Transformational Middleman gift creates new engine to accelerate breakthroughs at Penn Medicine

A transformational gift from Stanley C. Middleman will establish the Middleman Center at Penn Medicine at 3600 Civic Center Blvd. in Philadelphia and create the Middleman Fund at Penn Medicine, a new source of funding that’s designed to advance the institution's most promising scientific discoveries.

“I was born and raised in Philadelphia, and I’m proud to support Penn Medicine and the extraordinary work being done there to advance medicine and improve people’s lives,” said Stanley C. Middleman. “My hope is that the Middleman Fund will fuel the development of lifesaving therapies and new approaches to treating patients, and that the Middleman Center will bring together the people and ideas to make those breakthroughs possible.”

Changing the landscape

What began in 2018 as an eight-story office tower was later reimagined with seven additional floors, including a 217,000-square-foot wet lab, office, and research facility, built atop an active, 250,000-square-foot office tower whose first seven floors have been newly refurbished. The new floors house teams from the Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Penn, a global hub for autoimmunity research and the leader of the Colton Consortium for Autoimmunity (spanning centers at Penn, NYU, Yale, Mount Sinai, and Tel Aviv University), and the High-Throughput Institute for Discovery, a specialized lab that enables testing on patient samples to help make diagnoses and guide treatments.

The Middleman Center will also bring together infectious disease research programs and advanced technologies, including the Holman Lab, a specialized biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) facility that’s equipped to safely study infectious disease specimens. The facilities will also assemble experts in commercialization and health care innovation from the Penn Center for Innovation and the Penn Center for Health Care Transformation and Innovation to work alongside scientists and clinicians.

“Anchoring the western edge of Penn Medicine’s campus, the Middleman Center is uniquely positioned to bring together biomedical researchers, physicians, medical students, patients, and experts from engineering, business, and other areas of the University of Pennsylvania,” said J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, President of the University of Pennsylvania. “This creates an extraordinary environment for discovery—not just sparking ideas but seeing them all the way through to the moments where lives change for the better, as a result of discovery.”

“In today’s world of science and medicine, progress comes when researchers have the support to ask important questions and the time and resources to follow them wherever they lead,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “This gift will help sustain that progress at the cutting edge of medicine, build on emerging findings, and create new paths for exploration across a broad range of diseases and disciplines.”

The gift will empower researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue bold, early-stage ideas at pivotal moments. It will accelerate work on therapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and other serious conditions, shortening the path from laboratory discovery to potential impact for millions of people.

Penn Medicine’s track record demonstrates the impact of early philanthropic investment. Breakthroughs, including CAR T cell therapy and foundational mRNA research, benefited from support that allowed scientists to pursue innovative ideas and generate the evidence needed to advance patient care. The Middleman Fund expands that model, at scale.

“Investing in our most promising research has long been Penn Medicine’s blueprint for bringing breakthrough science to patients around the world,” said Jonathan A. Epstein, MD, Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System. “The Middleman Fund will allow Penn Medicine to identify and support today’s ideas that can become the lifesaving treatments of tomorrow.”

A long-term commitment to health care and the community

Middleman is the founder and CEO of Freedom Mortgage, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders and a leading Ginnie Mae servicer and VA and FHA lender, dedicated to expanding homeownership for military families, veterans, first-time homebuyers, and underserved communities. Through Freedom Cares, the philanthropic arm of Freedom Mortgage, Middleman has built a company culture of volunteerism and charitable giving that’s focused on strengthening the communities it serves.

Middleman, who built Freedom Mortgage and maintains deep ties in the region, also serves as Vice Chairman of the Philadelphia Phillies, as well as Alternate Governor of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. His philanthropic commitments include the Middleman Family Pavilion at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia and the Stanley C. Middleman Center for Innovation in Accounting at his alma mater, Temple University’s Fox School of Business. This new gift marks his first major philanthropic commitment to Penn Medicine, where he recently joined the Corporate Council, serving as an adviser and advocate.