Honoring the O’Neal family for investing in cancer care and research
The UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center recognized the O’Neal family this past February as the ArtBLINK Gala honorees for their transformative gift to name the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2018. Since then, this profound gift has exponentially expanded the O’Neal Cancer Center’s impact, including increasing its research efforts, allowing investments in its senior scientists, and recruiting clinician-scientists to care for cancer patients.
The center’s O’Neal Invests Program, created in 2020, accepts funding proposals twice a year from O’Neal scientists with promising ideas for preliminary research that will be competitive for future extramural funding. Since the program began, it has funded approximately 80 proposals for a total of $10,040,000, with early returns of extramural funding of $44,524,564.
"The O’Neal family has had a profound impact on the Cancer Center’s mission, both through their generous financial contributions and their commitment to advancing cancer care,” said Barry Sleckman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the O'Neal Cancer Center. “The endowment funds directly support our core missions, but the naming itself is equally significant. Being recognized as the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center helps unify our efforts under a single, trusted brand—one that the community can associate with leading-edge cancer treatment and research."
With the O’Neal family’s support, the O’Neal Cancer Center created two professorships recognizing exceptional senior scientists and their innovative cancer research. Erwin Van Mier, Ph.D., is the initial holder of the David Hart White Endowed Professorship for Brain Cancer Research, and Suzanne Lapi, Ph.D., is the initial holder of the Emmet O’Neal II Endowed Professorship for Lung Cancer Research.
Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, the past five years have seen significant growth in clinical faculty across the disciplines needed for multidisciplinary cancer care. This is most evident in the recruitment of UAB/O’Neal medical oncologists, which has nearly doubled from 26 in 2020 to 50 in 2025. This recruitment also decreased wait times for patients to see a medical oncologist to less than two weeks across most cancers. More importantly, after they see the medical oncologist, new cancer patients are contacted by a member of their cancer management team within 24 hours to schedule testing needed for timely and effective initiation of their treatment. The treatment may include one of over 300 clinical trials currently under way at the O’Neal Cancer Center, with many patients having positive outcomes on these trials.
“It was a true honor recognizing the O’Neal family through ArtBLINK this year,” said Tommy Brigham, O’Neal Advisory Board president. “O’Neal Steel was founded in 1921 and has grown into the nation’s largest family-owned network of metal service centers. They are a family that believes in giving back and have had a tremendous impact elevating the capabilities of our cancer center at UAB as well as in our community and state. We are grateful for the care and generosity of the O’Neal family.”
The UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center raised $1.2 million honoring the O’Neal family at ARTBlink to improve cancer care for those in Alabama and beyond.
To learn more about giving to the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, contact Senior Director of Development Lisa Roth at 205-934-0930 or