Tampa General Hospital Foundation Receives $10 Million to Innovate Cancer Research and Care

Ian and Jean MacKechnie made the transformative gift that will fund an immunotherapy lab and the Taneja Surgical, Neuroscience & Transplant Tower.

TAMPA, Fla., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Foundation announced a transformational $10 million gift to create the Ian & Jean MacKechnie Immunotherapy Lab, part of the TGH Cancer Institute. Part of their gift will also fund the Taneja Surgical, Neuroscience & Transplant Tower, currently under construction adjacent to Tampa General's academic medical center on Davis Islands.

The 8,000-square-foot lab will be housed in the USF Health building in downtown Tampa, in the heart of the innovative Tampa Medical & Research District. The academic research conducted there will be a highlight of the strong and dynamic partnership between Tampa General and the University of South Florida.

The MacKechnies were inspired to give after Ian MacKechnie was treated by Dr. Jorge Marcet, the medical director of Colorectal Surgery Services at Tampa General.

"Tampa General continues to lead the way in providing world-class academic medical care right here in Florida," said John Couris, president and CEO of Florida Health Sciences Center | Tampa General. "The fact that philanthropists such as Ian and Jean MacKechnie are motivated to drive innovation and to transform the future of cancer care is a testament to the power of the care they received right here at Tampa General."

Ian MacKechnie, founder of Amscot Financial, said the care he received from Dr. Marcet and everyone at Tampa General was phenomenal. 

"Everyone at Tampa General showed such humanity and kindness," MacKechnie said. "The care team was so exacting, staying in touch and making everything easy and understandable. It's important to us to give back to TGH and help ensure that care is available to the communities where we live and do business."

In the lab, a team will work to arm the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases across many medical disciplines.

"This transformative gift from Ian and Jean MacKechnie strengthens our multidisciplinary Susan & John Sykes Center of Excellence in Colorectal Cancer as a hub for immunotherapy innovation, supporting the development of precision-targeted therapies and attracting globally recognized investigators committed to advancing more precise, effective treatments for cancer and other diseases," Dr. Marcet said. "It is an investment not only in research, but in discovery that will redefine the future of cancer care."

The gift will bolster the TGH Cancer Institute's robust immunotherapy program, which recently earned prestigious accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) for clinical excellence, innovation and patient safety in stem cell transplant and cellular therapy. FACT accreditation affirms that the program meets internationally recognized standards and follows best practices in patient care, cell collection, processing and administration. The accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, Joint Commission and international societies.

"We have made amazing strides in the ability to target cancer with immunotherapy," said Dr. Ivan Borrello, hematologist oncologist, physician-scientist and medical director of the Myeloma, Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) and Cell Therapies program. "We are grateful and humbled by this wonderful gift, which will pave the pathway to new innovation in cellular therapies and immunological translational research."

"In the remarkable generosity of Ian and Jean MacKechnie, we witness the profound and transformative impact that academic medicine, when united with the spirit of philanthropy, can have on our community," said Frann Leppla, executive vice president and president of the TGH Foundation. "Touched deeply by the world-class care they received at Tampa General, they chose to ensure that excellence in care will continue to uplift and heal countless lives."

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, the Tampa Bay region's only academic health system, is a 1,530-bed not-for-profit network of hospital and outpatient services spanning across Florida. As the only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care center serving 23 counties, Tampa General  delivers world-class care. The system's hospitals include Tampa General Hospital, Tampa General Rehabilitation Hospital, Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital, all in Tampa; Tampa General Brooksville, Tampa General Spring Hill and Tampa General Crystal River. Tampa General is the highest-ranked hospital in Tampa Bay in U.S. News & World Report's 2025-2026 Best Hospitals, with six medical specialties ranking among the top 50 in the nation and five additional medical specialties ranked among the top 10% best hospital programs in the United States. As the first hospital in Florida to open a clinical command center for real-time situational awareness, the academic health system has elevated its digital care coordination center to the next level by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and its analytics platform across inpatient and outpatient care to ensure patients receive leading-edge care as quickly and safely as possible. Tampa General's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings — in the 2026 America's Best Large Employers ranked as the Tampa Bay region's #1 employer in the health care category for the sixth year in a row, and among the top five in the state of Florida, in the 2025 Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women.

Tampa General is the area's safety-net hospital, caring for anyone regardless of ability to pay; in fiscal year 2024, Tampa General provided a net community benefit of approximately $289.1 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is recognized as one of the adult solid organ transplant centers in the nation and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General transports critically injured or ill patients from surrounding counties to receive the advanced care their conditions require. Tampa General has a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It is home to the Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General's footprint includes TGH North, which consists of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties; 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices; TGH Family Care Center Kennedy; two TGH outpatient centers; TGH Virtual Health; and 20 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care, powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
Assistant Manager
Publications & Physician Communications
(727) 510-6363 (cell)
[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital