Summer 2025
By Elyse Pleickhardt
“A cancer diagnosis takes its toll,” Ross Mayer said, recalling his own battle with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. “Everyone needs a little hope when facing it.”
Mayer found more than hope at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His oncologist, Mary-Ellen Taplin, MD, treated him with lifesaving surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy. Today Mayer is cancer-free—and offering hope to others with his generous gifts to Dana-Farber.
Through annual gifts and a bequest, Mayer has made a significant gift commitment, establishing The Ross Mayer Endowed Fellowship in Prostate Cancer and the accompanying Mayer Fellow Advancement Fund.
The first ever Ross Mayer research fellow is a natural fit. Aya Abdelnaser, MB, BCh, began her medical schooling in her home country of Egypt, where she focused on prostate cancer. The Mayer Fellow Advancement Fund helped Abdelnaser get funding many young scientists find difficult to secure. Now, Abdelnaser is researching how to identify and treat different types of prostate cancer at Dana-Farber alongside Taplin, Mayer’s trusted partner and chair of Dana-Farber’s Executive Committee for Clinical Research.
At their first meeting, Mayer was overjoyed to hear about Abdelnaser’s enthusiasm for the research, her education, and her family. He was pleased to know her husband and child joined her in Boston as she passionately pursues her research.
Mayer and Abdelnaser recognize that they come from very different places and cultures, yet they have a common goal: finding better treatment options for such a vicious disease together. Social and cultural differences disappear in the name of a cure.
“We need to look for new ways to battle cancer. Research provides patients with more avenues to get better.”
Ross Mayer
“We need to look for new ways to battle cancer,” Mayer said, “to buy time for patients with new technology so they can fight until the next treatment is available. Research provides patients with more avenues to get better.”
A longtime supporter of Dana-Farber, Mayer has also established the Ross Mayer Fund to advance Taplin’s innovative research. He named the Ross Mayer Laboratory Services Bay in the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care, the Ross Mayer Nourishment area in Foxborough, the Roberta Arkin Ring of Hope in the Foxborough Ripple Effect display, Genes in honor of Clair Beard and Dana-Farber oncologists, and has pledged to name Dr. Taplin’s office. Mayer is also a member of the Dana-Farber Society.
Mayer’s newest gifts establishing The Ross Mayer Endowed Fellowship in Prostate Cancer and the Mayer Fellow Advancement Fund further demonstrate his relentless passion for cutting-edge research and lifesaving prostate cancer care.