosed with CLL in 2021," and called the gift "an investment into research and drug development." Jonathan Stamler, MD, president and co-founder of the Harrington Discovery Institute, said the Haslams' "generosity creates a remarkable opportunity to advance a next generation of medicines for blood cancers." University Hospitals CEO Cliff A. Megerian added that the Haslams have been "devout supporters" of UH and that the funds will give hope to patients with rare diseases.
Where The Money Will Go
According to University Hospitals, UH Seidman will use the $2.5 million to endow a chair in chronic lymphocytic leukemia research and to seed an innovation fund that supports early studies and collaboration. The setup is meant to strengthen Cleveland's role in translating discoveries into clinical trials and to create a pipeline of candidates that the Oxford-Harrington centre can also advance. UH says the commitment complements its existing translational infrastructure at the Harrington Discovery Institute.
CLL And Why It Matters
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is the most common adult leukemia and, despite major advances in targeted therapies, remains incurable for many patients, which is why researchers say accelerating early-stage drug development really matters. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society notes that thousands of Americans are diagnosed with CLL each year and that sustained research investment has driven recent therapeutic gains. Faster translation from lab to clinic can expand options for patients who have exhausted current therapies.
Local Giving And The Bigger Picture
The Haslams have been active donors in Northeast Ohio. Their $20 million lead gift established the UH Haslam Sports Innovation Center in 2023, and the family has supported other local medical and civic causes. According to University Hospitals, the sports center was created to drive performance and injury-reduction research, and the latest $12.5 million commitment underscores the couple's focus on health-science philanthropy. Dee Haslam also serves on UH's board and co-chairs the health system's multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign.
Officials said the funding will be deployed in the coming months, with both the Oxford-Harrington centre and UH Seidman soliciting proposals and prioritizing projects that can move quickly into development. For Cleveland patients and researchers, the Haslams' investment is a pointed reminder that local philanthropy can be a powerful lever for rare-disease drug discovery and clinical innovation.
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