BOSTON April 27, 2021—Mass General Brigham presented the prestigious Jack Connors Jr. Award for Excellence in Philanthropy to Barbara and Frank Resnek. Named in honor of Mass General Brigham Chair Emeritus Jack Connors Jr., the award is presented each year to two philanthropists to recognize outstanding and meaningful philanthropic contributions to a hospital in the Mass General Brigham system.
In 2019, Frank and Barbara Resnek made a generous $20 million gift to Brigham and Women’s Hospital to support the launch of the Resnek Family Center for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Research, the first research center of its kind in the nation. Affecting approximately 30,000 people in the U.S., PSC disrupts normal liver function and slowly causes cirrhosis and liver failure. Under the direction of Joshua Korzenik, MD, the new Resnek Center takes a multipronged approach to developing new therapies for PSC, a rare, chronic liver disease for which the only effective therapy is a liver transplant. The Resneks’ gift marks the largest investment in PSC research worldwide.
In presenting the award, Scott M. Sperling, chair of Mass General Brigham’s Board of Trustees, thanked the Resneks for being trailblazers in bringing much-needed attention and resources to a rare and debilitating disease.
Sunil Eappen, MD, MBA, interim president and chief medical officer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, added, “The Resneks’ extraordinary gift marks a turning point for patients and families living with PSC. We are exceedingly grateful for their generosity and proud to see them receive this well-deserved recognition from Mass General Brigham.”
Frank is a partner of Fenway Sports Group, LLC, the parent company of the Boston Red Sox, and Barbara is a retired family law attorney. The two conducted a national search for PSC research and treatment options that led them to Korzenik and his team at the Brigham.
About Mass General Brigham
Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic healthcare system, uniting great minds in medicine to make life-changing impact for patients in our communities and people around the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a non-profit organization that is committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org.
