Dr. Beno and Elaine Michel accelerate biomedical breakthroughs at CWRU School of Medicine with $1M gift

Beno Michel, MD, and his wife, Elaine, are fueling Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine to advance early-stage biomedical discoveries into life-changing patient treatments. With a $1 million gift supporting the Council to Advance Human Health (CAHH) Accelerator Fund, the Michels are creating the Elaine and Beno Michel, MD Endowed Accelerator Fund, providing crucial early-stage proof-of-concept funding and strategic guidance to help bridge the gap between biomedical discovery and patient care.

“Over the past decade, CAHH has served as an anchor for establishing a culture of entrepreneurship across our university,” said Stan Gerson, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. “Dr. Michel's visionary leadership helped shape the council into what it is today, and the sustained support of philanthropic partners like Beno and Elaine is indispensable to bridging our laboratory innovations to patients.”

Dr. Michel joined the CWRU faculty in 1968 and currently serves as a clinical professor emeritus of dermatology, bringing a commitment to innovation that draws directly from his own legacy as a pioneering researcher. His scientific contributions include the 1976 development of "Michel’s Transport Solution"—the global gold standard for preserving skin biopsy specimens for immunopathology testing. The School of Medicine's Medical Alumni Board recognized Dr. Michel’s leadership with the 2025 Honorary Alumnus Award, bestowed annually on a non-graduate who has built a distinguished career while making a lasting impact on the institution.

De-risking laboratory innovations

Moving groundbreaking discoveries from the lab to viable medical treatments requires extensive testing, prototyping and commercialization planning. Traditional funding agencies primarily invest in early basic research, leaving a critical gap for the high-risk, "proof-of-concept" experiments needed to prove a discovery can work outside of the laboratory.

To close that gap, CAHH links researchers with a national network of alumni advisors across science, industry and venture capital. Its donor-funded Accelerator Fund provides targeted grants of $50,000-$100,000 to support the key validation experiments required to attract commercial partners, secure venture funding and advance discoveries toward new therapies for patients.

"The function of the council is to help these scientists decide relatively quickly: can this be successful, or is it not going to be successful, so we shouldn't invest a lot more time or money? It’s a de-risking mechanism," explained Dr. Michel.

About half of the projects reviewed through CAHH yield patents, clinical trials and healthcare startups. Since 2012, CAHH has invested nearly $3 million across 41 projects, resulting in 15 licenses, six clinical trials and 13 startups that have raised over $200 million in follow-on funding. Currently, 25 funded projects are in the CAHH pipeline.

For Dr. Michel, that early backing is vital to keeping those discoveries local. “My frustration was seeing companies get formed here and then leave Cleveland for places like Boston or San Francisco because of a lack of early risk capital,” he said.
 
Driven by this frustration, Dr. Michel joined forces with Mark Chance, PhD, a CWRU Distinguished University Professor who was spearheading the development of a venture fund to keep emerging life sciences startups in the region. Together, they co-founded the Cleveland Life Science Accelerator Fund, alongside Cleveland business leaders Edward Hemmelgarn (WRC ’76, MGT ’80), CEO of Shaker Investments; Robert Hurwitz, founder of The Coral Company; and Art Elk, co-founding partner of Elk & Elk.

“By providing this early backing, we help ensure our local innovations can stay, grow and create impact right here. Case Western Reserve has a remarkably nurturing environment where scientists are encouraged and supported to take risks on big ideas.”

A partnership of resilience and purpose

Dr. Michel’s career in medicine and innovation is rooted in his 69-year partnership with his wife, Elaine. After fleeing postwar Romania and overcoming challenges to attend medical school, the couple moved to Switzerland, where Dr. Michel enrolled at the University of Geneva Medical School.

During this time, Elaine Michel worked at the International Committee for European Migration, a United Nations-affiliated international organization, which covered their living expenses and medical insurance, allowing the couple to raise their young sons, Marc and Loren, while Dr. Michel completed his degree. The couple later welcomed their third son, Lee, a native Clevelander. Today, the Michels share that they are "blessed" with five grandchildren—Samantha, Benjamin, Julia, Daniel and Margot—and two "wonderful" daughters-in-law, Beverly and Cindy.

“We were very fortunate because of that job in Switzerland. It allowed Beno to become what he wanted to become,” Elaine Michel said. “Nobody helped us when we were starting out. Because of the struggles we managed through together, we always wanted to share because we felt so fortunate in our lives. Even a little support can allow someone to carry on.”

Inspired by that spirit, the couple has maintained a deep, lifelong commitment to supporting educational, humanitarian and healthcare causes.

“When we considered making this gift, our focus was simple: could this money make a significant impact on research and improve patient outcomes?” said Dr. Michel. “If an investment can reduce risk for promising science and bring life-saving treatments to patients faster, there is no better use for it.”