Saberioon donates $10 million in hopes of eradicating cancer
Author’s note: My goal in writing this column is to highlight the philanthropic efforts of oil and gas executives in an effort to showcase the positives coming from those in the industry. This particular profile is close to my heart. At the beginning of this issue’s production, my grandfather was diagnosed with acute leukemia. By the time we wrapped up, he had passed away.
A humble man with a huge heart, Ali Saberioon is president of Houston-based Sabco Oil and Gas Corp. More than that, he is a humanitarian. Saberioon has long understood the importance of giving. He credits his parents with instilling in him the values of community and benevolence. “They taught us to be grateful for what we have because there are always many others who would wish they had the means that God has bestowed upon us. They also taught us to share what we have in order to multiply the grace and the blessings of God,” he said.
Ali and his wife, Gita, have been sharing what they could since college. “My wife and I have been involved in charitable efforts as far back in our life as the college years when our financial means were very limited at best,” he said. “By the grace of God, we are able today to spend our assets in ways that impacts our fellow human beings more effectively, but even during the college years, my wife and I shared what we had in total anonymity with those who were not as fortunate.”
His involvement with the MD Anderson Cancer Center came many years ago when his life crossed paths with a young man who was suffering from acute leukemia at the peak of his life. Saberioon stated that “MD Anderson Cancer Center proved to be the best medical facility to treat this gentleman. They not only extended their state-of-the-art facility and expertise, but the hearts and spirits of their wonderful staff. I will never forget the role the administrative and medical staff of MD Anderson played in returning this young man’s life to him.”
It was after this encounter that Saberioon became a champion in the fight against cancer. He has been a member of the center’s board of visitors since 2004 and was recently asked to chair the board in coming years. “I have always had a very tough standard in qualifying everything and everybody that comes in the path of my life. MD Anderson passed the test of my scrutiny with flying colors. They met my standards, thus won my contributions,” he said.
The Saberioon’s recent contribution was $10 million to Houston’s South Campus Research Initiative of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In recognition of their generosity, MD Anderson named its Molecular Markers Research building in their honor.
The 4-story, 132,000 square foot Saberioon Molecular Markers Research Building opened in the fall of 2005 and houses the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers. The Kleberg Center aims to individualize treatment by analyzing the changes in genes and proteins that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells and one cancer cell from another.
The building also houses labs in molecular therapeutics, molecular pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, gastrointestinal medicine and nutrition, gastrointestinal medical oncology, cancer biology, and clinical cancer prevention.
“The Saberioons’ generosity will help decades of cancer patients as their gift pushes forward research in the areas of early detection and treatment,” said MD Anderson president John Mendelsohn, MD.
Saberioon and his wife have praised MD Anderson’s leadership and ‘world-class’ researchers, physicians, and caregivers. “Hopefully through this gift we can be a part of eradicating this terrible disease. I am very pleased to be part of a program in which we believe we can help others,” he concluded.