On September 14 2007, our Executive Director, Mrs Dorothy Chan, together with her husband and 2 of their sons, took part in the Investiture Ceremony at the Stanford University Medical Centre, Palo Alto, California to celebrate the establishment of the Dorothy & Thye King Chan Professorship in Neurosurgery, made possible by a generous donation by her.

The establishment of this professorship is to honour their good friend, Professor John R. Adler, Jr., MD, who is the inventor of the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System. This is the world's only robotic radiosurgery system cleared by the FDA to treat tumors anywhere in the body non-invasively and with sub-millimeter accuracy. Using continual image guidance technology and computer controlled robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real-time throughout the treatment. This enables the CyberKnife System to deliver precise, highdose radiation, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue and eliminating the need for invasive head or body stabilization frames.

The CyberKnife, started more than 10 years ago as a research and development project at Stanford by Prof. Adler, partly with the help of a donation from Dorothy Chan, who later, as the project had advanced to a stage where it was ready to be commercialized, made an investment in the company, Accuray Incorporated, formed to market this special medical equipment to treat cancer. In February this year, the shares of this company were listed in Nasdaq New York, (ARAY) successfully.

Accuray Incorporated, is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a non-surgical treatment option for those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, which extends the benefits of radiosurgery to include extracranial tumors, including those in the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. To date, the CyberKnife System has been used to treat more than 35,000 patients worldwide and currently more than 100 systems have been installed in leading hospitals and centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

At the said Investiture Ceremony, attended by a distinguished gathering of Stanford prominent citizens and academic people, Stanford University School of Medicine, in its citation stated:-

“An endowed chair - the highest academic award that the university can bestow upon a faculty member - becomes an enduring tribute to the donor's belief in academic excellence and social responsibility. The honour and prestige associated with appointment to an endowed chair is shared equally by each successive chair holder, the university, and the donor.

At Stanford, the roster of endowed chair holders stands as an honor roll of the most distinguished faculty members - scholars, scientists, and teachers - in its history. Similarly, the roster of donors whose generosity makes endowed chairs possible is a celebration of Stanford's most farsighted and committed friends.

After a life-changing family experience at Stanford University Medical Center, the Chans established the Dorothy and Thye King Chan Professorship in Neurosurgery as a reflection of their gratitude to John R. Adler, Jr., MD, and to Stanford for the treatment and research conducted here. Their generous gift will support Dr. Adler's research and clinical endeavors, as well as future generations of Stanford physicians and the patients in their cares.”

The Chans dedicate this article to the Glory of God.