 in March 2022, the Parasol Foundation Centre for Women’s Health and Cancer Research is based at Hammersmith and St Mary’s hospitals in north west London.

The research centre, created in partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial Health Charity, will focus on research to develop advanced treatments for women’s cancers, such as ovarian cancer, and explore the health impacts of pre-term birth.

Imperial College Healthcare provides exceptional care and treatment for the communities it serves, and is at the forefront of pioneering clinical research in a wide range of specialist fields. We’re proud to be funding this new London centre with a donation of £2.25mn.

The centre will open up a brand new care pathway for women with gynaecological cancers underpinned by the latest research and treatments. Our donation is enabling Imperial College Healthcare to purchase innovative surgical equipment and award three fellowships for women to lead research in the field. Three additional grants will also be awarded to help Imperial College Healthcare continue its world-leading research in the field of pre-term birth, exploring approaches to reduce the likelihood of premature labour and improve outcomes for women who may be at risk.

The Parasol Foundation Centre for Women’s Health and Cancer Research underlines our long-term commitment to improving women’s health and creating opportunities for women to break down barriers and excel in the fields of science, medicine and research.

As well as the awards programme for women, we’re initiating a research project investigating the impact of gender on career progression for female academics in science and healthcare. We’re planning for the findings to be widely shared to stimulate debate and change.

Press Release

Imperial Health Charity - Centre for women's health

Imperial Health Charity - New women's health research centre

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust - New research centre

Parasol Foundation Centre for Women’s Health and Cancer Research at Imperial College Healthcare

Launched in September 2021, The Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project at the V&A is a major new programme to support women in photography.  

We’re celebrating the achievement of women photographers, opening up empowering opportunities and aiming to inspire future generations of talented females.  One of our largest projects since the Trust was established, the £3mn donation included a personal donation from Ruth underscoring her commitment to promoting women behind and in front of the camera.  

Fiona Rogers became the inaugural Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography in March and will take the lead on new acquisitions, research, education and public displays at the V&A helping the Foundation to celebrate the achievements of women, nurture contemporary artists and inspire the next generation of women photographers to fully express their creativity. 

With a strong focus on digital art and social media, we’re aiming to open up participation, encourage women photographers to achieve their potential and connect with the widest possible international audience.

A new, dedicated Instagram account has been launched by Fiona and the V&A to highlight works by women artists and is already showcasing extraordinary new talent as well as highlighting the role women have played through the history of photography.

You can enjoy on the Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project on Instagram by following 

 Gallery 97 at the V&A – part of the V&A Photography Centre Phase Two development – will be named The Parasol Foundation Gallery and we hope to see you there once it is ready to welcome visitors.

V&A Press Release

V&A Blog

FAD Magazine

Instagram

The Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project at The V&A, London

The Parasol Center for Women's Cancer Research brings together physicians and scientists to focus on how cancer impacts women. This includes both gender-specific cancers (such as breast and ovarian), and other cancers that may affect women differently than men (such as thyroid and lung cancers).

The Center aims to develop a variety of research protocols and clinical trials to develop new approaches to early detection, prevention and individualized treatments that will improve cancer survival for women. 

Integral to the project is an awards programme supporting outstanding women physicians to hold leading clinical positions and carry out independent pioneering clinical research.

The Parasol Center for Women's Cancer is one of the Foundation’s most significant long-term projects. We have donated over $3 million in funding support since it was established in 2016 and continue to support it.

The project builds on our longstanding relationship with the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

Parasol Women's Cancer Research Center (tasmc.org.il)

The Parasol Center for Women’s Cancer Research at Sourasky Medical Center

 is passionate about widening opportunities, supporting women’s health and helping women to achieve their potential in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine.

The Parasol Foundation Trust has awarded over £35mn to a series of ambitious projects and collaborations since it was established in 2004.

Creating opportunities for women to pursue their dreams and inspiring the next generation to follow in their footsteps.

Parasol Foundation

Women in Science

Women in Art

Women in Health

Future Generations

Principal Benefactress

Our Principal Benefactress, Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol.

Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol was born in 1967 and is one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and businesswomen. With a self-made portfolio of over $1b, she, and her international team excel in Real Estate, Asset Management and Private Equity.

"Lifting up special students and research ideas, preserving a piece of history, contributing to a park, helping make a dream come true, this is what we are about."

Our Team

Gibraltar

United Kingdom

Israel

India

Other

The situation in Ukraine right now is devastating and we’re working with 

 to create opportunities for women to continue their STEM studies in Israel.

We’re offering fully-paid undergraduate scholarships to four talented young women from the war-torn regions of Ukraine so they can pursue their dreams and achieve their potential as Parasol Foundation Scholars

The female undergraduate students will join a growing network of talented Parasol Foundation students stretching across Israel, the US, UK and Gibraltar.

The four women who take up the scholarships this Fall semester will be nurtured and supported by Reichman University throughout their degrees to ensure they flourish and succeed in their studies.

The Parasol Foundation Scholarship Program is the first of its kind at Reichman University, providing full scholarships to those whose lives have been disrupted by war. The Program is led by Jonathan Davis, Vice President of External Relations and Head of the Raphael Recanati International School at Reichman University

Parasol Foundation Scholarship Program for Ukrainian Women launched at Reichman University

The Parasol Foundation Trust is donating £1.5mn to the new Gibraltar National Theatre and Cultural Hub development at the John Mackintosh Hall.

Announced at a special dinner to celebrate Ruth Parasol’s 18th anniversary in Gibraltar, our significant new donation to the community is the latest in a long line of local initiatives supported by the Parasol Foundation. Beginning with the renovation of the Mediterranean steps more than a decade ago, the Foundation has gone on to help support the University of Gibraltar, The Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts, mammography unit at GHA and many other local initiatives.

By supporting the National Theatre and Cultural Hub – now in the detailed design stage - we’re hoping to help nurture the gifts of the whole community as well as attracting talent to Gibraltar.

Our donation helps kick-start major funding for the the theatre’s development and The Parasol Foundation Art Gallery will be established as a bespoke area to showcase art and collections for everyone in in Gibraltar to enjoy. We’ll also fund a new female led initiative as part of the project’s next phase.

Once complete, the new theatre and cultural hub will also house a new lending library, 1000 seat theatre and smaller 250 seat studio theatre.

The announcement of the Parasol Foundation’s donation was warmly welcomed by the Gibraltar government and the Governor of Gibraltar, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel.

Parasol Foundation supports new Gibraltar National Theatre and female led initiative

In June we celebrated the launch of The Parasol Foundation Centre for Women’s Health and Cancer Research at Hammersmith and St Mary’s hospitals in north west London.

We’ve created the research centre in partnership with Imperial Health Charity and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust which is at the forefront of pioneering clinical research in a wide range of specialist fields.

Our £2.25mn donation will fund research to develop advanced treatments for women’s cancers, such as ovarian cancer, and explore the health impacts of pre-term birth. We’re helping to open up a new care pathway, fund innovative surgical equipment and explore approaches for reducing the likelihood of premature birth.

We’re supporting six fellowships for women to lead research in these fields. Dr Lynne Sykes, one of the early recipients a Parasol Foundation Fellowship, spoke movingly of her personal experiences of cancer and her drive to understand why pre-term birth happens, how we can possibly predict it and whether new therapeutic agents can be introduced to prevent pre-term delivery. Her dream in the next five years is to get close to being able to give women something that’s going to alter or modulate their immune response, which means that they can progress the pregnancy to full term and deliver at the right time.

We also heard from Dr Farah Rehman who illustrated, through the story of one breast cancer patient, the power of research to significantly improve the experiences and outcomes for women living with cancer. Imperial Health Charity is seeking help to expand the Parasol Foundation Centre’s research programme into breast cancer and you can find out more at 

Our new London centre underlines the strength of our commitment to improving women’s health. The project builds on our existing support for Laniado Hospital (Israel), Marin Health Medical Center (California) and the Parasol Foundation Women’s Cancer Research Center at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv - one of our most significant long-term projects and one we have funded since its inception in 2016.

Creating opportunities for women to pursue their dreams and inspiring the next generation to follow in their footsteps.

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