Since opening in 1999, Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine has cared for more than 1.5 million cancer patients seeking hope and healing. Today, Siteman ranks among the nation’s premier cancer centers, renowned for its exceptional treatment and groundbreaking research in diagnosis, care, and prevention.
Last year, Siteman’s pioneering science received a significant boost from a trio of St. Louis-based donors who made gifts to the Washington University Cancer Innovation Fund, an endowed fund that provides vital unrestricted support for Siteman’s top research priorities. In October 2025, Phil and Gerry Kneisel committed $1 million to the endowment. And in December 2025, real estate developer Michael Staenberg made a $500,000 pledge to the fund through his Staenberg Family Foundation. Their gifts advance WashU’s efforts to promote healthier lives through With You: The WashU Campaign.
“Unrestricted support is an invaluable resource,” says Siteman Director Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, who manages the fund alongside WashU Medicine Dean David H. Perlmutter, MD. “It gives us the flexibility to invest quickly in our most promising areas of science to maintain and accelerate progress where we need it most. Donors like Gerry, Phil, and Michael are fueling truly groundbreaking research that is leading us closer and closer to making cancer a manageable disease. Siteman couldn’t be more grateful for their partnership.”
Setting standards for excellence and innovation
Siteman serves more than 75,000 patients from around the globe each year — making it one of the nation’s most-visited cancer centers. It is the only cancer center in Missouri and central and southern Illinois to hold the prestigious Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, an “Exceptional” rating from the National Cancer Institute, and membership in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
At Siteman, more than 600 researchers and clinician-scientists work together to translate the latest laboratory discoveries into new solutions for diagnosis, care, and prevention. Their latest innovations are currently being evaluated in more than 1,000 clinical studies.
“Donors like Gerry, Phil, and Michael are fueling truly groundbreaking research that is leading us closer and closer to making cancer a manageable disease.”
Timothy J. Eberlein, MD
Unrestricted gifts from donors such as the Kneisels and Staenberg enable researchers to explore high-risk, high-reward ideas and to sustain momentum on well-established, successful projects. Crucially, philanthropy also enables early-stage science, paving the way for securing major federal funding. Notable examples include Siteman’s three prestigious National Cancer Institute Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants, which focus on pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, and leukemia.
Thanks in part to philanthropic support, Siteman is changing the cancer landscape for the better. Advances include developing targeted cancer therapies such as personalized cancer vaccines, immunotherapies, nanotherapies to correct gene defects and deliver chemotherapy, and CAR T-cell therapy — which engineers a patient’s own T cells to better recognize and attack cancer cells. Scientists at Siteman also are devising better ways to spot cancer early, when it is most treatable, and to prevent it altogether. This success is driven by extensive basic science uncovering cancer’s underlying causes at the molecular and genetic level, and by world-leading strength in data science, AI, genomics, imaging, immunology, and many other disciplines.
“It’s truly amazing what Siteman has been able to achieve, and philanthropy is an absolute bedrock of our success,” Eberlein says. “With the partnership of our wonderful donors, I’ve never been more hopeful about the future of cancer care.”
A personal connection
The Kneisels’ gift grew from personal connections to cancer and a desire to make a difference right now.
“Everybody we know has been touched by cancer somehow, including me,” says Phil, who is currently a patient at Siteman. “Anything we can do to help find solutions is really meaningful to us. We wanted to make this gift while we’re still here to see its benefits.”
St. Louis natives and high school sweethearts, the Kneisels settled in Chicago and eventually founded Argos Technologies, a medical technology company that manufactures equipment and supplies for research laboratories worldwide. Over the years, the couple has been pleasantly surprised to spot some of Argos’ more sophisticated products as “eye candy” on television programs, including ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” and the Fox procedural “Bones.”
The business was a natural extension of Phil’s longtime interest in science. He worked in a cancer research lab while majoring in biology at the University of Missouri and still enjoys a fascination with immunology. After selling the company and retiring in 2017, the couple returned to their hometown to be near their children and extended family.
Phil’s experience as a current patient of Nancy L. Bartlett, MD, the Koman Professor of Medical Oncology in WashU Medicine’s Division of Oncology and a nationally renowned medical oncologist at Siteman, solidified the couple’s decision to direct their philanthropy to Siteman — their first major gift to the institution.
“The care you get at Siteman is just the best,” says Phil, who has experience with other cancer centers. “At some places, they barely know you. But at Siteman, they treat you as a person. They take their time. They listen to you. I can’t think of a better place to be treated.”
Building a stronger St. Louis
Staenberg shares the Kneisels’ sense of urgency in fighting cancer, as many of his friends and family have relied on Siteman for care. “I really want to make an impact now,” he says. “Why wait?”
Giving to Siteman is part of Staenberg’s deep personal and professional commitment to building a stronger St. Louis. He heads the Staenberg Group, a prominent St. Louis-based real estate and development firm responsible for more than 200 entertainment and retail centers in the region and around the country. The company focuses on developments that foster healthy, sustainable communities.
“Siteman is a hugely important institution for our region,” Staenberg says. “It makes St. Louis a better place to live. We know that medical research is a step-by-step process. I want to help Siteman get to the next step.”
Staenberg has been a loyal supporter of Siteman and WashU since 2005, when a chance meeting with Eberlein at a social event piqued his attention. His contributions to Siteman, some through the Staenberg Family Foundation, include a substantial initial gift in 2005 and $25,000 gifts nearly every year since 2012. He also has supported the WashU Medicine Living Well Center, which helps patients adjust their lifestyle and behaviors to optimize health, and the Kim and Tim Eberlein Impact Fund. His philanthropy established the annual Holocaust Lecture in the Department of Medicine in 2023, and he is a member of the Eliot Society, which recognizes donors who give $1,000 or more each year to the university’s Annual Fund.
Staenberg’s philanthropy extends beyond the Medical Campus. He is a major patron of Jewish community institutions in St. Louis, Denver, and his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. He also is a generous supporter of Forest Park Forever, among other local causes.
Meaningful recognition
In September 2024, Siteman’s Gary C. Werths Building opened on the Washington University Medical Campus. The beautiful, modern facility consolidates Siteman’s outpatient care under one roof to improve patient convenience, coordinate team care, and expand capacity for clinical trials.
In recognition of the donors’ generosity, Siteman has named three spaces in the Werths Building. The Staenberg Family Comfort Room on the eighth floor provides soothing, private spaces for families, and the Staenberg Family Staff Lounge on the sixth floor serves members of the medical care team. And on the sixth floor, the Philip and Geralyn Kneisel Lounge offers patients a spacious waiting area. All three donors say it is gratifying to have their names associated with a place that helps patients.
“When you have cancer, it’s essential to get your mental health on the right page,” Phil says. “The Werths Building feels fresh and open. To me, it’s uplifting to be there. I hope it is for other patients, too.”
The Kneisels say they are excited by the promise of what philanthropic support for the Cancer Innovation Fund will make possible. “Knowing that our donation will make things better for future patients — you can’t put a price tag on that,” Gerry says. “We’re fortunate to be able to make this gift. Supporting cancer research is extremely critical.”
Staenberg feels similarly. “Siteman has proven that it’s a national leader,” he says. “I have full confidence that WashU Medicine will use this money wisely. This gift is my way of leading by example and inspiring others to do the same.”
Learn more about how you can support research and patient care at WashU Medicine.
