2007 Annual Report

2007 Annual Report 

A Groundbreaking Year 

www.vai.org

ground • break • ing (ground’bra’king) 

> the act or ceremony of breaking ground for a new construction project > markedly 

innovative > originating or pioneering a new endeavor, field of inquiry, or the like 

> being or producing something like nothing done or experienced or created before 

02 A Letter from David Van Andel, Chairman & CEO 

04 VAI Breaks Ground on Phase II 

Van Andel Research Institute 

06 A Letter from George Vande Woude, VARI Director 

08 VARI 2007 Lab Highlights 

12 Dr. Eric Xu Receives Third R01 Grant 

14 Haab Invention Speeds Research and Saves Resources 

16 Behind the Scenes 

18 Training Programs 

20 Grants Awarded to VARI Researchers - 2007 

22 Daniel Nathans Memorial Award 

23 Han-Mo Koo Seminar Series 

24 Collaborations 

26 Labs & Investigators and Core Services 

Van Andel Education Institute 

28 A Letter from Gordon Van Harn, VAEI Director 

30 VAI Graduate School Convocation Commemorates Inaugural School Year 

32 Highlighting and Supporting Undergraduate Research 

33 Internal Medicine Research Residency Program 

34 New Programs at Science Academy 

Philanthropy & Development 

38 A Letter from Joe Gavan, Vice President, Communications & Development 

40 Hope on the Hill Donor Recognition 

46 VAI Board & Council Members 

48 Celebration of Hope 

Van Andel Institute

VAI Phase II

VAI Phase 

I 

www.vai.org 

1

A Letter from David Van Andel 

Van Andel Institute Chairman & CEO 

The year 2007 was literally a groundbreaking one at 

Van Andel Institute (VAI). On April 12, despite the 

incursions of an unusual spring snowstorm, we broke 

ground on Phase II, a $170 million, 240,000 square-foot, eightstory 

building expansion that will significantly increase the 

Institute’s capacity to impact human health through basic and 

translational research. 

The constant activity of cranes and the significant community 

investment in the life sciences on Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile 

have not gone unnoticed by the national media. In July, the New 

York Times published a front-page story in its business section 

entitled “Grand Rapids Lays Foundations for a Health Mecca,” 

which highlighted the region’s philanthropic efforts and detailed 

the private investment that has spurred the development of the 

life sciences in West Michigan. We are proud to be recognized 

for our crucial role as the anchor of the life sciences industry in 

West Michigan. 

Both Van Andel Institute and West Michigan are attracting 

national and international attention for their expanded role in the 

Our Mission: Through biomedical research and 

science education, Van Andel Institute is committed to improving 

the health and enhancing the lives of generations to come. 

Van Andel Institute

life sciences, and this is also evidenced by our growing number of 

collaborative efforts with business, academia, clinical partners and 

other researchers throughout the world. 

In January, we signed an agreement with the National Cancer 

Centre of Singapore forming the NCCS-VARI Translational Research 

Program in Singapore. The three-year, $1.2 million program is funded 

by the government of Singapore, and operates under the direction 

of VARI Distinguished Investigator Bin Tean Teh, M.D., Ph.D. The 

program focuses on the biology 

behind varying drug responses in 

Asian versus non-Asian patients with 

specific types of cancers. 

In March, we announced the creation 

of the Center for Molecular Medicine 

(CMM) in partnership with Spectrum 

Health. The $6 million joint venture 

offers molecular technologies for 

investigation of complex diseases like 

cancer and heart disease at the DNA, 

RNA and protein levels. The CMM 

combines Spectrum Health’s clinical, 

laboratory and research resources, 

and VAI’s research expertise with 

the latest in molecular biological 

technology. 

Keeping ever in mind our dual 

mission as both a research and 

education institute, 2007 was also a watershed year for Van Andel 

Education Institute, which saw the culmination of several years’ work 

in some significant milestones and achievements, most notably as 

the Van Andel Institute Graduate School welcomed its first three 

Ph.D. candidates in cell and molecular biology in a convocation held 

on August 20, 2007. 

The NCCS-VARI program ribbon cutting in Singapore (l to r): David 

Van Andel, George Vande Woude, Bin Tean Teh, and Khee Chee Soo 

Underlying all of our efforts on both the research and education 

side is the quest to fulfill our mission to improve the health and 

enhance the lives of generations to come. Perhaps no other 

achievement of the past year fulfills the definition of that mission 

quite as well as the success of the Institute’s Compassionate Care 

Protocol. A groundbreaking study in personalized molecular 

medicine undertaken with several clinical partners, this protocol 

utilizes a highly advanced database and set of analytical tools 

developed in Van Andel Research Institute’s labs to profile a 

patient’s tumor and integrate that 

information with the individual’s 

genetic profile to develop the 

therapy most likely to be effective. 

The study continues in 2008 with 

the hope of enrolling up to 200 

local cancer patients. We are 

excited by the possibilities of the 

coming year. 

We are a relatively young facility, 

but we’ve made remarkable 

progress in the eight short years 

since we opened our doors. 

2007 was a year of significant 

achievement and we look ahead 

with the expectation that our 

growing number of partnerships, 

international recognition, an 

expanded facility and the hard work 

and passion of our researchers, 

educators and staff will allow us to continue to make those lifechanging 

discoveries. 

David Van Andel 

Chairman and CEO, Van Andel Institute 

VAI Chairman 

and CEO 

www.vai.org 

03

Van Andel Institute

VAI Breaks Ground on Phase II— 

Project Scheduled for Completion Late 2009 

Van Andel Institute (VAI) broke ground April 12, 2007, on 

its $170 million, 241,000 square-foot, eight-story Phase 

II building expansion. When operating at capacity, the 

expansion will augment the existing 162,000 square-foot facility 

to support a $125 million annual research 

operation employing 800 researchers and 

administrative staff, providing approximately 

500 additional jobs. The project is scheduled 

for completion in late 2009. 

“Phase II is a continuation of our vision to have 

an impact locally on education, regionally 

on the economy and internationally on life 

sciences,” said Van Andel Institute Chairman 

& CEO David Van Andel, who first announced 

the expansion in 2005, in celebration of the 

Institute’s fifth anniversary. 

Following an outdoor groundbreaking 

ceremony, Van Andel unveiled the interior 

design details of Phase II during an indoor 

presentation. The interior design will 

display elements that reflect the diversity of the Institute’s staff, 

which represents 17 different nations. The design also includes 

laboratories with a skylight roof over the laboratory space, which 

offers the highest quality environment for scientific research. 

In support of the expansion, local Michigan legislators presented 

David Van Andel with a resolution of tribute from the Michigan 

Legislature. Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, spoke 

on the impact that VAI has had on the developing life science 

industry in Michigan. 

“Grand Rapids is rapidly becoming a center for 

medical research.” —Congressman Vernon J. 

Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids 

“Grand Rapids is rapidly becoming a center for medical research, in large 

part because of the research efforts at the Van Andel Institute,” Ehlers 

said. “Thanks to the Phase II expansion, both our area and our nation will 

continue to benefit from groundbreaking discoveries at the Van Andel 

Institute, and our area will also experience 

economic benefits.” 

Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, Phase II 

completes the promise of the physical facility 

planned in 1996. The expansion provides space 

for administrative offices and will nearly triple 

the Institute’s laboratory space, allowing VAI 

to broaden its research focus to include other 

neurological disorders and chronic illnesses, 

specifically through a new lab dedicated to 

Parkinson disease research. The expansion 

significantly increases the Institute’s capacity 

to impact human health through basic and 

translational cancer research, and provides an 

expanded avenue for commercialization efforts 

that complement that research. 

The new facility, which will be LEED certified in support of the Institute’s 

commitment to the environment, will also house the new Van Andel 

Institute Graduate School, which matriculated its first students in August 

2007. Space will also be utilized by students of the new regional medical 

school, Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine, which 

is currently under construction on an adjacent location. 

Opposite page (clockwise from top): David Van Andel drives bulldozer at 

groundbreaking; panels representing Phase II interior design; rendering of 

lobby facing west; poster at groundbreaking 

VAI Phase 

II Groundbreaking 

www.vai.org 

05

A Letter from George Vande Woude, Ph.D. 

Van Andel Research Institute Director 

Van Andel Institute’s Phase II building expansion is underway and exciting 

for many reasons, but most importantly, the expansion will provide more 

research labs to continue to expand our research footprint in Grand Rapids, 

Michigan, the United States and the world. In this report, you’ll read about the research 

already taking place today at the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) labs and about 

some of the accomplishments in 2007. Every day, we increase our understanding of 

the complex activity and interaction of molecules and metabolites at work in the cells 

that make up our bodies, what goes wrong in the case of disease, and how we can 

use our knowledge to help patients. 

Our research would not be possible without funding, and the success we have had 

in the tight competition for grant funding is an important measure of the quality of 

our research. In 2007, our researchers received several prestigious R01 grants from 

the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Dr. Steve Treizenberg received a three-year 

R01 award, Dr. Bart Williams received a five-year R01 award, and Dr. Eric Xu received 

a four-year R01. It is important to note that Dr. Xu now has three active R01 grants. 

Dr. Kate Eisenmann, Dr. Carrie Graveel, and Dr. Jim Resau received grants from the 

Department of Defense (DOD) Breast Cancer Research Program; out of more than 

1200 proposals reviewed, only 87 projects were recommended for funding. Dr. 

Eisenmann, Laura Lamb, and Dr. Cindy Miranti also received grants from the DOD 

Prostate and Ovarian Cancer Program. 

Our many collaborative scientific projects now span the globe and are another 

measure of our success as we establish tight links with scientists and research 


conducts basic and translational research into the genetic and molecular origins of cancer, 

Parkinson disease, and other threats to human health, working to translate discoveries into 

therapies that will one day conquer illness and enhance lives. 

Van Andel Research Institute

programs around the world. We are pleased to announce the formation 

of VARI International, headed by Dr. Bin Tean Teh. VARI International was 

formed to organize and formalize the Institute’s international opportunities. 

Currently, two laboratories with foreign host institutes are in operation. New 

in 2007 was the formation of the National Cancer 

Centre of Singapore (NCCS)–VARI Translational 

Research Laboratory (headed by Dr. Teh). The 

NCCS–VARI laboratory is focusing on translational 

research on cancers that are prevalent in Asian 

countries. The Nanjing Medical University (NMU)– 

VARI Antibody Technology Laboratory (headed 

by Dr. Brian Cao), established in 2005, continues 

its work in the development of a variety of murine 

and human monoclonal antibodies and antibody 

fragments for potential clinical diagnostic and 

therapeutic applications. 

Cancer Immunodiagnostics. Dr. Haab was promoted to Senior Scientific 

Investigator in August, and elected to a three-year term on the Board of 

Directors of the U.S. Human Proteome Organization. 

Finally, in the fall we presented the Daniel 

Nathans Memorial Award to Harald zur Hausen 

and Douglas R. Lowy. Dr. zur Hausen’s lab 

identified infection by papillomavirus as the 

main cause of cervical cancer, and Dr. Lowy’s 

studies were instrumental in developing a 

new way to prepare vaccines that prevent 

infection by the virus. The importance of this 

work in terms of improving human health 

worldwide is obvious, and we are pleased 

to have these distinguished researchers join 

the list of Nathans Award recipients. 

The Program of Translational Medicine under the 

direction of Dr. Craig Webb has established the 

essential infrastructure and partnerships that allow 

VARI to collaborate with other institutions that will engage in exploiting 

our cutting edge biomarker-driven clinical research. In 2007, this led to 

the development of a specific, personalized medicine protocol, in which 

genomic technologies are being used in conjunction with the powerful 

biomarker software package developed by Dr. Webb and colleagues to 

identify drug combinations to target the cancer proteins in tumors from 

late stage cancer patients. 

Congratulations go out to Dr. Brian Haab, who heads the Laboratory of 

Research at VARI has implications for many different diseases, including: 

Clearly, we have much to be proud of 

and have cemented Van Andel Institute’s 

reputation in the international research 

community since we opened our doors in 2000. When we open the 

doors to Phase II at the end of 2009, we anticipate having an even 

greater impact. 

George Vande Woude, Ph.D. 

Van Andel Research Institute Director 

VARI Director 

www.vai.org 

07

VARI 2007 Lab Highlights 

VARI researchers had numerous findings published 

in scientific journals in 2007; an overview of some 

of the highlights is presented on the following 

pages. As you can see, we continue to gain insight into the 

inner workings of cells and what happens in disease, which 

has an impact on diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately the 

lives of patients. 

* Primary labs and journals are listed in parentheses. 

MET: Colon Cancer, Diagnosis, Drug Potential 

>> The amount of MET protein in normal tissue, benign growths, and 

tumors from the colon is similar, but different in varying tumor grades. 

This suggests that other factors triggered by MET in the cell may have 

a larger role in colon cancer development than MET itself. (Resau Lab 

- International Journal of Oncology) 

>> A peptide called Met-pep1 specifically interacts with Met proteins; 

this peptide could be used to diagnose tumors with high Met levels 

essentially by “tagging” Met in cells. (Cao Lab - Clinical Cancer 

Research) 

>> Mutated NK1 protein binds to cell receptors that Met protein 

normally attaches to, essentially blocking Met without producing 

its own effect in the cell. This finding could be important to the 

development of anti-Met cancer drugs. (Xu Lab - Proceedings of the 

National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.) 

- - VARI Director Dr. George Vande Woude discovered and 

characterized the MET gene, which results in the MET protein 

that is found in higher than normal levels in many types of 

cancer. MET has become a leading anti-cancer drug target. 

>> 

The Drf1 gene may play a role in myeloproliferative 

disease (MPD) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). 

(Alberts Lab - Cancer Research and the Journal of Biological 

Chemistry) 

“Ultimately, our goal is to establish and use 

genetic models of MDS and MPD to test, 

evaluate, and improve upon current therapies for 

the disease.” 

—Art Alberts, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Investigator 


Important Genes and Proteins in Cancer: 

Beta-Catenin, Myc, MIG-6 

>> Prostate cells lacking the gene Apc multiply to form tumors 

and contain high levels of beta-catenin protein, suggesting that 

beta-catenin may play a role in prostate cancer development. 

(Williams Lab - Cancer Research) 

>> Myc protein is activated through a series of signals in the cell 

and associated with the aggressiveness of papillary type 2 renal 

cell carcinoma (RCC); blocking this signaling pathway at some 

point is a potential avenue for therapy. (Furge and Teh Labs - 

Cancer Research) 

>> 

A new method to identify alterations of carbohydrates 

on certain proteins in disease may be used as a means 

to detect or diagnose pancreatic cancer. (Haab Lab - 

Nature Methods) 

“The application of this method could lead to the 

discovery and characterization of carbohydrate 

structures that are instrumental in the pathology of 

cancer and other diseases. This is a first and important 

step in better diagnosis and treatment.” 

—Brian Haab, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Investigator 

>> Mutations in a potential tumor-suppressor gene, MIG-6, may be 

associated with lung cancer. (Vande Woude Labs - Oncogene) 

- - A tumor suppressor gene naturally helps to inhibit cancer 

in some way. 

Anthrax Insights and Use as Cancer Treatment 

>> The LRP6 protein, previously believed to mediate anthrax 

toxin’s entry into cells and thus its lethal effect, is not needed in 

this process. (Duesbery Lab - PLoS Pathogens) 

>> Treating Kaposi’s sarcoma, which is characterized by 

abnormally dense blood vessels, with anthrax lethal toxin results 

in reduced tumor growth most likely related to reduced blood 

vessel density. This suggests that lethal toxin or similar molecules 

could be used to treat Kaposi’s sarcoma. (Duesbery Lab - Clinical 

Cancer Research) 

- - Anthrax lethal toxin is a combination of two components 

of the toxin released by the bacteria that cause anthrax. On 

their own, each of these proteins that make up anthrax toxin 

is harmless, but when all three are combined, they can be 

deadly. 

VARI Lab 

Highlights 2007 

www.vai.org 

09

Chromosome Changes = 

Changes in Tumor Type 

>> Changes in the chromosomal content (e.g., number of 

copies of each chromosome) of tumor cells occur when the 

cell switches from a type that simply multiplies to one that 

aggressively spreads. (Vande Woude Lab - Proceedings of the 

National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.) 

Insights into Cell Movement 

>> The “skeletons” of cells change to facilitate several different 

processes. The dynamics of these structures, controlled by the 

protein mDia2, contribute to the movement of vesicles (storage and 

transportation vehicles) within the cell. (Alberts Lab - Experimental 

Cell Research) 

>> 

While prostate cancer cells need the enzyme PI-3K to 

survive, normal prostate cells do not. (Miranti Lab - 

Molecular Biology of the Cell) 

“Our study confirms the therapeutic potential; 

PI-3K is important because we now know that 

therapeutics that target this enzyme could kill 

tumor cells without having a negative effect on 

normal cells.” 

—Cindy Miranti, Ph.D., Scientific Investigator 

>> Naturally occurring cellular protein DIP can trigger 

“blebbing” – cell bubbling that has recently been linked to 

the development of secondary tumors away from the primary 

cancer site. (Alberts Lab - Current Biology) 

“We now have a mechanism that we can target with 

drugs aimed at interfering with cancer metastasis; 

currently, no anti-cancer therapies block this critical 

step in the malignancy process.” 

—Art Alberts, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Investigator 

Diagnostic Discoveries 

>> A potential biomarker for prostate cancer could help avoid 

unnecessary biopsies: thrombospondin-1. Higher levels of this 

protein are found in patients with benign prostatic disease; the 

opposite is true for patients with prostate cancer. (Haab Lab - The 

Prostate) 


Two different categories of blood vessels in clear cell renal cell 

carcinoma (CCRCC) tumors correlate with contrasting prognoses; 

more of one vessel type is associated with higher tumor grades 

and shorter patient survival, while more of the other vessel type 

correlates with lower tumor grades and longer survival. This 

information could be used to help diagnose and even determine 

optimal treatment for patients based on what type of blood vessels 

their tumors have. (Teh Lab - Clinical Cancer Research) 

- - Tumors need access to blood vessels for nutrients and 

other essentials to survive and grow. 

>> A new method to profile cancer biomarkers for intestinal 

tumors can help distinguish normal blood from that of genetic 

models predisposed to intestinal cancer based on the levels of 

as few as three markers, even when the predisposed models 

have no tumors yet. (Haab Lab - Molecular Oncology) 

- - A biomarker is something in the body that can be associated 

with disease to help predict, diagnose, or determine optimal 

treatment. 

>> A new strategy to screen for, identify, and validate proteins from 

tumors that trigger immune responses (tumor antigens) identified 

the protein human Kallikrein 11 as one such protein in prostate 

cancer and profiled its immune response. (Haab Lab - Proteomics 

– Clinical Applications) 

>> 

“Switching off” the tumor suppressor gene Pten could 

increase bone density in osteoporosis patients and people 

with bone fractures, probably by allowing osteoblast cells 

to live longer and make more bone cells. (Williams Lab - 

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.) 

VARI Lab 

Potential for Treatment 

>> The growth of tumor cells having high levels of epidermal 

growth factor receptor (EGFR) is slowed when treated with an 

anti-EGFR antibody that researchers developed and attached to 

the chemotherapeutic drug Taxol. This combination could have 

potential for clinical treatment of tumors having high levels of 

EGFR. (Cao Lab - Cancer Biology & Therapy) 

“We were discussing what could be involved 

in helping bone cells survive longer with our 

collaborations at the University of Alabama and our 

work suggested that Pten might be important. Now 

the trick is to turn off Pten only in bone-making 

osteoblasts without affecting other cells.” 

Highlights 2007 

—Bart WIlliams, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Investigator 

www.vai.org 

11


Dr. Eric Xu Receives Third R01 Grant 

NIH Supports Cutting-Edge Structural Biology at VAI 

Eric Xu, Ph.D., has ambitious plans for himself, Van Andel 

Institute and for the life sciences industry in West Michigan. 

Xu heads VARI’s Laboratory of Structural Sciences, which studies the 

structures and functions of protein complexes that play major roles 

in signaling pathways in order to develop therapeutic agents for the 

treatment of diabetes and cancer. 

Part of that work includes generating crystal 

structures for analysis at one of the most 

advanced x-ray facilities in the world. As 

node director for the Michigan Life Sciences 

Corridor Core Technology Alliance (CTA) and 

the Michigan Center for Structural Biology 

(MCSB), one of the CTA’s ten core facilities, Xu 

makes frequent use of the Advanced Photon 

Source, a national synchrotron x-ray research 

facility at Argonne National Laboratory near 

Chicago that provides one of the brightest 

x-ray beams in the world. 

Xu and his team produce crystals for medically 

important protein targets that are subjected to intense x-ray radiation 

and subsequent data analysis to provide the three-dimensional 

information needed for structure-based design of new drugs. 

Xu is striving to establish his research group as one of the most 

cutting-edge research labs in structural biology in the world. The 

grant makers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) support Xu’s 

endeavor. Since establishing the Laboratory of Structural Sciences 

at Van Andel Institute in 2002, Xu has received three prestigious 

R01 grants for three different research projects, an impressive 

accomplishment considering that the NIH confers an award on less 

Crystals generated by Xu Lab 

than 10% of all unsolicited R01 grant applications. 

Xu believes that Van Andel Institute and West Michigan are the right 

places for such a lab. 

“When I saw the commitment to the Institute from the Van Andel 

family, I saw a once in a lifetime opportunity 

for cutting edge structural biology,” said Xu. 

“There is tremendous support and commitment 

to support fundamental research, the results of 

which can be translated into new medicines for 

the treatment of human diseases.” 

After studying at Duke University and working 

in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, 

home to more than 200 research and discovery 

companies, Xu knows what it takes for a region 

to develop a national presence in the life 

sciences industry. 

“North Carolina 20 years ago was nothing like 

the West Michigan of today,” said Xu. “The 

Research Triangle Park was tobacco farms. We have a much greater 

head start than North Carolina had.” 

Xu believes that Grand Rapids’ manufacturing heritage, and industrial 

knowledge and infrastructure give the region a leg up among U.S. 

regions currently incubating their own life science corridors. He is 

also a firm believer in the entrepreneurial spirit of the region. 

“One success can make a huge difference,” said Xu. “And the 

entrepreneurial spirit of Grand Rapids will help in the translation 

process. I also hope to play a role in seeding that kind of effort.” 

VARI Eric 

Xu, Ph.D. 

www.vai.org 

13


Haab Invention Speeds 

Research and Saves Resources 

VARI Senior Scientific 

Investigator Brian Haab, 

Ph.D., is the inventor of 

the SlideImprinter, a device 

that partitions laboratory slides 

in a way that has the potential to 

improve research efficiency and 

productivity. The Gel Company, 

which commercially developed the 

device, released the new product in 

May 2007. 

Haab’s lab at Van Andel Institute, 

the Laboratory of Cancer 

Immunodiagnostics, has been 

using the prototype for over three 

years. “We didn’t originally intend 

to sell it,” said Haab. “But when we 

saw how well it worked, we realized 

this product had commercial 

potential.” 

Scientific researchers partition slides 

to test many samples at once. This 

process helps to speed up research 

and also saves resources. 

Haab invented the new slide partitioning method and device 

with assistance from David Kruithoff, an engineer now working 

at Lifeport, Inc., in Seattle. “I was looking at the commercially 

SlideImprinter (top) and imprinted slide (bottom) 

available options, and nothing really 

worked well,” Haab said. “I thought 

a stamp that imprints a hydrophobic 

border might be a good solution.” 

Kruithoff provided design insight and 

suggested using wax for the border 

material. 

The SlideImprinter, which is 6 x 6 x 

10 inches in size, imprints thin wax lines 

onto the surface of a slide. This process 

creates partitions that segregate the 

slide into several “wells.” Researchers 

can choose from four standard stamps 

or a custom design depending on how 

many wells they want to create. The 

device immerses the stamp in a wax 

bath, inserts a slide into a cartridge 

over the bath, and then lifts the stamp 

to meet the slide, imprinting wax 

lines. The wax lines are thin enough 

for the slide to be used in a microarray 

scanner and are inert to most chemical 

processes so they will not dissolve 

easily or interfere with experiments. 

Haab, who has shared information about the SlideImprinter with 

colleagues at several scientific meetings and seminars, said he has 

found strong interest in the device within the research community. 

VARI Brian 

Haab, Ph.D. 

www.vai.org 

15

Behind the Scenes 

Positions within Van Andel Research Institute run the gamut from research associates, scientists, and technicians to lab managers, 

investigators, and directors to specialized roles. These people work diligently to keep labs running smoothly and research moving 

forward. Here we highlight a few of the many who work “behind the scenes.” 

Angelique Berens 

Assistant Research Technician 

Works on Met research and helps to 

manage lab 

J.C. Goolsby 

Histotechnologist 

Works on receiving, 

processing, embedding 

and sectioning tissue 

Angelique Berens’ goal is to become an oncologist, 

maintaining an important role in cancer research and the 

development of new therapeutic options throughout her 

career. Berens is excited about a VAI collaboration with Tel Aviv 

University that has resulted in “genetic signatures” of Met 

levels in breast cancer that has shown strong correlation with 

prognosis of human breast cancer patients. “These signatures 

can be used for personalizing anti-Met therapy,” she said. “As 

a future physician, it is very rewarding to see the research I 

am involved in have clinical applications in the near future.” 

Berens is leaving VAI in 2008 to attend medical school for four 

years at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. 

J.C. Goolsby was born and raised as a sharecropper in the tobacco 

fields of North Carolina. Starting at age seventeen, he served 

in the Navy for almost ten years. “Being the first of my family’s 

generation to obtain a college degree thanks to Dr. Jim Resau 

and VAI has raised my awareness of the importance of a college 

education,” said Goolsby, who started at VAI as the head of 

Housekeeping. Goolsby plans to complete his degree in Biology 

at Grand Valley State University and go to school to become a 

histologist. 


Roberta Jones 

Director of Research Administration 

Coordinates all support functions for 

the research laboratories 

Sok Kean Khoo 

Associate Director of 

Laboratory of Germline 

Modification and 

Cytogenetics 

Roberta, or “Bobbie,” Jones worked at Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center from 1967-1970 during the Vietnam War 

and was struck by the many examples she witnessed of the 

resilience of the human body and spirit and the courage of 

patients in the face of painful treatments and rehabilitation. 

Jones has worked with VARI Director George Vande Woude, 

Ph.D., since 1983 when they were both working at the 

National Cancer Institute’s Frederick Cancer Research and 

Development Center in Maryland. She remembers when she 

first came to VAI: “I arrived in Grand Rapids when our building 

was still a hard-hat construction site. Watching the building rise 

and then become populated with highly motivated scientists 

who are truly making a difference has been very exciting. I feel 

very fortunate to have been a part of it.” 

Responsibilities include 

research, customer 

service, and training 

Sok Kean Khoo, a native of Malaysia who received her 

Ph.D. in Tokyo, was excited when she heard of a job 

opportunity at VAI. “I felt that America was doing some 

of the most advanced bioscience research,” she said. 

Khoo draws satisfaction from the fact that she is directly 

supporting translational research at VAI through her 

work. She encourages young people to pursue careers in 

science by describing her career to students in the local 

Junior Achievement program. 

VARI Behind 

the Scenes 

www.vai.org 

17

Training Programs 

Through VARI training programs, students learn what a career in science involves by working in the laboratory, and postdoctoral 

fellows gain critical work experience before moving on to laboratories of their own. All further VARI projects through their work 

conducted under the mentorship of VARI scientific investigators. 

Postdoctoral Fellowships 

Internships 

Scientists beginning their research 

careers after graduate school advance 

their knowledge and research 

experience as postdoctoral fellows, 

working on VARI projects under the 

mentorship of a scientific investigator. 

They also attend seminars, interact with 

graduate students studying at VARI, 

participate in outreach programs, and 

attend social events through the Office 

of Postdoctoral Fellows. 

College and university students work in 

VARI labs and help to define their career 

paths through internships, including 

those that are a part of the Frederik and 

Lena Meijer Student Internship Program. 

Through this program, students are 

mentored by professionals in their chosen 

research field during an intense 10-week 

experience. 

“I’ve never regretted choosing VARI over a fellowship 

at Harvard—the smaller size, top-of-the-line 

equipment and facilities, principal investigators that 

are accessible, energetic and passionate about their 

research, and the affordable, family-friendly location 

have all made for a great experience.” 

—Postdoctoral Fellow Jenn White, Ph.D. 

“You learn current research methods and 

technologies, but also how to design experiments 

and communicate results. There is great training 

on presentation skills and communicating and 

collaborating with other researchers.” 

—University of Michigan student Theresa Gipson 


VAI-MSU Graduate 

Program 

Bridges to the 

Baccalaureate 

The VAI-MSU Graduate School 

Program allows students in one 

of five Michigan State University 

graduate programs to conduct 

one of their laboratory “rotations” 

at VARI and then complete their 

thesis project at the Institute if 

they choose. Program participants 

conduct research, have access 

to the latest technologies in the 

VARI core facilities, participate 

in VARI journal clubs, and attend 

seminars, lab meetings, retreats 

and conferences. 

“The open lab space and interaction between 

scientists has definitely been the best part. The 

whole glass roof thing also adds to my productivity; 

I love the sun. Some of us spend more time at the 

Institute than at home, and the great people, great 

facility, and great research makes us more willing 

to do that.” 

—Michigan State University student Sebla Kutluay 

The Bridges program provides 

support to minorities who are 

under-represented in medical 

research and who attend Grand 

Rapids Community College. 

Students are eligible to present 

their research findings at the 

NIH Minority Symposium held 

annually in the fall. Participants 

are helped to graduate to the 

baccalaureate level and are 

simultaneously dual-enrolled at Grand Valley State University. 

“The opportunity to work with many talented scientists 

and the research experience have proven to be the most 

rewarding experiences for me as a Bridges student.” 

—Grand Rapids Community College student Sergio Rodriguez 

GRAPCEP 

The Grand Rapids Area Pre-College Engineering Program (GRAPCEP) is 

administered by Davenport University and jointly sponsored and funded by 

Schering Plough and VARI. The program provides high school students who 

plan to major in science or genetic engineering in college the opportunity to 

work in a research laboratory. Students learn research methods and workplace 

success skills such as teamwork and leadership. 

VARI Training 

Programs 

www.vai.org 

19

Grants Awarded to VARI Researchers - 2007 

One of the indicators of the quality and impact of the research conducted at Van Andel Institute is the success of our researchers in 

competing for grant funding. In 2007, researchers were awarded highly competitive grants and renewals for grants from organizations such 

as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, the National Foundation of Cancer Research, the American Cancer 

Society, and the American Heart Association. 

Sponsor 

> MEDC/Department of Treasury 

> MEDC/21st Century Jobs Fund 

> NIH/National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute 

> 

> 

NIH/National Institute of Arthritis & 

Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases - R01 

NIH/National Institute of Diabetes & 

Digestive & Kidney Diseases - R01 

NIH/National Institute of Allergy & 

Infectious Diseases 

NIH/National Institute of Diabetes & 

Digestive & Kidney Diseases - R01 

NIH/National Cancer Institute - R01 

+ Minority Trainee Supplement 

Gerber Foundation 

American Cancer Society 



> Department of Defense 



Project Title 

Creation of Good Manufacturing Practicies (GMP) Facility 

Development of an Innovative Clinical Research Alliance 

Structural and Functional Studies of Nuclear Receptor PPSRgamma 

Analyzing the Role of Wnt Signaling in Bone Development 

Stucture and Functions of Steroid Hormone Receptors 

Chromatin and Coactivators in HSV-1 Gene Regulation 

Structural Genomics of Orphan Nuclear Receptors 

MEK Signaling in Sarcoma Growth and Vascularization 

Gene Expression Profiling in Newborns with Congenital 

Chromosomal Abnormalities 

Diaphanous-Related Formins in Myelodysplasia 

Integrin and RTK Signaling and Crosstalk in Prostate Epithelial Cells 

Identifying Small Molecule Inhibitors of Cdc7 Kinase 

A Role for Formin-Mediated Cytoskeletal Regulation in the 

Mesenchymal-Amoeboid-Transition in Breast Cancer Development 

Met Signaling Promotes Mammary Stem Cell Proliferation 

Intravital Imaging of Developing Breast Cancer Lesion of Defined 

Genomic Profile in a Mouse 

FY 2007 Total 

$1,000,000 

$484,800 

$455,000 

$400,471 

$399,681 

$364,000 

$318,317 

$306,459 

$195,415 

$180,000 

$180,000 

$180,000 

$136,500 

$136,500 

$136,500 


indicates new grants awarded in fiscal year 2007 

Sponsor 

Project Title 

FY 2007 Total 

> 

Breast Cancer Research Foundation 

Novel Approach for Breast Molecular Imaging and Therapy using 

Met Tyrosine Kinase as a Target 

$125,000 

NIH/National Cancer Institute via 

University of Pittsburg - U01 

Multiplexed Serum Biomarkers for Pancreatic Cancer 

$90,065 

MEDC/MTTC via University of Michigan 

Proteomics Alliance for Cancer Research 

$82,896 

MEDC/MTTC via University of Michigan 

Proteomics Alliance for Cancer Research 

$68,790 

> 

Genentech, Inc. 

Growth Curve of H1650, H1666, and SK-MES-1 in HGF/SF-SCID 

Mice Xenograft Study 

$59,502 

> 

National Foundation of Cancer Research 

Guided Molecular Therapeutic Studies of Kidney Cancer 

$50,000 

NIH/National Institute of Child Health & 

Human Development via Michigan State 

University - T32 

Training Program in Perinatal Epidemiology 

$43,326 

> 

> 

> 

> 

NIH/National Cancer Insitute via 

University of Michigan - P50 

Spectrum Health 

VHL Family Alliance Fund for 

Cancer Research 

Knights Templar Eye Foundation 

NIH/National Cancer Insitute/SAIC- 

Frederick, Inc. via University of Michigan 

American Heart Association 

In-Vivo Imaging of Neoplasia 

P13K-m TOR Pathway Bioinformatics and Therapy in 

Colorectal Cancer 

Multigenic Process in VHL-Related and Sporadic Clear Cell Renal 

Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC): Characterization of a Novel VHL-Synergistic 

ccRCC-Related Gene in Chromosone 5q 

The Role of MAPK Signaling in Vascular Development in the Eye 

Proteomic Technologies Easter Research Resources Consortium 

Role of Transcriptional Coactivators in Herpes Simplex Virus 

Gene Expression 

$41,530 

$40,000 

$35,000 

$30,000 

$26,665 

$26,000 

VARI2007 Grants 

> 

McCarthy (J.P.) Fund/Community 

Foundation of Southeast Michigan 

Defective mDia1/DIAPH1 Expression in Myelodysplastic Syndromes 

$25,000 

> 

Orthopaedic Research and Education 

Foundation 

Differential Growth and Metastasis of Human Osteosarcoma 

Xenografts in a Human HGF/SF Transgenic Mouse Model with Multi- 

Modality Imaging Assessment 

$20,000 

www.vai.org 

21

VAI Bestows Daniel Nathans 

Memorial Award on Leaders in HPV Research 

On September 13, Van Andel Institute presented its 

annual Daniel Nathans Memorial Award to two scientists 

instrumental in investigating human papillomavirus 

(HPV) and its links to cervical cancer. Harald zur Hausen, M.D., 

whose laboratory identified infection by HPV as the main cause 

of cervical cancer, and Douglas R. 

Lowy, M.D., whose studies helped 

lead to highly successful vaccines 

that prevent infection by these 

viruses, received the award in a 

ceremony at the Institute. 

“The war on cancer began with 

a promise to develop antiviral 

vaccines that would prevent 

malignant disease,” said Van Andel 

Research Institute Director George 

F. Vande Woude, Ph.D. “The 

selection of this year’s awardees 

is for contributions that allow this 

promise to be fulfilled.” 

The Daniel Nathans Memorial Award 

is conferred by Van Andel Institute’s 

Board of Scientific Advisors for 

contributions to biomedical and cancer research. The recipient’s 

contributions must be far-reaching and significantly benefit 

public health. The award was established in 2000 to honor the 

late Dr. Daniel Nathans, a 1978 recipient of the Nobel Prize and 

a founding member of the Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors, 

who died in 1999. 

(l to r) Harald zur Hausen, M.D., George Vande Woude, 

Ph.D., and Doug Lowy, M.D. 

Dr. zur Hausen is Professor Emeritus of the German Cancer Research 

Center. He studied medicine at the Universities of Bonn, Hamburg 

and Dusseldorf and received his M.D. in 1960. He is the discoverer 

or co-discoverer of numerous novel virus types, proposed the role of 

papillomavirus in the etiology of cervical cancer in the early 1970’s, 

and proved their role a decade later. 

Dr. Lowy is Chief, Laboratory of 

Cellular Oncology, Deputy Director, 

Division of Basic Sciences & Center 

for Cancer Research at the National 

Cancer Institute. He received his M.D. 

from New York University School of 

Medicine in 1968. Together with longtime 

associate John Schiller, Ph.D., his 

work with virus-like particles (VLP’s) has 

led to the development of the HPV 

VLP vaccine. Commercial versions 

of the vaccine have been approved 

by the FDA and should have a major 

impact in cancer prevention. 

Past recipients of the Daniel Nathans 

Memorial Award include: Richard D. 

Klausner, M.D., 2000; Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., 2001; Lawrence 

H. Einhorn, M.D., 2002; Robert A. Weinberg, Ph.D., 2003; Brian 

Druker, M.D., 2004; Tony Hunter, Ph.D., and Tony Pawson, Ph.D., 

2005. 


Han-Mo Koo 

Seminar Series 

Van Andel Institute hosts speakers from some of the most respected 

academic, federal, and private research institutes in the nation 

through its Han-Mo Koo Seminar Series, dedicated to the memory 

of VAI Principal Investigator Han-Mo Koo (right), who passed away in 2004 

following a six-month battle with cancer. 

Speakers from 2007 (listed in order of speaking schedule): 

> Moses Lee, Ph.D., Hope College 

> Raj Kumar, Ph.D., 

University of Texas Medical Branch 

> David Kimelman, Ph.D., 

University of Washington, Seattle 

> Arthur L. Haas, Ph.D., Louisiana State 

University Health Sciences Center 

> S. Stoney Simons Jr., Ph.D., 

National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & 

Kidney Diseases, NIH 

> John D. Shaughnessy, Jr., Ph.D., 

University of Arkansas for Medical Science 

> Melanie H. Cobb, Ph.D., University of Texas 

Southwestern Medical Center 

> Christopher G. Wood, M.D., F.A.C.S., 

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 

> Jules J. Berman, Ph.D., M.D., National Cancer 

Institute (former program director) 

> Shiv Grewal, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute 

> Ermanno Gherardi, M.D., M.A., Ph.D., MRC Centre 

> Caroline Alexander, Ph.D., 

McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, 

University of Wisconsin, Madison 

> David A. Cheresh, Moores University of 

California, San Diego Cancer Center 

> Bruce R. Ksander, Ph.D., 

Schepens Eye Research Institute; Department 

of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School 

> Peggy Farnham, Ph.D., 

University of California, Davis 

> Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P, 

Translational Genomics Research Institute 

> Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., 

University of Michigan 

> Eddy Arnold, Ph.D., Rutgers, 

The State University of New Jersey 

> Michael Glotzer, Ph.D., University of Chicago 

> Andries Zijlstra, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University 

> 

Atul Butte, M.D., Ph.D., 

Stanford University School of Medicine 

> Michael Ohh, Ph.D., University of Toronto 

> Phil Hieter, Ph.D., University of British Columbia 

> Dimiter S. Dimitrov, Ph.D., Sc.D., 

National Cancer Institute 

> Robert L. Nussbaum, Ph.D., University of 

California, San Francisco 

> Timothy P. Cripe, M.D., Ph.D., Children’s 

Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati 

> Gary D. Stoner, Ph.D., Ohio State University 

> Stephen Bell, Ph.D., Howard Hughes Medical 

Institute; Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

> Diane M. Simeone, M.D., Multidisciplinary 

Pancreatic Cancer Clinic; U of M Medical School; 

U of M Comprehensive Cancer Center; U of M 

Medical Center; U of M Department of Surgery; 

U of M Medical School 

> G. David Roodman, M.D., Ph.D., University of 

Pittsburgh; Center for Bone Biology, University of 

Pittsburgh Medical Center; University of Pittsburgh 

Cancer Institute 

VARIPrestigious Guests 

www.vai.org 

23

Argonne National Laboratory 

Argonne, IL 

University of Illinois 

Champaign-Urbana, IL 

University of Chicago 

Chicago, IL 

Northern Illinois University 

DeKalb, IL 

Evanston Northwestern Healthcare 

Evanston, IL 

Northwestern University 

Evanston, IL 

Immtech Pharmaceuticals 

Vernon Hills, IL 

University of Wisconsin - Madison 

Madison, WI 

University of Cincinnati 

Cincinnati, OH 

Ohio State University 

College of Medicine & Public Health 

Columbus, OH 

Fred Hutchinson 

Cancer Research Center 

Seattle, WA 

University of Washington 

Seattle, WA 

University of Utah 

Salt Lake City, UT 

Nevada Cancer Institute 

Las Vegas, NV 

University of California 

San Fransisco & Los Angeles, CA 

Orphagen Pharmaceuticals 

San Diego, CA 

TGEN 

Phoenix, AZ 

University of New Mexico 

Albuquerque, NM 

University of Toronto 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

VisualSonics, Inc. 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

Washington 

University 

St. Louis, MO 

University of 

Nebraska 

Omaha, NE 

Mary Crowley Cancer Center 

Dallas, TX 

University of Texas 

Southwestern Medical Center 

Dallas, TX 

University of Texas 

Medical Branch at Galveston 

Galveston, TX 

Baylor Breast Center 

Houston, TX 

Baylor College 

of Medicine 

Houston, TX 

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 

Houston, TX 

The Methodist Hospital 

Houston, TX 

University of Alabama 

- Birmingham 

Birmingham, AL 

McGill Cancer Center 

Montreal, Quebec, Canada 

University of Montreal 

Montreal, Quebec, Canada 

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center 

Boston, MA 

Harvard University 

Boston, MA 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Cambridge, MA 

Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research 

Cambridge, MA 

Waters Corporation 

Milford, MA 

Rosewell Park Cancer Institute 

Buffalo, NY 

Albert Einstein Medical School 

Bronx, NY 

New York University 

New York, NY 

Schering-Plough Research Institute 

Kenilworth, NJ 

New Jersey Medical School 

Newark, NJ 

Muhlenberg College 

Allentown, PA 

Lankenau Research Institute 

Philadelphia, PA 

Assoc. of American Cancer Institutes 

Pittsburgh, PA 

University of Pittsburgh 

Pittsburgh, PA 

Johns Hopkins University 

Baltimore, MD 

National Institutes of Health 

Bethesda, MD 

-Nat’l Cancer Institute - Genetics Branch 

-Nat’l Institute of 

Neurological Disorders and Stroke 

-Nat’l Institute of Dental and 

Craniofacial Research 

-Nat’l Institute of Neurological Disorders 

and Stroke 

Assoc. of Independent 

Research Institutes 

Westminster, MD 

Duke University 

Durham, NC 

East Tennessee State 

University 

Johnson City, TN 

Vanderbilt University 

Nashville, TN 

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

St. James’s Hospital 

Dublin, Ireland 

University of Birmingham 

Birmingham, United Kingdom 

Medical Research 

Council Center 

Cambridge England 

University of Cambridge 

Cambridge, England 

University of Gothenburg 

Gothenburg, Sweden 

Faculté de Médecine Paris-Sud 

Paris, France 

Norwegian University 

of Science and Technology 

Trondheim, Norway 

Karolinska Hospital 

Stockholm, Sweden 

University Hospital 

Lund, Sweden 

Dusseldorf University 

Dusseldorf, Germany 

Technische Universität 

Munich, Germany 

Aristotle University 

of Thessaloniki 

Thessaloniki, Greece 

Leiden University 

Medical University 

Leiden, The Netherlands 

University of Helsinki 

Helsinki, Finland 

Tel Aviv University 

Tel Aviv, Israel 


Nanjing Medical University 

Antibody Technology 

Development Program 

Nanjing, China 

University of Malaya 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

Yansei University 

Seoul, South Korea 

Tianjin Cancer 

Institute & Hospital 

Tianjin, China 

Guangzhou University 

Guangdong Province, China 

Sun Yat-sen University 

Guangzhou, China 

Singapore General Hospital 

Singapore 

National Cancer Centre 

Translational Research Program 

Singapore 

National University of Singapore 

Singapore 

New in 2007 National Cancer Centre 

Translational Research Program 

VAI Distinguished Scientific Investigator Bin Teh, M.D., 

Ph.D., directs the Translational Research Program, 

a collaboration with the National Cancer Center, 

Singapore (NCCS), that focuses on the biology behind 

varying drug responses in Asian versus non-Asian 

cancer patients. The program provides a larger patient 

base for rare cancers – 55 percent of all cancer cases in 

Singapore are captured by the NCCS network. 

New in 2007 Compassionate Care Protocol 

Craig Webb, Ph.D., director of VAI’s Program of Translational 

Medicine, spearheads the Compassionate Care Protocol, a 

study by VAI and several clinical partners that aims to provide 

personalized medicine to advanced-stage cancer patients. Using 

a database developed by Webb’s lab, detailed molecular and 

genetic data from patients’ tumors helps determine which unique 

combination of drugs will have the greatest impact on treatment. 

The study continues in 2008 with the hope of including up to 200 

local cancer patients. 

Iwate Medical University 

Morioka, Japan 

Kitasato University School of Medicine 

Kanagawa, Japan 

University of Tokushima 

Tokushima, Japan 

University of Queensland 

Brisbane, Australia 

Griffith University 

Nathan, Queensland, Australia 

University of Sydney 

Sydney, Australia 

Collaborations 

One of Van Andel Institute’s founding principles is to 

collaborate with local, national, and international 

scientists and organizations. Collaborations quicken 

the pace of progress, opening up new avenues of research and 

generating new ideas. Many of our research collaborations from 

2007 are represented on the map to the left; you can see that 

Van Andel Institute is not only connected to our local community, 

but to a world of partners. 

Collaborations Close to Home 

Ann Arbor, MI 

> Department of Veterans Affairs 

Healthcare System 

> Lansing Reveal Technologies 

> Pfizer (also St. Louis, MO and 

Groton, CT locations) 

> University of Michigan 

Detroit, MI 

> Barbara Ann Karmanos Institute 

> Henry Ford Hospital 

> Wayne State University 

Grand Rapids, MI 

> Academic Surgical Associates 

> Advanced Radiology Services 

> Cancer & Hematology Centers 

of Western Michigan, P.C. 

> Center for Molecular Medicine 

> ClinXus 

> Compassionate Care Protocol 

> Core Technology Alliance 

> Cornerstone University 

> Digestive Disease Institute 

> Grand Rapids Clinical Oncology 

Program 

> Grand Valley Medical Specialists 

> Grand Valley State University 

Good Manufacturing Practices 

Facility 

> Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital 

Pediatric Center Fellowship Program 

> Michigan Medical, P.C. 

> Spectrum Health 

> Saint Mary’s Health Care 

> West Michigan Center for Family Health 

> West Michigan Heart, P.C. 

> XB TransMed Solutions 

(XB-Biointegration Suite) 

> 

Holland, MI 

Hope College 

Kalamazoo, MI 

> Jasper Clinical Research & Development, Inc. 

> ProNAi Therapeutics 

> 

> 

> 

East Lansing, MI 

Michigan State University 

Lansing, MI 

Michigan Cancer Consortium 

Mt. Pleasant, MI 

Central Michigan University 

St. Joseph, MI 

> GeneGo, Inc. 

> Oncology Care Associates 

VARI Collaborations 

www.vai.org 

25

Core Services 

Core laboratories at Van Andel Institute 

(VAI) provide our researchers and 

external customers with several services 

essential to the research process. Having 

these services available on site helps to 

streamline the research process. Our core 

services include: 

Analytical, Cellular, and Molecular 

Microscopy (Imaging, Histology and 

Diagnostic Pathology): pathology, tissue 

resources, paraffin, frozen and plastic tissue 

processing, Vibratome processing/sectioning, laser 

capture micro-dissection, laser scanning confocal 

imaging, in vivo intravital imaging, digital imaging, 

spectral imaging and deconvolution 

Antibody Production: monoclonal and polyclonal 

antibody production, purification (Protein-G affinity 

column, PBS), characterization (IgG, IP, Western, IFA), 

immunization, serum screening, fusion, recloning, 

expanding, freezing and growing hybridoma cell 

lines, lyophilization, immunolabeling, affinity column 

preparation, bi-specific mAbs 

Computational Biology: custom data analysis 

and consulting, assistance with computationally 

intensive tasks, writing of niche programs that perform 

data-specific tasks not commonly found in existing 

commercial software, assistance in using sequence 

analysis tools and gene expression microarray 

analysis programs 

Flow Cytometry: 12-Color BD FACSAria High- 

Speed Cell Sorters, 2 4-Color BD FACSCalibur Cell 

Sorter, 96/384 Well HTS Autosampler, NPE Cell 

Analyzer, CBC with differential, blood chemistry 

profile, data analysis, Shandon Cytospin 3 

Germline Modification and Cytogenetics: 

electroporation of ES Cells, Clone Selection, and DNA 

Isolation, thawing and expansion of ES cell clones, 

electroporation of Cre recombinase, microinjection of 

blastocysts, tail biopsy, DNA isolation, preparation of mouse 

embryonic fibroblasts, fluorescent in-situ hybridization 

(FISH), spectral karyotyping (SKY), transgene localization, 

routine karyotyping (G-banding), chromosomal breakage 

studies, mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell trisomy 8 screening, 

mouse embryo cryopreservation, marker-assisted selection 

breeding using SNP array (Illumina BeadStation), genomic 

background verification (inbred strains only) 

Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics: label-free 

LC-MS protein expression profiling, protein identification from 

gels and solution, protein molecular weight determination, 

protein characterization by peptide mapping 

Microarray Technology: agilent oligonucleotide gene 

expression microarrays (customizable), ArrayCGH, miRNA 

expression microarrays, microarray data analysis, RNA 

isolation and amplification, RNA integrity analysis, DNA 

isolation and size/concentration analysis, spotted cDNA 

microarray printing, custom protein microarray printing 

Sequencing: plasmid, single-stranded templates, 

cosmids/PACs/BACs, lambda phage DNA, ABI 3700-capillary 

electrophoresis DNA sequencer, applied Biosystems BigDye 

sequencing kit, Sephadex G-50 spin column plates for excess 

dye removal 

Vivarium: mouse transgenics, transgenics microinjection 

services, tail biopsies, mouse repository services 

Xenotransplantation: over- or underexpress gene(s) in 

established cell lines to validate their role in the etiology of 

tumors and their malignant progression, analysis and testing 

of therapeutics 

Basic Science 


VARI Director and Distinguished Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of Molecular Oncology 

Focuses research on the protein Met, which has been found 

to be overexpressed in most solid tumors. 

Animal Imaging: Laboratory of Noninvasive 

Imaging and Radiation Biology 

Develops models and partnerships to address problems in 

medical imaging and radiation exposure, advance imaging 

and radiation technology, and improve systems and care. 

Art Alberts, Ph.D. 

Senior Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of Cell Structure and Signal 

Integration 

Studies structures that allow cells to change shape and 

move, important to understanding how cancer spreads. 

Brian Haab, Ph.D. 


Laboratory of Cancer Immunodiagnostics 

Investigates protein and carbohydrate abnormalities in 

cancer patients’ blood and their potential clinical usefulness 

and the role of protein secretions in cancer progression. 

Nick Duesbery, Ph.D. 

Deputy Director for Research Operations 

and Senior Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of Cancer and Developmental Cell 

Biology 

Uses non-lethal components of anthrax to develop a new 

way to fight cancers and learn more about tumor growth 

and blood vessel formation. 


Labs & Investigators 

Our laboratories and scientific investigators are dedicated to developing a new understanding of cancer that will help to prevent, treat, and 

cure human disease. 

Special Programs 

Jeff MacKeigan, Ph.D. 

Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of Systems 

Biology 

Uses RNA interference to study 

the interaction of molecules 

within the cell and connect them 

to Parkinson disease and the 

onset and spread of kidney and 

colon cancer. 

Craig Webb, Ph.D. 


Laboratory of Tumor 

Metastasis and Angiogenesis 

Studies how a tumor spreads to 

distant parts of the body and is 

involved in several partnerships 

with the goal of predicting optimal 

therapies for cancer patients. 

Jim Resau, Ph.D. 

Deputy Director of Special Programs; 

Director, Division of Quantitative Sciences; 

Distinguished Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of Analytical, Cellular, 

& Molecular Microscopy 

Provides imaging services and tissue 

arrays that allow researchers to view 

several samples of interest more quickly. 

Kyle Furge, Ph.D. 


Laboratory of 

Computational Biology 

Uses mathematical and 

computer science approaches 

to help scientists analyze, store, 

and distribute research data. 

Cindy Miranti, Ph.D. 


Laboratory of Integrin 

Signaling and 

Tumorigenesis 

Studies how a cell interacts with its 

surroundings and receives signals 

from other parts of the body 

through proteins called integrins 

in normal vs. cancer cells. 

Bin Tean Teh, M.D., Ph.D. 

Director of VARI International; 

Director of NCCS-VARI Translational 

Research Laboratory; Distinguished 


Laboratory of 

Cancer Genetics 

Works to identify and study the 

genetic alterations found in 

hereditary cancers versus those 

found in sporadic cases, with a 

special focus on kidney cancer. 

Steve Triezenberg, Ph.D. 

VAI Graduate School Dean 

and Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of 

Transcriptional Regulation 

Uses herpes simplex virus to 

explore the mechanisms that turn 

on genetic “instructions” at the 

right time, in the right cells, in 

response to the right signals – and 

what goes wrong in disease. 

Michael Weinreich, 

Ph.D. 


Laboratory of 

Chromosome Replication 

Works to understand the process 

of chromosome replication within 

cells to find a way to specifically 

target and stop the division of 

cancerous cells. 

Bart Williams, Ph.D. 


Laboratory of Cell Signaling 

and Carcinogenesis 

Studies the Wnt family of 

proteins, their associated 

molecules and their implications 

in prostate cancer, bone 

formation, and osteoporosis. 

Eric Xu, Ph.D. 

Distinguished Scientific Investigator 

Laboratory of Structural 

Sciences 

Studies the structures and 

functions of protein complexes; 

the structural information can then 

be used to develop therapeutic 

agents for human diseases such 

as cancer and diabetes. 

Brian Cao, M.D. 


Laboratory of Antibody 

Technology 

Produces, purifies, and characterizes 

antibodies, which can be used to 

mark or identify specific molecules 

such as potential drug targets. 

Greg Cavey, B.S. 


Laboratory of 

Mass Spectrometry 

and Proteomics 

Separates, analyzes, and identifies 

individual proteins in cells, 

allowing researchers to find protein 

differences between normal and 

cancer cells. 

Bryn Eagleson, 

B.S., RLATG 

Vivarium Director 

Vivarium and Laboratory 

of Transgenics 

Develops, provides, and supports 

high-quality mouse modeling 

services for researchers. 

Pam Swiatek, 

Ph.D., MBA 


Laboratory of Germline 

Modification 

Provides gene-targeting 

services in order to develop 

mouse models that help 

researchers learn more about 

genetic mutations involved in 

disease. 

VARI Labs 

& Investigators 

www.vai.org 

27

A Letter from Gordon Van Harn, Ph.D. 

Van Andel Education Institute Director 

Van Andel Education Institute (VAEI) marked its tenth 

anniversary of education programs with many significant 

“firsts” during 2007. 

The Van Andel Institute (VAI) Graduate School held its first opening 

convocation on August 20, 2007, to inaugurate the school and 

welcome its first class of three Ph.D. candidates in cell, molecular 

and genetic biology. The convocation reflected years of planning 

for the start of the school, and celebrated the three students who 

were hailed as “pioneers.” 

2007 also saw the first student admitted to the innovative Internal 

Medicine Research Residency Program, a partnership between 

VAI Graduate School and the Grand Rapids Medical Education 

Research Center (GRMERC), which offers students a Ph.D. degree in 

molecular and cell biology and state licensure and board eligibility 

in internal medicine. The program is designed to provide clinical 

and research training to produce physicians who are prepared for 

careers as basic science and clinical research scholars. 

The Graduate School co-hosted the first annual West Michigan 


nurtures the scientists of tomorrow through groundbreaking educational programs for 

a wide range of students and professionals that build on curiosity and problem-solving 

skills with real, hands-on experiences. 

Van Andel Education Institute

Regional Undergraduate Science Research Conference on October 

20, 2007. The one-day conference was attended by more than 200 

students and faculty from eight regional colleges and universities 

and featured 120 undergraduate student 

presenters. It was a great demonstration 

of the widespread interest in the emerging 

biomedical research community in West 

Michigan. 

In September, VAEI convened educators, 

and corporate and community leaders 

from West Michigan to explore a model 

of science education reform. The National 

Science Resource Center presented 

strategies that could result in improved 

science instruction and student academic 

achievement in science. Participation in 

this forum reflected the need for more 

persons prepared for science-related 

positions, a driver for a healthy economy. 

VAEI also introduced two new, innovative Science Academy programs: 

Science on Saturday (SOS) and Classroom Science Investigations 

(CSI). SOS welcomes students and a significant adult in their lives to 

the Science Academy on a Saturday to help foster a love of science. 

It introduces parents to important strategies for teaching 

students in ways that both engage them and help them to 

understand the nature of science. CSI was piloted in 2007 as 

a unique professional development 

initiative and a way of expanding 

the VAEI model of science 

instruction. A Kellogg Foundation 

grant generously provides funds to 

replicate the model in 2008 in an 

urban school. 

The “firsts” that VAEI celebrated in 

2007 represent years of preparation 

and continue the Institute’s mission 

to impact science students locally 

across the entire spectrum of 

learning, and to impact the teaching 

of science on a national level. 

Gordon L. Van Harn, Ph.D. 

Van Andel Education Institute Director 

Van Andel Institute offers a full spectrum of training opportunities, supporting a continuum of learning that extends from elementary school to professional development. 

K-12 > > > 

Science Academy Out-of- 

School-Time Program and 

Science on Saturday 

GRAPCEP: Grand Rapids 

Area Pre-College 

Engineering Program 

College > > > 

Frederik and Lena Meijer 

Student Internship Program 

GRMERC Medical Student 

Summer Research Internship 

Program 

Bridges to the Baccalaureate 

Graduate/Ph.D. > > > 

VAI Graduate School 

VAI-MSU Graduate 

School Program 

NIH T-32 Training Program for 

Veterinary Students 

Postdoctoral > > > 

Postdoctoral Fellowships 

Professional 

Development 

Science Academy 

Classroom Science 

Investigations 

Educator Professional 

Development 

VAEI Director 

www.vai.org 

29

Van Andel Institute Graduate School 

Convocation Commemorates Inaugural School Year 


On August 20, 2007, in a ceremony laden with pomp and 

circumstance, attended by Van Andel Institute (VAI) officials, 

faculty, students and their families, VAI Graduate School 

ushered in its inaugural 2007-2008 school year with an opening 

convocation held in Van Andel Institute’s Tomatis Auditorium. 

The convocation commemorated the opening of the graduate 

school, whose mission is to train Ph.D. scientists and leading 

scholars in cell, molecular and genetic biology relevant to human 

diseases, and marked the beginning of classes for its first class of 

three graduate students. 

The students, Natalie Wolters, 

24, Brent Vander Hart, 25, and 

Jeffrey Klomp, 26, work closely with 

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) 

investigators, who serve as the 

school’s faculty. Courses blend 

traditional disciplines into a novel, 

problem-based curriculum that 

closely represents the way scientists 

conduct research. 

“These students are pioneers, 

accepting the challenge and 

opportunity of being the first cohort 

of students in the VAI Graduate 

School,” said VAI Graduate School 

Dean Steven J. Triezenberg, Ph.D. 

“We’ve chosen them because they 

have the qualities that will enable 

them to be leaders in various fields of 

biomedical research.” 

The students spent the first several weeks visiting each laboratory 

in the Institute and subsequently began a series of eight-week 

rotations in the laboratories of their choice, which will guide 

them toward determining their dissertation topics by the end of 

the first year. 

Above: convocation ceremony, Opposite page (l to r): Brent Vander 

Hart, VAIGS Dean Steve Triezenberg, Natalie Wolters, Jeffrey 

Klomp 

The students cite the graduate school’s emphasis on translational 

research and its unique problem-based curriculum that closely 

represents the way that scientists conduct research as determining 

factors in their decision to attend. 

“The classes will teach the basics of preliminary research, experimental 

design, and communicative skills in a more innovative and practical 

way than I saw anywhere else,” said Wolters. “Since the program is 

new and the entering class is small, the content of our studies can be 

focused to address our interests while maintaining a level of guidance 

that will help us learn more quickly 

than in a larger setting.” 

The VAI Graduate School doctoral 

program received an independent 

charter from the state of Michigan 

to confer advanced degrees and 

focuses research on the biology of 

various human diseases. Students 

will obtain their degrees after 

about five years of study. 

Initial plans call for the admission 

of two to four additional students 

each year for the next five to six 

years. Once current VAI expansion 

is complete, the program would 

recruit eight to 10 students per year 

with ultimate capacity planned at 

about 45 students. 

“We recognize that the remarkable 

advances in genetics over the last 

decade have charted a new course in biomedical research and 

medical practice,” said Van Andel Institute Chairman & CEO David 

Van Andel in his opening remarks. “In response, we will use a novel 

curriculum rooted in the practice of scientific research to educate our 

best and brightest in the technology and techniques associated with 

contemporary genetics.” 

VAEI VAI 

Graduate School 

www.vai.org 

31

Highlighting 

and Supporting 

Undergraduate Research 

Research conferences aren’t usually held for undergraduates, 

but on October 20, 2007, the new Van Andel Institute 

Graduate School hosted the first annual West Michigan 

Regional Undergraduate Science Research Conference. The 

expansive Cook-Hauenstein Hall at Van Andel Institute (VAI) was filled 

with rows of posters that approximately 120 students had created to 

share their research with peers, faculty, and parents throughout the day. 

Posters reflected a wide range of scientific disciplines, including 

physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, ecology, hydrology, 

endocrinology, neuroscience, evolution, and psychology. Students 

also had a chance to hear from scholars and scientists currently 

working in either academic or translational research fields, as well as 

Dr. James Lightbourne, National Science Foundation senior advisor 

for integration of research & education, who delivered the keynote 

presentation. 

“Reaching students at the undergraduate level, before they decide 

on the direction of their graduate studies and careers, is the best time 

to impart the real-world experience of a research conference that 

participants enjoyed at this event,” said Steven J. Triezenberg, Ph.D., 

dean of the VAI Graduate School, which hosted and organized the 

event along with Grand Valley State University, Calvin College, and 

Hope College. 

Posters from students filled the Cook-Hauenstein Hall at the Institute 

Approximately 140 undergraduate students and 60 faculty from West 

Michigan colleges and universities attended the conference. Attendees 

included students from the organizing universities, as well as those from 

Aquinas College, Ferris State University, University of Michigan, and 

Grand Rapids Community College. 

Triezenberg said that the conference is one way to help build the regional 

intellectual community, and that students who might have otherwise left 

the state to look for work also found out about career opportunities in 

West Michigan. 


Internal Medicine Research Residency Program 

Van Andel Institute Graduate School and the Grand Rapids 

Medical Education and Research Center (GRMERC) 

teamed up in 2007 to 

launch the Internal Medicine 

Research Residency Program, which 

offers students a Ph.D. degree in 

molecular and cell biology, and 

state licensure and board eligibility 

in internal medicine. 

GRMERC is a medical, health education and research consortium 

of the leading health care and education providers in Grand 

Rapids and offers residency 

programs in more than a dozen 

areas. Its members include 

Michigan State University, 

Spectrum Health, Saint Mary’s 

Health Care and Grand Valley 

State University. 

“Students completing their 

medical school training who have 

a passion for biomedical research 

or translational medicine are well 

suited for this program,” said 

Steven J. Triezenberg, dean of 

the VAI Graduate School. “They 

already understand the clinician’s 

perspective on human disease, 

and our innovative curriculum 

and programmatic flexibility can 

develop their research skills.” 

The program is designed to provide clinical and research training 

to produce physicians that are prepared for careers as basic 

science and clinical research scholars. Typically, participants 

will complete two years of clinical rotations to permit licensure, 

followed by approximately five years of Ph.D. classroom 

and research experience. Clinical experiences will continue 

throughout the research phase, and will typically account for 20 

percent of the time. 

(l to r) Steve Triezenberg and Matt Biersack 

Throughout the Ph.D. program, 

students will work closely with 


(VARI) investigators, who serve 

as the school’s faculty. Courses 

will blend traditional disciplines 

into a novel, problem-based 

curriculum with an emphasis on 

translational research to provide 

students a wider view of the 

connections between academia, 

clinical practice and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical 

industries. 

Matt Biersack, a 2007 graduate of Wayne State Medical School, is 

the first participant in the program. He has completed his first year 

of internal medicine residency training at Spectrum Health and 

Saint Mary’s Health Care and will begin his Ph.D. training at VAI 

Graduate School in 2009. 

VAEI VAI 

Graduate School 

www.vai.org 

33

New Programs at Science Academy 

Engage Students, Educators, and Community 


The Van Andel Education Institute (VAEI) Science VAEI staff helped her to develop teaching methods that would 

Academy launched in 2006 with an out-of-schooltime 

inaugural program that leads cohorts of students 

challenge each child. 

through three years of hands-on science education. In 2007, the 

Science Academy added two new programs: Classroom Science 

Investigations and Science on 

Saturday. The three programs 

complement one another to 

engage students, educators, 

After discussion and planning sessions with Mooney, VAEI staff 

developed curriculum and instructional assessment strategies 

that they then modeled when 

Mooney and her class came 

to the Science Academy for 

two half-day sessions. The 

and the community in science 

Chandler Woods students 

and science education. 

learned how an organism’s 

form and function are related to 

Classroom Science 

Investigations 

its environment, and designed 

research to determine the 

environmental preferences of 

Classroom Science Investigations 

is a professional development 

pill bugs. In follow-up visits to 

the school, VAEI staff provided 

program for educators that 

supplies for students to build 

is unique in that the students 

are involved in their teacher’s 

professional development and 

their own pill bug habitats 

based on their research; the 

visits also allowed staff to 

learn science at the same time. 

observe Mooney applying 

“We are teaching students how 

what she had learned. The 

Above: 4th grade teacher Ruth Mooney and students, Opposite page (l to 

to do research and teaching 

students took habitats home 

r): Science Education Specialist Marty Coon, VAEI Associate Director Marcia 

teachers how to build content Bishop and Science Education Specialist Carole Johnson 

to continue observation and 

knowledge,” said VAEI Science 

Education Specialist Marty Coon. 

follow-up research and then 

presented what they learned at Chandler Woods. 

Teacher Ruth Mooney and her fourth grade students from Chandler 

Woods Charter Academy were the program’s first participants in 

May 2007. Classroom Science Investigations allows the teacher to 

identify his or her specific area of focus based on specific challenges. 

Mooney’s class was composed of a diverse array of learners, and 

Chandler Woods Charter Academy Assistant Principal Barbara 

Lindquist said that there has been enthusiastic response from 

students, parents, and teachers. “I’ve got excited kids who want 

to learn more, and teachers who want to be continuous learners,” 

she said. 

VAEI Science 

Academy 

www.vai.org 

35


Science on Saturday 

Impact 

Science on Saturday engages the community in science education by 

inviting two-person teams of students and adults to participate in one 

two-hour Saturday session. The first sessions were held on Saturday, 

October 13, 2007. Teams rotated between three stations: lab, bearded 

dragon area, and turtle area. 

In the lab, students and adults investigated organisms such as crayfish, 

hissing cockroaches, millipedes, and pill bugs. At all stations, they used 

tools such as microscopes, probes, and balances to answer questions 

about the organisms (How much do they weigh? How long are they? What 

do they like to eat? What is their body temperature? How do they move?). 

Expanded sessions will be offered in 2008 due to popular demand. 

By including a parent or other significant adult in students’ lives 

(grandparent, aunt, uncle, guardian, mentor, etc.), Science on Saturday 

brings the Science Academy’s offerings full circle. Students, teachers, and 

now role models are all engaged in science education, and are receiving 

the tools necessary to advance students toward careers in science. 

Through these and future programs, VAEI staff analyzes 

how students learn science; the goal is to share this 

knowledge with other educators, making a national 

impact. “This is an ongoing research laboratory,” said 

VAEI Associate Director Marcia Bishop. “Everything 

we do is intentional and designed around how people 

learn.” Improving science education and increasing 

the number of students who choose careers in science 

will help to reverse the findings of numerous national 

studies that conclude that the United States is losing 

its preeminent position in science and technology. 

“Everything we do is 

intentional and designed around how 

people learn.” 

—Marcia Bishop, VAEI Associate Director 

VAEI Science 

Academy 

www.vai.org 

37

A Letter from Joe Gavan 

Vice President, Communications & Development 

While Van Andel Institute stands out in the Grand 

Rapids skyline for its beautiful architecture and in 

the world of science for its many accomplishments, 

it is only as a member of a deeply committed community that we 

can fulfill the promise of our mission to improve the health and 

enhance the lives of generations to come. 

I wish that I had space in this letter to thank each and every 

individual who has played such a key role in funding our important 

mission, attending, sponsoring and helping to organize our full 

slate of events throughout the year and volunteering their time 

and energy to act as the Institute’s ambassadors to the world at 

large. These friends deserve our recognition and thanks, and are 

listed on the pages that follow. 

I would, however, like to single out the members of the Bringing 

Hope to Life Campaign Steering Committee and its Co-Chairs 

John and Marie Canepa, Jim and Kathy Hackett, Kyle and 

Win Irwin, and Mike and Sue Jandernoa for their exemplary 

leadership and hard work in helping the Institute to launch its 

first major gifts campaign in October 2007. 

Philanthropy & Development 

Support for Van Andel Institute comes in many forms. Every gift makes a difference at 

Van Andel Institute, because every dollar goes directly to research and education. 

Van Andel Institute

2007 was a groundbreaking year in so many ways for Van Andel Institute 

that it is easy to overlook the fact that Bringing Hope to Life is the 

Institute’s first campaign of its kind. The goal of Bringing Hope to Life is 

to raise a minimum of $10 million by December 2009, to fund the creation 

of a Parkinson chair, the expansion of pioneering research and education 

programs not covered by grant funding, 

and renovations to Crescent Park. 

The deeply committed philanthropic 

community of West Michigan has had no 

difficulty in recognizing the connection 

between the Institute’s commitment to 

basic and translational research and the 

treatments that have the potential to 

change the lives of patients. By the end 

of 2007, the campaign was well on its 

way to achieving its goal with pledges 

totaling $2.4 million. 

It is easy to glance at a litany of statistics 

and see the need: as life expectancy 

increases, the incidence of cancer, Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease 

increases at an alarming rate. Nearly 600,000 Americans died from 

cancer in 2007; 1.5 million Americans currently have Parkinson 

disease; five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, 

and the odds of diagnosis double every five years beyond age 65. 

Philanthropic investment in support of Bringing Hope to Life is essential to fund: 

Novel Research & Inquiry-Based 

Science Education Programs 

> > > $5 million 

Highly promising research such as our 

Compassionate Care Protocol (pg. 24) and 

expanded programs for students across the 

entire continuum of learning 

The Jay Van Andel Parkinson 

Research Lab 


The endowment of Jay Van Andel Parkinson 

Research Chair, the recruitment of a scientific 

investigator, and the purchase of state-of-theart 

equipment 

Our supporters understand that a commitment to basic research 

now will have a measurable effect on these statistics in the long 

run. 

But they also have the imagination to envision the project’s 

impact on individuals, which is 

practically immeasurable. For there 

has yet to be a metric devised to 

calculate the value of such outcomes 

as an enhanced chance at life for a 

cancer patient, the spark of passion 

engendered in the scientists of 

tomorrow, or the peace and relaxation 

that a renovated Crescent Park might 

afford visitors. 

We thank you for your continued 

support and your commitment to the 

future. 

Joseph P. Gavan 

Vice President, Communications & Development 

Crescent Park - Bringing Hope 

to Life Gathering Place 


A place for friends, families, students, and 

colleagues from throughout the community 

to gather to celebrate triumphs and reflect on 

challenges 

VAIVP, Communications & Development 

www.vai.org 

39

Hope on the Hill Donor Recognition 

Hope on the Hill 

Society 

The following reveals those donors 

whose cumulative giving has grown 

over the years to levels beginning at 

$25,000. To them, Van Andel Institute 

extends our deep appreciation. You have 

helped us grow during our start-up years. 

Thank you. 

Founders Society $1 million & above 

John and Nancy Batts 

Peter C. and Pat Cook 

Richard and Helen DeVos 

Ralph W. and Grace▲ Hauenstein 

Sidney J. Jansma, Jr. and Joanne▲ Jansma 

Fred and Lena Meijer 

Jay and Betty Van Andel Foundation 

Legacy Society $500,000 to $999,999 

McCarty Cancer Foundation 

Leadership Society $250,000 to $499,999 

David and Carol Van Andel 

Patrons Society $100,000 to $249,999 

Fifth Third Bank 

Howard Miller Company 

Rockford Construction 

The Bernice Hansen Charitable Foundation 

John C. and Nancy G. Kennedy 

The Wege Foundation 

Huntington Bank 

Benefactors Society $25,000 to $99,999 

Allied Mechanical Services, Inc. 

Amble Motorcycle Group 

Raymond and Alice Andrews 

James and Shirley Balk 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 

Carol Bylsma 

Cancer & Hematology Centers of Western MI, PC 

John and Marie Canepa 

The Currie Foundation 

Daniel and Pamella DeVos 

Lawrence and Nancy Erhardt 

Grand Valley State University 

Christian Helmus ▲ 

Hoffman Jewelers 

J.C. and Laurie Huizenga 

William and Beatrice Idema 

Mike and Sue Jandernoa 

Johan’s TriFest 

LaSalle Bank - West Michigan 

Robert J. and Cindy McCann 

Mark D. and Mary Beth Meijer 

The Meijer Foundation 

Meijer Inc. 

Merrill Lynch - The Veldheer, Long, Mackay, 

& Bernecker Group 


- College of Human Medicine 

Miller Johnson 

William W. and Sandi Nicholson 

RORDOR Foundation 

Fritz M. and Carol Rottman 

Darell and Mary Schregardus 

Secchia Family Foundation 

L. William and Sarah Seidman 

George Sietsema 

SMG Van Andel Arena 

John and Judy Spoelhof Foundation 

Richard and Pauline Stark Estate 

Steelcase Inc. 

Teazers Bar & Grille 

Universal Forest Products Inc. 

Stephen and Cynthia Van Andel 

George and Dot Vande Woude 

Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett 

Verizon Wireless 

Johan Visser ▲ 

Casey and Violet Wondergem 

Society of Hope - Deferred Gifts 

Philip and Shirley Battershall 


Patrick and Janie Kelly 

Tim and Kim Long 

Jamie Mills 


Eva Sonneville 

Fred L. Tape 

John Van Fossen 

Hope on the Hill Donors 

Van Andel Institute’s Hope on the Hill donors 

include those who gave annual gifts or sponsored 

many of our successful events between January 1 

and December 31, 2007. At the Institute, we hold 

the premise that EVERY dollar counts, EVERY 

dollar makes a difference, and EVERY donor is 

equally important and valued regardless of level 

of giving. Please accept our ongoing thanks. 

Grand Donors $10,000 and above 

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel 

Blue Water Technologies 


Jerry and Karen DeBlaay 


Dick and Betsy DeVos 

Richard and Helen DeVos 

Andrew Dykema 

Fifth Third Bank 

The Bernice Hansen Charitable Foundation 

Ralph W. and Grace▲ Hauenstein 


Howard Miller Company 

Huntington Bank 


Sidney J. Jansma, Jr. 

John C. and Nancy G. Kennedy 

John and Nancy Kennedy Family Foundation 

LaSalle Bank - West Michigan 

Mark D. and Mary Beth Meijer 

The Meijer Foundation 

Merrill Lynch - The Veldheer, Long, Mackay, 

& Bernecker Group 

Michigan Elks Association 


- College of Human Medicine 

Rockford Construction 

Schering Plough 

Darell and Mary Schregardus 

Secchia Family Foundation 

The Seidman Family Foundation 



Universal Forest Products Inc. 

Dave and Carol Van Andel 

Dave and Carol Van Andel Foundation 

Ina June Vander Veer 

Verizon Wireless 

Patron Donors $5,000 to $9,999 

97 LAV 


Charles and Christine Boelkins 

The Bouma Corporation 

Cancer & Hematology Centers of Western MI, PC 


The Chop House 

Crowe Chizek 

The Currie Foundation 

Douglas and Sandra Dekock 

Dwight Reed Memorial Golf Outing 

Ernst & Young LLP 

Grand Rapids Magazine 


Martin and Peggy Greydanus 

Grubb & Ellis | Paramount Commerce 

J.C. and Laurie Huizenga 

Hunt/Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. 

Earle S. and Kyle Irwin 

Leigh’s 


Lord, Abbett, & Co. LLC 

Macatawa Bank 

Robert J. and Cindy McCann 

Metro Health 

Mills Benefit Group, LLC 

NAYA Bistro & Wine Bar 

Peter and Sheila Neydon 

Randall L. Phelps 

Plante & Moran, PLLC 

Dirk Hoffius 

Estate Planning Attorney, Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt and Howlett 

“People often say to me ‘We want to invest our estate 

gifts in organizations we know will remain strong 

long after we pass away. To us, strong endowments 

equate to a strong future.’ When I hear comments 

like that, I think of Van Andel Institute.” 

Preusser Jewelers 

Fritz M. and Carol Rottman 

Saint Mary’s Health Care 

SMG Van Andel Arena 

John and Judy Spoelhof Foundation 

Duwane A. and Sue Suwyn 

Michael and Michelle Van Dyke 

Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett 

Warner Norcross & Judd LLP 

West Side Beer Distributing 

Greg and Meg Willit 

WOOD TV 

X-Rite 

Bronze Donors $2,500 to $4,999 

Accident Fund of Michigan 

Amerisure Insurance 

Applause Banquets & Catering 

Axios Incorporated 

Michelle and Kevin Bassett 

BDO Seidman, LLP 

Berends Hendricks Stuit 

Better Life Unlimited 

Marcia and Richard Bishop 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 

Broadmoor Products, Inc. 

James and Donna Brooks 

Jerry and Susan Callahan 

Christman Company 

Comerica Bank 

Davenport University 

Deloitte & Touche, LLP 

Dickinson Wright PLLC 

Paul and Mary Jo Drueke 

Ferris State University 

David G. and Judy Frey 

Grand Rapids Community College 

The Grand Rapids Press 

The Granger Group 

Great Lakes Computer 

Holland Community Hospital 

Ice Sculptures LTD 

Insignia Homes 

Robert and Paulette Israels 

Jewish Communal Fund 

The Jubilee Foundation 

Jim and Ginger Jurries 

Kathleen & Company 

Craig and Deb Kinney 

Donald and Elizabeth Klopcic 

KO Sports 

Van Andel Institute

Lake Michigan Credit Union 

Leo’s 

Marsh USA, Inc. 

Mc Shane & Bowie 

Meijer Inc. 

Henry and Mary Morley 

John and Barbara Myaard 

National City Bank 

Norris, Perne and French LLP 

John and Gail Nowak 

Price, Heneveld, Cooper, DeWitt & Litton LLP 

Progressive AE 

Root Lowell Manufacturing Co. 

William J. and Sally A. Rothwell 

Alan and Margaret Ryan 

Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge PC 

Spectrum Health 

Steelcase Inc. 

Wells Fargo N.A. 

West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative 

Charter Donors $1,000 to $2,499 

Attallah and Mimi Amash 

James▲ and Marilyn Bambourough 

Bar Divani 

Frank D. and Judith Beltman 

Edward W. and Joan G. Berends 

Betz Industries 

David and Jill Bielema 

BioTechConnections.org/Gary and Sandra Burmeister 

Fred and Elaine Borgman 

John and Sharon Bouma 

Donald R. and Frances L. Buske 

Gaylen and Susan Byker 

Carol Bylsma 

Cascade Rental 

Jim and Jennifer Conner 

Dave and Karen Custer 

Robert and Katherine Daverman 

James and Joy DeBoer 

Bill and Terri DeBoer 

Jeff Dykehouse 

Bill and Diane Ehinger 

Ken and Frances Ellis 

James B. and Gail M. Fahner 

Feyen-Zylstra LLC 

Margaret H. Fondren 

Forest Hills Foods 

R. Jack and Mary Frick 

Dan and Lou Ann Gaydou 

Robert and Paula Geyer 

Elizabeth Gillett 

The Gilmore Collection 

Gene and Tubie Gilmore 

Gerald and Jane Girod 

Norma Girod 

Richard and Ethelyn L. Haworth 

Haworth Inc. 

Steve and Brenda Heacock 

John and Gwen Hibbard 

The Hip Pocket 

Phil T. Hoekstra 

Dirk C. and Victoria Hoffius 

Earl and Donnalee Holton 

Hope College 

David D.▲ and Marilyn Hunting 

Roberta L. Jones 

Paul and Diane M. Jones 

Joe and Elizabeth Junewick 

Fred and Linn Keller 

Kerkstra Precast, Inc. 

Lawrence and Anne Kloth 

L & V Development 

Lacks Enterprises, Inc. 

Leelanau Cellars 

Bill and Sharon Lettinga 

Ray and Nancy Loeschner 

Charles W. Loosemore Foundation 

Gary and Vicky Ludema 

Leonard and Marjorie Maas 

Materials Testing Consultants 

Hank and Liesel Meijer 

Jack H. Miller 

Miller Johnson 

Mark and Elizabeth Murray 

Paul Nickodemus 

Mark and Judy Olesnavage 

Donald and Ann Parfet Family Foundation 

The Peninsular Club 

Charles J. and Nancy J. Poquette 

Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation 

Drake Quinn Family Foundation 

Regal Limousine Service 

Carl and Francesca Rehnborg 

James and Christine Resau 

RORDOR Foundation 

Alywn and Chris Rougier-Chapman 

Chuck and Stella Royce 

Jacquolyn Sawyer 

Roger and Kathleen Schiefler 

Joel Schoon Tanis 

Audre Seale 

Budge and Marilyn Sherwood 

Brent and Diane Slay 

David Smith and Peggy Child Smith 

James and Jacquelyn G. Sobieraj 

Thomas L. and Mary L. Stuit 

Russel and Jean Swaney 

Bill and Sally Swets 

Marilyn Titche 

Steven and Laura Triezenberg 

Two Chicks and an Oven 

Dan and Ann Marie Van Eerden 


Gordon and Mary Van Harn 

Gordon and Margaret Van Wylen 


Stuart and Nelleke Vander Heide 

Theodore S. and Joan A. Vanderveen 

David and Tillie VanderVeen 

Lewis and Norma VanKuiken 

Kathleen and Phil Vogelsang 

Dan Vos 

James C. and Sue Williams 

Carolyn W. and Lawrence Witt 

Tim and Kris Wondergem 

Michelle Van Dyke 

Regional President, Fifth Third Bank Michigan | President and CEO, Fifth Third Bank Western Michigan 

Partners in Hope $500 to $999 

William Alt 

R. Tony and Kathleen Asselta 

Guy S. Bailey 

Robert P. and Valerie Bernecker 

Grace Bouwman 

Bradford Company 

Cascade Engineering, Inc. 

Ken Coryell 

Wayne Coryell 

Bert and Lindy Crandell 

Dori Drayton 

Nicholas and Susan Duesbery 

James and Kathy Dunlap 

Mark and Anne Elve 

John and Marcia D. Evans 

Mat and Jennifer Fahrenkrug 

John Fitch 

Funny Business Agency, Inc. 

Goodwill Industries 

John and Liga Greenfield 

Sheryl Haverkate 

Days Inn Hotel 

Bill Hazard 

Stephanie L. Hehl 

Dan and Diane Hickey 

Hoe Down Hoggs 4H 

Hospice of Michigan - Greater Grand Rapids 

Johan’s Trifest 

Carol Karr 

Kevin Paul and Mid Life Crisis 

Philip and Lillian Koning 

Nicholas and Gloria Kroeze 

Pamela Luetkemeyer 

Lukens Family Foundation 

William S. and Amy M. Mackay 

John and Suzanne MacKeigan 

Michigan Community Blood Centers 

Monica’s Best Gourmet Cookies 

Pam and Mike Murray 

Jeffrey R. and Erin M. Needham 

Mike and Bette Oostendorp 

Oliver and Donna Owens 

Seymour K. and Esther Padnos 

Mark and Dianne Peters 

Pine Rest Foundation 

Pioneer Construction 

Priority Health 

Norman and Janet Pylman 

John and Therese Rowerdink 

Janice Talen 

Thompson Remodeling, Inc. 

Roger Tjoelker 

Nancy Van Andel 

William D. and Yvonne H. Van Ee 

James D. and Maryanne Veldheer 

Craig P. and Tara Webb 

Richard A. and Diane R. Wendt 

Gretchen White 

Bart and Wendy Williams 

Friends of the Institute $1 - $499 

Dave and Lee Ann Abel 

Vincent A. and Mary M. Ackerman 

AD Bos Vending Services 

Art and Lisa Alberts 

Tom and Jean Almy 

Alticor Inc. 

Peter and Lilah Ambrosi 

Sandra Ames 

Catherine Amodeo 

Heather Anderson 

Larry and Nancy Andreano 

James E. and Francene M. Angers 

Applied Imaging 

Leann Arkema 

Jeff Asfour 

Robert Atkinson 

Charles F. and Jane S. Aylsworth 

Philip J. and Joanne L. Baker 

Steven G. and Marguerite H. Baker 

John, Evie, and Tommie Barfuss 

Thomas and Tamara Barney 

Duane Bartee 

Bret Bartee 

Dick Bartulis 

Jean Bassett 

Chris L. and Brenda Bauchan 

Guy Beck 

Brian Beckett 

Don Beenen 

Donald E. and Eunice L. Berry 

Mike and Donna Bieker 

Biggby Coffee 

George Bischoff 

Ron Blair 

Charles M. and Patricia A. Bloom 

Kimberly Joy Bode 

James and Priscilla Boike 

William M. and Donna G. Boorstein 

William J. and Judith L. Booth 

VAI Donor 

Recognition 

“Hope is the most special gift we can give to the people around us, in our close circles, our neighborhoods, and our world. And believe 

me when I say there is a lot of hope being generated at Van Andel Institute. That is why Fifth Third Bank is proud to be title sponsor of 

the Van Andel Institute Celebration of Hope for the seventh year in a row. As the bank of the community, Fifth Third Bank donates millions 

of dollars each year to enrich the lives of people in the communities we serve. Unfortunately, cancer and Parkinson disease touch so many 

people in our communities. We view Van Andel Institute as a critical link in connecting our dollars to community needs.” 

www.vai.org 

41

Friends of the Institute 

(continued) 

Tammy Born 

Born Preventive Health Care Clinic, PC 

Vern and Norma Boss 

Pamela J. Bouma 

Michael and Beth Bouma 

Melissa L. Bourke 

Mary Bouwkamp 

Eileen Brader 

William and Barbara Bradley 

James H. and Sheral Bradley 

Jacqueline Bradley 

Esther Brandt 

Richard Breukink 

Sallie and David Brinks 

Broadway Grand Rapids 

Jaime Brookmeyer 

James C. and Ellen J. Bruinsma 

Roger and Connie Brummel 

Edward and Sarah Buck 

Mark Bugge 

Bullseye Group 

Robert Burch 

Janelle Burden 

Sue A. Burns 

Yvonne M. Burns 

Thomas and Stacey Buschert 

William H. and Jackie Bylenga 

Bruce and Jan Bylsma 

Robert L. and Shirley Ann Bytwerk 

Douglas C. Camelo 

Bryon L. and Kandy Campbell 

Don and Lois Capel 

Stephen F. and Michelle Card 

Benjamin and Cortney Carlson 

Nancy L. Carlson 

Edward and Maureen Carlson 

Gregory Cavey 

Linda Chamberlain 

Ron and Joann Champion 

Jack and Donna Chase 

Kevin and Kelly Chopp 

Thomas and Nancy Church 

Mike and Kim Clarke 

Arthur A. Clements 

David J. Closs 

Christopher Coats 

Commerce Realty and Management Company 

Consolidated Electrical Contractors 

Contemporary Glassworks 

Marty and Barbara Coon 

Dwayne Coryell 

James and Cynthia Cotter 

Bruce Courtade 

Howard T. Courtnay 

Charles and Laura Cox 

Allen Crater 

Michael J. Crawford 

The Creelman Agency 

Russell and Alice M. Cronberg 

William and Janice Currie 

Brenna Cusack 

Charlie and Linda Cusack 

Bruce Custer 

Jim and Judy Czanko 

Ronald and Cindi J. Czarnecki 

Joseph D’Ali 

Chico and Vanessa Daniels 

John D. and Rene Darling 

Arnold D. and Ilene D. Dashoff 

Jennifer M. Daugherty 

Amy and Curtis Davis 

Jason and Cindy Dawes 

Daybreak Studios 

Jeff and Jill Dean 

John and Jane Dean 

Michael J. DeBoe 

Vance C. and Barbara J. DeCamp 

Don and Doris DeGood 

Thomas A. and Robin D. Demeester 

Robert DeVilbiss 

Nancy C. and Ken Devon 

Lora DeVries 

Gary and Joyce DeWitt 

Digital Video Services 

Robert Doane 

Michael B. and Renae D. Donahey 

Elizabeth A. Donley 

Stephen and Michelle Doyle 

Richard M. and Cheri L. Dressler 

Brandt D. and Sharon M. Driscoll 

Thomas B. and Mary Duthler 

Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids, Inc. 

Michael and Mary Dykema 

Chester Dykema 

Dave and Pat Edwards 

Vernon J. and Johanna Ehlers 

Kathryn M. Eisenmann 

Elders’ Helpers 

John F. and Teresa A. Elliott 

Mark and Jennifer Ellis 

Michael S. and Lynette Ellis 

Sharry A. Fearon-Beatty 

R.K. and Char Fecho 

Carole Feigley 

Edwin and Linda Feulner 

Paul and Charlene Fitzpatrick 

Mike Flynn 

Maureen E. Foley 

John and Mylinda Folkert 

Suzette Foll 

William L. and Mary Ford 

Forest View Psychiatric Hospital 

John and Jodie Formolo 

Betty Jane Forray 

Carl and Anne Forslund 

Albert and Laurie Forte 

Ken Fowler 

Lynn and Alice V. Francis 

Randall and Amy Freeburg 

Florence Freeman 

Dave & Karen Custer 

Custer Workplace Interiors 

“There are many good causes to give to, and it is impossible to support 

all of them in a meaningful way. Thus, we focus our giving on Healthcare 

and Education. Van Andel Institute fits perfectly into both areas. This is very 

appealing to us.” 

Eleanora H. Frey 

Linda Frey 

Lisa Freybler 

Charles T. and Carol A. Fridsma 

Sarah Friedman 

Julia B. Fry 

Joseph and Susan Gavan 

General Glass Corp 

Chad M. Genton 

Jared E. and Linda J. Gieske 

Lynn and Zell Gill 

Craig Glupker 

Philip W. and Jane Goodspeed 

Goodwin Procter 

Elaine Goralski 

Shelly D. Gordon 

Jim Gordon 

Sandra Gores 

Terri G. Gorton 

Grand Action 

Grand Rapids Area Chamber Of Commerce 

Grand Valley Health Corporations 

James O. and Mary E. Grant 

Sharon Greider 

Chester H. Griffis 

Mary M. Grigware 

Colleen Grimes 

Edythe R. Grinage 

Patti Griswold 

Christine Gutierrez 

Elizabeth Haak 

Pete Haak 

David and Gloria Haebich 

Betsy Haller 

Julia Hamming 

Jon Hanson 

Kimela Hardy 

Richard J. and Lillian Havenga 

Ruth Haverkamp 

Tim Hawkins and Ilsy Murillo 

Health Unlimited 

Bary Hearon 

Ted and Amy Heilman 

Henry A. Fox Sales Co. 

Thomas G. and Maureen Herman 

Robert and Barbara Herr 

Bruce Heys Builders, Inc. 

Mark Hiesterman 

Randy Hillard 

Larry J. and Candace A. Hillis 

Ken Hinton and Nancy Devon 

Dennis and Jeni Hoekstra 

Michelle M. Hoexum 


Ronald and Heidi Hofman 

Laura A. and Matt Holman 

Cynthia Holmes 

Eric J. Hoogstra 

John and Mary Hoogstra 

Dan and Amy Horning 

Robert E. and Beatrice Horton 

Donald R. and Ruby W. House 

Margie and Timothy Hoving 

Larry L. and Ginger Howe 

Joanne Hunefeld 

William and Susan E. Hunt 

Lourie Hurley 

David and Joyce Ignasiak 

Ron Igrisan 

Jose A. and Sue Infante 

Lyle R. and Jacqueline J. Irish 

James and Sandra Jackoboice 

Thomas J. and Barbara A. Jackoboice 

Holly Jacoby 

Roland Jager 

Don and Lois Jandernoa 

Melissa M. Janes 

Helen K. Jansen 

Jarob Design 

Angela R. Jason 

JB2 Enterprises 

Linda C. Jennings 

Michelle Jespersen 

Maryanna Johnson 

Eric E. Jones 

JP Morgan Private Bank 

Kevin Kaifer 

Robert F. Kaiser 

Dafna and Greg Kaufman 

David Kaufman 

Alex Kayzerman 

David Keenan 

Kelly Scientific Research 

John and Carri Kendall 

Mark Kennedy 

Kent Beverage Company Inc. 

Judith L. Kessel 

Robert P. and Katherine H. Kimball 

Donald M. and Monica M. Kimball 

Adam King 

David R. and Melissa Klein 

Norman and Valerie L. Knapp 

Deborah Kober 

Katherine Koehler 

Julie Koenig 

Linda L. Koert 

Joseph W. and Mildred Konrath 

Jerry and Maribeth Kooiman 

Michael Koppinger 

James D. Kozal 

Van Andel Institute

To make changes to how your name(s), or 

your company’s name, is listed in future 

publications, please call 616-234-5681. 

Diane Kozal 

Bernadine Kozal 

Dennis and Joanne Kozarek 

Richard Kraklau 

John and Arnette Kraus 

David and Jane Krombeen 

Rebecca Krueger 

Frederick R. and Sharon L. Kruithof 

Karen Kuiper 

Christian T. Kutschinski 

Greg and Susan Lambert 

Jeannine Lanning 

Kari A. LaPlaunt 

Betty J. Laroux 

Joseph Lattanze 

Kaye LaVee Swanson 

Lorraine Lavigne 

Kellie A. Leali 

Sid Lee 

Lee Special Systems 

John and Mary Leese 

Amy LeFebre 

Larry Leigh 

Leigh’s 

Edward Lewis 

Robert C. and Frances V. Lewis 

Joby and Amanda Lewis 

Scott and Nancy Liversedge 

Benjamin and Denice Logan 

John H. and Susan Logie 

Laura and Dennis Lohr 

Allan C. and Barbara J. Lowe 

Ric and Lisa Loyd 

Irving J. Lundell 

Heather T. Ly 

Jeff and Shannon MacKeigan 

Richard and Mary MacKeigan 

Kevin R. and Jill Mahoney 

Donald W. and Kathleen Maine 

Luma Makhay 

Dolores Malec 

Nicholas Malec 

Gloria Mance 

Robin and Yvonne Mancuso 

James and Elizabeth Mandarino 

George Manus 

Marina Shores Association 

Jack W. and Delores Marks 

John and Nancy K. Markward 

Joseph Marogil 

Cynthia L. Martin 

Henry and Connie Mast 

Sally Matecun 

John W. and Sharon Matthews 

Andrea McAlhany 

Joe and Darla McAlister 

Mike McCoy 

Jennifer and Justin McGrail 

Gary and Linda McInerney 

McInerney Law Offices PC 

Ward J. and Shirley McKenney 

Mary Jane McWilliams 

Gary and Marlene Mescher 

R. George Mickel 

Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, PLC 

Julie Milanowski 

Howard D. and Loraine Miller 

Steve and Julie Miller 

Bud and Jane Miller 

Cynthia and William Miranti 

Joe and Tracey Moch 

Dan Modzeleski 

David J. and Cathy Monsma 

Brian and Susan Mooney 

Bill Morgan 

Kirk Morgan 

David W. and Diana Morgenstern 

Jeff and Denise Morton 

William and Bernadette Motiska 

Louise Mueller 

Brent and Melisa Mulder 

Gordon Mullholland and Kathleen Seglund 

Fabienne Munch 

Timothy and Denise Myers 

David E. Nadziejka 

Scott and Linda A. Nash 

Claude and Gay M. Nauta 

Chris and Molly Nawrocki 

Edwin J. and Dolores Nawrocki 

Gretchen Neering 

Jeffrey Neiman 

Charles and Suzanne Neureuther 

Kristan A. Newhouse 

David, Kristen, Grayson, Beck, and Alec Norris 

Thomas W. and Jane A. Norton 

Richard and Kathleen A. Noskey 

Bob Novy 

Nurture by Steelcase 

NuSoft Solutions, Inc. 

Sandra S. and Jack Oato 

Chris O’Brien 

Ruth O’Keefe 

Steven Olson 

Michael, Kristina, and Aidan O’Meara 

Mr. and Mrs. Jay O’Neal 

Dustin P. and Kim Ordway 

James and Carolyn Oswald 

Linda Otis 

Irene Ott 

Ron Ott 

Danielle Ouendag 

Philip and Denise J. Overway 

John Pace 

Jeffrey and Peggy Padnos 

Frank Padron 

Panera Bread 

George Pantlind 

Les and Barb Parker 

Steve and Molly Parker 

William L. and Barbara Parker 

Passaro & Kahne Law Office, PLLC 

Steve and Ruth Pate 

Donald and Patricia Patterson 

Ronald and Mary Patzer 

Caroline Patzer 

Robert and Karen S. Pearson 

Gerald and Donna Pechtel 

Louis J. and Cornelia R. Pepoy 

Nancy Peters 

Stephen Peterson 

Thomas W. and Christine M. Pfennig 

Timothy J. and Pamela Pietryga 

Lisa G. and Gustavo Pilon 

Bonnie Pinder 

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services 

Samuel J. and Cheryl Pinto 

Michelle Plumer 

Lynn L. Plummer 

Angie and Brad Plutschouw 

Rick and Sue Polhill 

James and Kathleen Ponitz 

Joseph G. Popiel 

Amy Poplaski 

Wendy Popma 

David and Amy Poquette 

Brian and Jennifer Post 

Rodney and Amy Prahl 

Mary Ann Prisichenko 

Promega Corporation 

Tony and Dianne Pung 

Matt and Susan Quada 

David Quigley 

Quimby Walstrom 

Christopher Rabideau 

Angela Rambo 

Robert H. and Andrea Rander 

Tom Ranville 

Michael Rapier 

Carol G. and Steven Rappley 

Mary K. Redman 

David Reed 

Gordon J. and Jeanine Reeder 

Regent Broadcasting 

Robert and Donna Renkema 

Sue Anne Renken 

The Right Place, Inc. 

Ed Rodenhouse 

Brian and Sandra Roelof 

Thad Roelofs 

Ronald R. and Joyce A. Rogers 

Louis and Mary Romence 

David L. and Jessica Ross 

Anne Rossi 

Kirk and Lynn Rottschafer 

Veronica Rozelle 

Carl R. and Shawn M. Ruetz 

Jeffrey S. and Pamela B. Rush 

William, Kathryn, Lauren and Kate Ryan 

Denise Ryskamp 

Jack and Dorothy Ryskamp 

Fredric E. Ryskamp 

James R. Saalfeld 

Gerald Sajewski 

Richard C. Salzwedel 

Susan Samrick 

San Chez Bistro 

Elizabeth Sarafis 

A. Charles and Caroline L. Schaap 

Marsha Schmuker 

Ann L. Schoen 

Bill Schoonveld 

Jeff and Susan Schreur 

Matt Schulte 

Clarence Schumaker 

Darryl and Dawn Schumaker 

Stephanie A. Scott 

Sebastian Foundation 

Secchia Institute for Culinary Education 

Jaime Sekerke 

Christine Serne 

Dan and Susan Serne 

Jeanne C. Serne 

Michael S. Serne 

James A. and Eleanor L. Serne 

Mike and Joann Serne 

Patrick A. and June H. Serne 

David B. Shane 

A. Michael and Terri L. Shapiro 

Jerry and Kathy Shear 

John and Mary Sheets 

Robin Shelley 

Jerry and Shirley Sherman 

A. Clare and Karen Silva 

Nancy Skinner 

Larry L. and Marika Slenk 

Shane and Meredith Smedley 

Jonathan L. and Betsy Smith 

Louis G. and Terry K. Smith 

Smith Barney, Inc. 

Sara Smolenski 

Margaret M. Sowerby 

Spartan Graphics 

David and Linda Spencer 

Richard and Lisa Spotts 

Tina Sprich 

William A. and Sandy Stevenson 

Keith N. and Sheryl S. Stewart 

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. 

Chris Stimson 

Robert and Brenda Stineman 

Marlene Stoops 

Jerome P. and Judith H. Subar 

Drew Sutton 

Thomas C. and Susan Swaney 

Pamela J. Swiatek 

Sandy Swiatek 

Zachary Talen 

Dick and Shirley Tedford 

Kathryn Teesdale 

Bin and Jane Teh 

Richard D. and Julie K. Terhaar 

Jodi Termolen 

Daniel Terpsma 

Nicole M. Tessari 

Brad E. and Elizabeth Thomas 

John and Lydia Tobian 

William D. Tolbert 

Jose Toro 

Bruce and Angela Towne 

Rick Treur 

John and Cheryl Tully 

Peter M. Turner 

T.W. Hager Lumber Co. 

Urban Mill 

Janice Uzarski 

Michael Van Genechten 

Jim and Kris Van Heule 

Earl and Pat Van Opstall 

Dave and Beth Van Portfliet 

Gary and Debra Van Solkema 

Clare and Joan Van Wieren 

Jeffrey J. and Nancy Van Winkle 

Cynthia Vande Woude 

Arie and Jane Vandermale 

VAI Donor 

Recognition 

www.vai.org 

43

Friends of the Institute 

(continued) 

Russell L. VanderMey 

Donald L. and Janell VanDine 

Erin VanEpps 

Lynn Vanpelt 

Mike and Bev Vantieghrem 

Varnum Consulting 

Carl and Sandra VerBeek 

Bill Vierregger 

Jennifer Vogel 

Theodore and Vicki Vogt 

Raymond and Mary Lou Vreeland 

Wachovia Securities, Inc. 

Tracey Walker 

Dee Wall 

Cynthia Anne Walsh 

Michael Warber 

Amy Ward 

John and Mary Beth Wardrop 

Bill and Patricia Waring 

Sandra K. Warren 

Kirsten Washburn 

Water Fight 

Robert Weatherford and Pamela Stark 

Michael Weinreich 

J.L. Wentland 

Ralph O. and Diane Wessel 

Western Michigan Pediatrics Cardiology Associates, PC 

Michael Whalen 

Brian and Kim Whitson 

Whitson Insulation Co. of Grand Rapids Inc. 

Scott and Rebecca Wierda 

John and Jill Wierenga 

John and Marge Wiersma 

Rita Williams 

Bruce Williams 

Robert and Carrie Winter 

Howard H. Wirt 

Stan J. and Phyllis Wisinski 

Les and Lori Wisner 

Tom and Lori Wisner 

Don and Suzanne L. Wisner 

Shirley Wohler 

Gregory and Tina Wolbers 

John M. Wolf 

Joan Wolverton 


Leslie and Jane Wong 

Larry and Bonnie Wormmeester 

WZZM 13 

Eric and Shawna Xu 

Alan and Wendy Yamaoka 

Michael and Leslie Yoder 

Jameson and Meghan Yoder 

Ron Young and Heather Frazee 

David Young 

Vicki Young 

John J. Young 

Barbara A. Youngblood 

Linda Zarzecki and Dr. Liam Sullivan 

Thelma Zeinstra 

Rachael Zhang 

William and Judith Zinser 

Mitchell A. Zoerhoff 

William R. and Carole E. Zoller 

Lodewyk P. and Joanne Zwarensteyn 

Employee Donors 

Art and Lisa Alberts 

Thomas and Tamara Barney 

Michelle and Kevin Bassett 

Marcia and Richard Bishop 

Jaime Brookmeyer 

Douglas C. Camelo 

Bryon and Kandy Campbell 

Benjamin and Cortney Carlson 

Gregory Cavey 

Marty and Barbara Coon 

Jennifer Daugherty 

Amy and Curtis Davis 

Jason and Cindy Dawes 

Nicholas and Susan Duesbery 

Kathryn M. Eisenmann 


Sarah Friedman 


John and Liga Greenfield 

Elizabeth Haak 

Pete Haak 

Kimela Hardy 

Tim Hawkins and Ilsy Murillo 

Steve and Brenda Heacock 

Stephanie Hehl 

Ted and Amy Heilman 

Laura and Matt Holman 

Margie and Timothy Hoving 

Angela R. Jason 

Roberta L. Jones 

Dafna and Greg Kauffman 

Katherine Koehler 

Christian T. Kutschinski 

Kellie A. Leali 

Laura and Dennis Lohr 

Heather T. Ly 

Jeff and Shannon MacKeigan 

Jennifer and Justin McGrail 

Cynthia and William Miranti 

David and Cathy Monsma 

Brent and Melisa Mulder 

Pam and Mike Murray 

Timothy and Denise Myers 

David E. Nadziejka 

Mr. and Mrs. Jay O’Neal 

Lisa and Gustavo Pilon 

Samuel and Cheryl Pinto 

Angie and Brad Plutschouw 

Amy Poplaski 

Carol and Steven Rappley 

James and Christine Resau 

Thad Roelofs 

David and Jessica Ross 

Ann L. Schoen 

Stephanie A. Scott 

Pamela J. Swiatek 

Bin and Jane Teh 

William Tolbert 

Jose Toro 

Steven and Laura Triezenberg 




Russell L. VanderMey 

Kathleen and Phil Vogelsang 

Craig P. and Tara Webb 

Michael Weinreich 

Bart and Wendy Williams 

Carolyn and Lawrence F. Witt 

Eric and Shawna Xu 

John Young 

Ron Young and Heather Frazee 

Linda Zarzecki and Dr. Liam Sullivan 

Rachael Zhang 

Mitchell A. Zoerhoff 

Tribute and Memorial Gifts 

In 2007, the following individuals and organizations 

made a tribute or memorial gift in honor 

of a family member, friend, or colleague with 

a gift to Van Andel Institute. In recognition of 

their thoughtfulness, we express appreciation. 

Tributes 

Pauline Baer 

William and Barbara Bradley 

Kevin and Michelle Bassett 

Jean Bassett 

Bill and Barbara Bradley 

James H. and Sheral Bradley 

Robert Cope 

Holly Jacoby 

Tessa Grabinski 

Jared E. and Linda J. Gieske 

Andrew Koo 

David and Gloria Haebich 

Rex Renfrow & Family 

Arnold D. and Ilene D. Dashoff 

Reverend Merlyn Satrom 

John and Cheryl Tully 

Memorials 

Alison “Awesome Ali” Aardema 

Eric E. Jones 

James Bamborough 

Florence Freeman 

Mary Bek 

Applied Imaging 

Mary Benson 

Steven and Teri B. Olson 

Philip Bettendorf 


Fred Birkeland 

Jean Bassett 

Jean Boomers 

Jacqueline Bradley 

Kevin and Kelly Chopp 

Don and Doris DeGood 

Michael B. and Renae D. Donahey 

Lynn and Zell Gill 

Richard J. and Lillian Havenga 

Norman and Valerie L. Knapp 

Robin and Yvonne Mancuso 

Bud and Jane Miller 

Jerry and Kathy Shear 

A. Clare and Karen Silva 

Suzanne J. Buche 

Charles J. and Nancy J. Poquette 

David J. and Amy R. Poquette 

Peter Bylsma 

Carol Bylsma 

Scott Carlson 

Nancy L. Carlson 

Norma Coryell 

Steven G. and Marguerite H. Baker 

Stephen F. and Michelle Card 

Ken and Norma Coryell 

James and Cynthia Cotter 

Howard T. Courtnay 

Charlie and Linda Cusack 

Scott and Linda A. Nash 

David Quigley 

Gregory and Tina Wolbers 

Kathrine Crane 

Carl and Anne Forslund 

Courtney Dahlen 


Ann Damuth 

Mary K. Redman 

Frances Davidson 

Yvonne M. Burns 


Gladys Davis 

Sandra Ames 

Jay DeBoe 

Michael J. DeBoe 

Carson Donley 

Elizabeth A. Donley 

Lisa Fair 

Steven and Teri B. Olson 

Marianne Fishback 

Maryanna Johnson 

Bill Fodren 

Margaret H. Fondren 

Emery Freeman 

Joseph G. Popiel 

Jean Frick 

Allan C. and Barbara J. Lowe 

John Fry 

Julia B. Fry 

Margaret Mary Gorski 

Joanne Hunefeld 

Robert Haight 

Robin Shelley 

Van Andel Institute

Mary “Tab” Hay 

Jerry and Shirley Sherman 

Christian Helmus, MD 

Dan and Ann Marie Van Eerden 

Jim Hickey 

Catherine Amodeo 

Larry W. Howe 

Larry L. and Ginger Howe 

Gordon J. and Jeanine Reeder 

Larry Jersey 


Isabelle Johnson 


Melanie Keith 


Pastor Al Keller 


Marie King 


Tim and Kris Wondergem 

Lyle Kinney 

Craig and Deb Kinney 

Lynn Konwinski 

Ron and Joann Champion 

Ronald and Cindi J. Czarnecki 

Lisa Freybler 

Kent Beverage Company Inc. 

Bernadine Kozal 

Diane Kozal 


Lorraine Lavigne 

Philip and Denise J. Overway 

Kathryn Teesdale 

Dr. Han Mo Koo 

Carol Bylsma 

John and Lydia Tobian 

James M. Kozal 


Angeline Landeis 


David B. Linn 

AD Bos Vending Services 

James W. Logie 

John H. and Susan Logie 

Peter & Joan Secchia 

“What a time this is for Grand Rapids...new and improved medical facilities, a 

new medical school, a focus on life sciences...and right at the heart of all of this 

is Van Andel Institute. The city is experiencing a complete transformation.” 

Jerry Matecun 

Sally Matecun 

Judith Mary McKenney 

Ward J. and Shirley McKenney 

Nicholas Mihos 


Terry Moran 

James and Joy DeBoer 

John Mulder 

Edwin J. and Dolores Nawrocki 

Charles Edmund O’Keefe 

Ruth O’Keefe 

Carol Otto 

Pamela Luetkemeyer 

Ronald Pawloski 

James E. and Francene M. Angers 

Don and Lin Beenen 

John and Jodie Formolo 

Terri G. Gorton 

JB2 Enterprises 

Judith L. Kessel 

Donald M. and Monica M. Kimball 

Dolores Malec 

Nicholas Malec 

Claude and Gay M. Nauta 

Charles and Suzanne Neureuther 

Thomas W. and Jane A. Norton 

Richard and Kathleen A. Noskey 

Donald and Patricia Patterson 

Robert and Karen S. Pearson 

Louis G. and Terry K. Smith 

Dick and Shirley Tedford 

Bruce and Angela Towne 

Michael Warber 

Western Michigan Pediatrics Cardiology Associates, PC 

John O. Plummer, Jr. 

Lynn L. Plummer 

Dwight Reed 

Dwight Reed Memorial Golf Outing Participants 

Ann Roffol 

Vincent A. and Mary M. Ackerman 

David L. Rossi 

Anne Rossi 

Stella Rovine 


Kevin Ryskamp 

Tom and Jean Almy 

Guy S. Bailey 

John, Evie, and Tommie Barfuss 

Stephen and Michelle Doyle 

John F. and Teresa A. Elliott 

Helen K. Jansen 

Kari A. LaPlaunt 

Joby and Amanda Lewis 

Scott and Nancy Liversedge 

George Manus 

Marina Shores Association 

Jack W. and Delores Marks 

John and Nancy K. Markward 

Cynthia L. Martin 

Joe and Darla McAlister 

Brian and Susan Mooney 

David, Kristen, Grayson, Beck and Alec Norris 

Michael, Kristina, and Aidan O’Meara 

Les and Barb Parker 

Steve and Molly Parker 

Steve and Ruth Pate 

Sue Anne Renken 

William, Kathryn, Lauren and Kate Ryan 

Denise Ryskamp 

Fredric E. Ryskamp 

Jack and Dorothy Ryskamp 

Christine Serne 

Dan and Susan Serne 

James A. and Eleanor L. Serne 

Jeanne C. Serne 

Michael S. Serne 

Mike and Joann Serne 

Patrick A. and June H. Serne 

Jim and Kris Van Heule 

Brian and Kim Whitson 

Whitson Insulation Co. of Grand Rapids Inc. 

Joan Wolverton 

Ruth Ann Scripps 

David and Debbie Keenan 

Alan and Wendy Yamaoka 

Jean Sheetz 

Sandra Ames 

Jo Smith 

Betty Jane Forray 

Linda C. Jennings 

Joseph W. and Mildred Konrath 

Betty J. Laroux 

John W. and Sharon Matthews 

Passaro & Kahne Law Office, PLLC 

Robert and Brenda Stineman 

Mike and Bev Vantieghrem 

Sandra K. Warren 

Pauline M. Stark 

Sharry A. Fearon-Beatty 

William L. and Barbara Parker 

John and Mary Sheets 


Pamela A. Stark and Robert Weatherford 

William Swaney 

Mary M. Grigware 

Keith N. and Sheryl S. Stewart 

Russel P. and Jean Swaney 

Thomas C. and Susan Swaney 

Bill Terpstra 

Sallie and David Brinks 

Betty Van Andel 

Arie E. and Jane Vandermale 

Jay Van Andel 


Nancy Van Andel 

Stuart S. and Nelleke Vander Heide 

Rita (Kober) Veltkamp 

Deborah Kober 

Johan Visser 

Johan’s TriFest Participants 

Kenneth Welsher 

George Bischoff 

R.K. and Char Fecho 

Richard Kraklau 

Karen Kuiper 

Kaye LaVee Swanson 

Gloria Mance 

James and Elizabeth Mandarino 

Louise Mueller 

Irene Ott 

Ron Ott 

Caroline Patzer 

Ronald and Mary Patzer 

Gerald and Donna Pechtel 

Angela Rambo 

Lynn Vanpelt 

Dee Wall 

J.L. Wentland 

Shirley Wohler 

Katherine E. Whalen 

Steve and Julie Miller 

Stan Wietrecki 

Sandra Ames 

Mary Lois Wilke 

Sandra Ames 

Ora Zacharias 

Brandt D. and Sharon M. Driscoll 

Ric and Lisa Loyd 

To make changes to how your name(s), or 

your company’s name, is listed in future 

publications, please call 616-234-5681. 

To VAI’s many anonymous donors, we extend our quiet thanks. 

VAI Donor 

Recognition 

www.vai.org 

45

Organizational Structure 

These lists reflect active participants as of December 31, 2007. 

▲ Deceased (prior to January 1, 2008) 

Van Andel Institute 

Board of Trustees 

VAI Board of Trustees 


Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Van Andel Institute 

Board of 

Scientific Advisors 



Chief Executive Officer 



Ralph Hauenstein 

President, Hauenstein Enterprises 

Peter Cook 

Chairman, Cook Holdings 

John Kennedy 

President and Chief Executive Officer, Autocam Corporation 


VAI Graduate School 

Board of Directors 

VAEI Council 


Director 

Deputy Directors 

Director of 

Research 

Administration 

Basic Science 


Special Programs 

Chief Administrative Officer 

and General Counsel 

Steven R. Heacock 

VP Communications 

and Development 

Joseph P. Gavan 


Council 


Director 

Gordon Van Harn, Ph.D. 

Chief Financial Officer 

R. Jack Frick 

Vernon J. Ehlers, Ph.D. 

United States Representative, former Professor of Physics and 

former Chairman of Physics Department, Calvin College 

G. Christian Jerenstedt, Ph.D. 

Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Director of 

the Center for Educational Outcomes, Dartmouth College 

P. Douglas Kindschi, Ph.D. 

Interim President and CEO, Grand Rapids Medical Education 

and Research Center and Professor of Mathematics and 

former Dean of Science and Mathematics, 


Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Ph.D. 

Professor of Systematic Theology and President, 

Calvin Theological Seminary 

Carol Van Andel 

Bachelor of Arts in Business, Hope College, 

and Community Volunteer 

Yvonne H. Van Ee, Ph.D. 

Professor of Education and Early Childhood Program Advisor, 

Calvin College 

Van Andel Institute

VAI Board and Council Members 

VARI Board of Trustees 


Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 


Fritz Rottman, Ph.D. 

Emeritus Professor and Chairman of 

Molecular Biology and Microbiology, 

Case Western University 

Board of Scientific Advisors 

James Wyngaarden, M.D. 

Former Professor and Chairman of the 

Department of Medicine at Duke University 

School of Medicine, former Director of the 

National Institutes of Health 

VAEI Board of Trustees 


Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 



Director of VAEI, former Professor of Biology 

and Provost at Calvin College 

Hope on the Hill Board of Governors 

Gordon Van Wylen, Ph.D. 

Former President of Hope College, 

former Dean of the Engineering School 

at University of Michigan 

Donald W. Maine 

Former President of Davenport University 

Michael S. Brown, M.D. 

W. A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair 

in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research; 

Regental Professor; Paul J. Thomas Chair in 

Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern 

Medical Center - Dallas 

Richard Axel, M.D. 

Professor of Neurosciences, Columbia 

University 

VAI Graduate School Board of Directors 

James N. Boelkins, Ph.D. 

Provost, Hope College 

James B. Fahner, M.D. 

Chief of Hematology/Oncology, 

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital 

Nita J. Maihle, Ph.D. 

Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology and 

Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine 

and Chair of Women in Cancer Research 

Council, American Association for Cancer 

Research 

Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D. 

Chairman of the Department of Molecular 

Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern 

Medical Center - Dallas 

Tony Hunter, Ph.D. 

Professor, Salk Institute; American Cancer 

Society Research Professor 

Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D. 

Institute Professor of Biology, Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology 

Fritz M. Rottman, Ph.D. 

Emeritus Professor and Chairman of Molecular 

Biology and Microbiology, Case Western 

Reserve University and Member of Van Andel 

Research Institute Board of Trustees 

John L. Wang, Ph.D. 

Professor of Biochemistry, Michigan State 

University 


Director of Van Andel Education Institute and 

Emeritus Provost and Professor of Biology, 

Calvin College 

President Jimmy Carter 

Honorary Chair 

William and Sandi Nicholson 

Honorary Vice Chair 

L. William and Sarah Seidman 

Honorary Vice Chair 


Chair 

Martin and Sue Allen 


Mark Bartlett 


James and Donna Brooks 

James and Martha Bultman 

Gaylen and Susan Byker 


William and Janice Currie 

David and Karen Custer 


Ted and Barb Etheridge 

David and Judy Frey 



Dan and Lou Ann Gaydou 

Gary Granger 

Ralph and Grace▲ Hauenstein 

Steven and Brenda Heacock 

David and Joyce Hecht 

John and Gwen Hibbard 

Dirk and Victoria Hoffius 

Earl and Donnalee Holton 

Robert and Judith Hooker 

Allen and Helen Hunting 

Earle and Kyle Irwin 


Sidney Jansma, Jr. 

Hamilton and Dorothy Jordan 

John and Nancy Kennedy 

Wilbur and Sharon Lettinga 

Ray and Nancy Loeschner 


Donald and Kathleen Maine 

Fred and Lena Meijer 

Hendrik and Liesel Meijer 

Mark and Mary Beth Meijer 

Jack H. Miller 

Mark and Elizabeth Murray 

Donald and Ann Parfet 

Mark and Dianne Peters 

Dale and Sonja Robertson 

Alan and Margaret Ryan 

Peter and Joan Secchia 

Budge and Marilyn Sherwood 

Brent and Diane Slay 

Russel and Jean Swaney 

Marilyn Titche 

David and Carol Van Andel 

Michael and Michelle Van Dyke 


Gordon and Margaret Van Wylen 


Stuart and Nelleke Vander Heide 

Theodore and Joan Vanderveen 


VAI Board 

and Council Members 

www.vai.org 

47

Celebration of Hope 

Over seven years, Van Andel Institute’s annual gala event, 

Celebration of Hope, has been the venue for several 

significant unveilings and announcements, starting with the 

VAI grand opening at the first event in 2000. In 2001, VAI Chairman 

and CEO David Van Andel announced that the facility’s grand hall 

would be named the “Cook-Hauenstein Hall” in honor of founding 

trustees Peter C. Cook and Ralph W. Hauenstein. VAI dedicated “Life,” 

a 14-foot, glass sculpture created by world-famous artist Dale Chihuly, 

in 2005. Commissioned by VAI founder Jay Van Andel to memorialize 

his wife and cofounder, Betty Van Andel, the work still spirals from the 

ceiling of the VAI lobby, reminiscent of the DNA double helix. In 2006, 

David Van Andel unveiled a plaque to hang in the Institute honoring Dr. 

Christian Helmus, a physician and member of the Van Andel Research 

Institute Board of Trustees who died in 2006 after a long battle with 

liver cancer. 

At the most recent Celebration of Hope in 2007, Dr. Randy Hillard, 

associate provost for Human Health Affairs at the Michigan State 

University College of Human Medicine, announced the creation of 

the David Van Andel Life Sciences Achievement Award. The award 

will be bestowed annually upon a scientist or clinician who has made 

significant discoveries in translational research, an entrepreneur who 

makes significant progress in commercializing a life science discovery, 

an advocate for life sciences research and commercialization, or 

a philanthropist whose contributions have enhanced translational 

medicine or life sciences research. 

< Top: Guests at the 2007 Celebration of Hope, Bottom left: Emmy awardwinning 

comedian Dennis Miller entertains guests in 2006, Bottom right: 

Dale Chihuly’s “Life” was unveiled at the 2005 Celebration of Hope 

Van Andel Institute

See our award-winning commercials 

and the rest of our video library 

on the web at: 

www.vai.org/news.aspx 

© Van Andel Institute | 333 Bostwick Avenue NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 | Phone 616.234.5000 | Fax 616.234.5001 | www.vai.org

Phase II 

Opening 2009 

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Grand Rapids, MI 49503 

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Grand Rapids, MI 

Permit No. 564

2007 Annual Report

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