An exceptional $10-million gift from the Fondation pour la recherche en chirurgie thoracique de Montréal and other donors will establish a new research chair at Université de Montréal aimed at improving the quality of organs for transplantation and enhancing patient health outcomes.
New Chair in Thoracic Surgery and Regenerative Medicine
MONTRÉAL, June 15, 2026 /CNW/ – Thanks to a major $10-million gift, Université de Montréal's Faculty of Medicine is creating the BMO – L. Jacques Ménard Chair in Thoracic Surgery, Organ Perfusion for Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine. This new chair, the largest endowed chair in the university's history, will help accelerate the development of innovative approaches to improve the quality of organs available for transplant and the health outcomes of patients.
Philanthropy and Research Collaboration
Funded by the Fondation pour la recherche en chirurgie thoracique de Montréal, with the support of BMO Financial Group, the Ménard family, and major donors, the new chair consolidates UdeM's reputation as a vibrant hub of internationally recognized expertise in the field.
“Every time we create a research chair, we open up space for discovery,” said UdeM rector Daniel Jutras. “We give our best talent the time and resources they need to push the boundaries of knowledge and innovate. When research touches the field of health, it takes on another dimension. We think of the lives that will be saved. We think of families who will get back a father, a mother, a child. We create tangible hope where illness once prevailed. The potential of this new chair is enormous.”
Added Dr. Patrick Cossette, dean of the Faculty of Medicine: “This chair shows what can be achieved when philanthropy, research and care move in the same direction. It will give our teams the means to accelerate innovation, train the next generation and, ultimately, improve patients’ lives.”
A Fourth Chair in 20 Years
The creation of this new chair marks an important step in the history of a partnership that, for more than 20 years now, has connected the Faculty of Medicine with the Fondation pour la recherche en chirurgie thoracique de Montréal. Originated by Drs. Pasquale Ferraro and André Duranceau, the Fondation has seen the creation of three other research chairs at UdeM: the Alfonso Minicozzi and Family Chair in Thoracic Surgery and Lung Transplantation; the Marcel and Rolande Gosselin Chair in Oncological Thoracic Surgery; and the Famille Régis Morissette–Fransyl Chair in Thoracic Surgery and Esophageal Diseases.
The new chair “is the culmination of many years of mobilization and conviction,” said Ferraro. “We have always believed that philanthropy can play a decisive role in advancing research, innovation and care in thoracic surgery. Today, that vision is reaching an exceptional scale.”
Honouring the Memory of L. Jacques Ménard
The chair is named in honour of the late L. Jacques Ménard, a prominent Montreal business leader and well-known philanthropist who was cared for by teams at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM).
