Former Graduate Donates $25,000 Worth of Equipment To Wesleyan's Science Departments

For immediate release: Monday, August 9, 2004

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(MIDDLETOWN, CT) – David Schenkein, M.D., vice president of oncology clinical development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, MA. and 1979 Wesleyan University alum, recently arranged to donate roughly $25,000 in scientific equipment to Wesleyan's chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry and biology departments.

Millennium Pharmaceuticals donated eight PCR machines, which allow the physical amplification of small amounts of DNA, and one 2D gel casting system, which separates proteins based on size and charge. Both are powerful technologies in modern molecular biology and biochemistry. The donation will contribute significantly to Wesleyan's ongoing state of the art research programs.

"The generous donation of equipment to Wesleyan by Millennium exemplifies an important avenue of interaction between the University and the companies where many of our graduates will find employment," says Rex Pratt, one of Schenkein's former Wesleyan professors and current Wesleyan chemistry professor.

Millennium Pharmaceuticals is developing breakthrough personalized medicine products by applying its knowledge of the human genome, its understanding of disease mechanisms, and its industrialized technology platform.

For more information, please contact Laura Perillo in Wesleyan's Media Relations Department at 860-685-3813 or lperillo@wesleyan.edu.