Family History Inspires Investments in Medical Research

Mike Dangerfield is proof that you don’t have to be an alumnus to support Emory Healthcare. With significant philanthropic commitments to Emory Healthcare, Winship Cancer Institute, and Emory’s National Primate Research Center, Dangerfield is a champion for pioneering research that is moving the needle on treatment of chronic diseases.

And while his background is not in science or health care—Dangerfield is the founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Carey Executive Limousine (he once drove The Beatles)—he understands how disease can affect a family.

“My father developed cancer of the jaw, and it was a terrible end of life for him,” Dangerfield said. “My brother, my only sibling, has had bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He’s been through so much and survived so much.”

Dangerfield’s mother suffered a heart attack and later had open heart surgery. “She struggled for several years, but she recovered,” he said. “That shows you what medicine and research can do.”

It's no surprise that Dangerfield would value the role that research plays in developing treatments and cures for diseases such as cancer and heart disease. With help from Emory Healthcare’s gift planning office, Dangerfield established an estate gift that supports the Emory National Primate Research Center (EPC), the School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology, and Winship Cancer Institute.

What is surprising is the route Dangerfield took to discover his passion for supporting research.

It began at a cocktail party. “I met a wonderful person, a scientist, and he showed me some of his magic tricks,” Dangerfield said. The man was Stuart Zola, PhD, then-director of the EPC and a part-time magician. “I figured anybody who knew magic had magic in him,” Dangerfield said. Zola invited him to tour the EPC. “He described some of the research they were doing, and I was amazed that that level of research was being conducted in Atlanta.”

Dangerfield soon accepted another of Zola’s invitations: to join representatives from business, corporate, non-profit, and other sectors on the newly created EPC Director’s Circle. This group, with its charge to better communicate how the EPC’s work improves health outcomes for people worldwide, was right up Dangerfield’s alley. “I met so many scientists—people I would never meet in the business circles in which I travel—and I learned about research,” he said.

Dangerfield’s work for the Director’s Circle led to his philanthropy. “I’m passionate about supporting research,” he said. “Research is the answer for humankind.”

Dangerfield admits he was initially nervous about the estate planning process, but Emory Healthcare gave him the time and support he needed to make the right choices for his family. “I met with a relationship manager in the Gift Planning office who introduced me to an estate attorney,” he said. “I have a good team watching over my assets.”

With legal matters clarified, Dangerfield is free to support the causes he cares about in the way that works best for him. “I hope, in the little bit of life that I have left, that we will find better treatments for cancer,” Dangerfield said. “Cancer and AIDS. And it’s a real feather in Emory Healthcare’s cap that the components of Emtriva, the AIDS treatment, were discovered here at Emory Healthcare.” Dangerfield hopes researchers at Emory Healthcare will continue to develop similar game-changing treatments for other chronic diseases.

Although Dangerfield’s prime interest is in furthering research, he “wants to do anything he can to help Emory Healthcare,” including serving as a volunteer for Emory Healthcare’s 2036 fundraising campaign. “I want to encourage everyone I meet to support Emory Healthcare in whatever way suits them. There are so many places here where you can put your money to good use.”

To inquire about making a planned gift to support Emory Healthcare, contact Office of Gift Planning at 404 727-8875 or giftplanning@emoryhealthcare.org. Click here for more information.