$12M gift from alumna Susan Nelson launches school of medicine center to revolutionize personalized health care

The University of Calgary has received a $12 milliondonation from entrepreneur and community leader Susan Nelson to accelerate precision medicine research.

The funding will establish the Nelson Precision Medicine and Learning Health System (PULSE) Centre for Innovation at the Cumming School of Medicine.

The center will create a province-wide data platform linking anonymized diagnostic tests, lab results, prescriptions, and health outcomes with lifestyle and care-access information.

The system will enable researchers and physicians to utilize artificial intelligence and other tools to detect diseases earlier and tailor treatments more effectively, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

Nelson, a longtime Calgary philanthropist with a background in high tech and AI, said her personal experience with autoimmune disease and her work with hospitalized children informed her decision.

The gift will support the center’s operations through 2032 and is expected to foster collaboration across Alberta’s universities and health-care providers.

University president Ed McCauley called Nelson “an extraordinary alumna and longtime UCalgary supporter who is helping us turn research into real-world solutions.” Dean Todd Anderson stated that the donation will enable researchers to advance personalized medicine through the use of data, AI, and machine learning.

The PULSE Centre builds on the University of Calgary’s work at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and will expand into areas such as stroke, critical care, and women’s health. Director Dr. James White said the initiative will securely unify fragmented provincial health data to maximize its impact.

Andreas Dauter, a UCalgary alumnus and current PhD student whose own genetic heart condition was diagnosed only after years of uncertainty, said the center’s work could give future patients “diagnoses faster, better treatment, and earlier interventions—so lifesaving years can be given back to them.”