Angela C. Wang, Robert O. Johnson and Leo Wang in 2004.

Robert Johnson and Angela Wang found joy, and each other, through their work. The two accountants had been happily working together for 37 years when Robert was hospitalized for a heart attack. Only then did doctors discover that he also had leukemia.

Johnson was transferred to UCSF where he and his wife developed a special bond with the staff. Lloyd Damon, MD, was called upon for the leukemia treatment, and Damon's wife, Teresa de Marco, MD, became Johnson's cardiologist. "Robert's care was as good as could be. All the staff at UCSF were great," recalls Wang.

After Johnson succumbed to complications from the disease and ill health in March 2005, Wang and her son, Leo, met with Damon to discuss leukemia research. This led to the Robert O. and Angela W. Johnson Endowed Chair in Hematopoietic Malignancies, which Damon now holds. "They have genuinely great hearts," Damon says of the Wang family.

The chair will allow for growth within the leukemia program’s operations, enabling Damon to spend more time concentrating on his research and teaching. He is currently putting together a new clinical trial for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

"It was too late to do anything to save Bob's life – hopefully this will help others in the future," Wang concludes. "We feel fortunate that we have the means to do this, and I think Bob would be very happy."

For more information about UCSF's research on blood cancers, including leukemia, contact Megan DeGraeve at 415/476-5618 or MDegraeve@support.ucsf.edu.