A Special Birthday “Gift”
Theodore “Ted” Oshrine (Col ’70) wanted to make his wife’s birthday special. But when he asked her what she wanted, Eugenia “Jean” Oshrine said she didn’t need or want anything. Ted considered buying a blouse, a book or something similar, but none of those gifts felt particularly meaningful.
For her birthday, Ted made a gift supporting pancreatic cancer research—and, in doing so, named a room at the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center in Jean’s honor. A plaque will hang outside the MR linear accelerator (MR-LINAC) treatment room, where focused external-beam radiation treatments are delivered. UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center is among the first 25 centers nationwide to install a MRIdian® MR-linac machine.
“I can’t pinpoint exactly when this idea came to me, but knowing her history with cancer, this felt like the right thing to do,” Ted said.
He continued: “I contacted a gift officer to see if this would be possible, and I was thrilled to find out that we could do it. We wanted to keep it a surprise, so I haven’t even told our children,”
Jean is a pancreatic cancer survivor. Although she was not treated at the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, a friend of hers was—and that friend is Debbie Ryan, the longtime women’s basketball coach at UVA.
“Debbie and Jean are the only two pancreatic cancer survivors I know personally. Through conversations about my wife’s experience, Debbie introduced us to UVA’s Kim Kelly, and that connection inspired our first gift,” Ted said.
The Oshrines are longtime supporters of Kimberly Kelly, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. “Through their generosity, we’ve developed an antibody-based drug that allows the immune system to attack and kill tumor cells,” Kelly said. “We are honored and grateful for the belief they have in us. They have entrusted us to be stewards of their gift and to turn it into cutting-edge medicines and train the next generation of stellar scientists and engineers.”
More recently, the Oshrines learned about the pancreatic cancer research of Todd Bauer, MD, Stephen H. Watts Professorship in Surgery II, chief of Surgical Oncology, and co-founder of UVA Health’s High-Risk Pancreatic Cancer Screening Clinic. They subsequently decided to divide their support between the two programs.
“They are supporting my translational research laboratory, which is using patient-derived tumor models to investigate the drivers of pancreatic cancer growth, progression, and metastasis. By employing cutting-edge technologies such as single-cell sequencing and CRISPR screening, we are working to develop novel approaches to treating pancreatic cancer,” Dr. Bauer said. “We’re very grateful for their support.”
Meaningful Giving
Ted and both of the Oshrines’ children graduated from the University of Virginia. When he considered making a gift, he selected UVA Health because it felt meaningful to their family—a place where three Wahoos have built many deep friendships and connections.
Jean and Ted’s daughter, Sasha Oshrine Keough (Col ’00), is an attorney who lives in Baltimore, and their son, Benjamin Reed Oshrine (Med ’08), is a pediatric oncologist in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Oshrines are fortunate to have five grandchildren, as well.
“I’ve remained connected to UVA for many years. I still attend basketball games whenever I can and have maintained season tickets,” said Ted, who retired after serving as a judge in Baltimore for 25 years full time and another five years part time.
The Oshrines visited Charlottesville last year and met with Dr. Todd Bauer and Kim Kelly.
“They were wonderful. They introduced us to their teams, explained their research, showed us their facilities, and shared the goals they are working toward. We were very impressed by both the science and the people behind it,” Ted said.
“The early detection research they’re doing in pancreatic cancer is incredibly important. As I understand it, pancreatic cancer often presents very few symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage. Early detection can be the difference between life and death,” Ted said.
He explained that, in Jean’s case, doctors discovered two very small lesions on her pancreas during imaging ordered for an unrelated reason. At the time, they were too small even to biopsy. Eventually, the lesions grew, but the cancer was still caught at an early stage. She underwent surgery in Baltimore in 2013, during which part of her pancreas and her spleen were removed. She then completed six months of chemotherapy. Since then, Jean has continued to have regular follow-up appointments and has remained cancer-free.
“We feel extremely fortunate,” Ted said. “In fact, pancreatic cancer was not her first battle with cancer. Through it all, she has shown incredible strength and resilience. Today, she’s doing very well. Like many people our age, she deals with the usual aches and pains, but considering everything she has endured, she’s thriving. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to do something special in her honor. She truly deserves to have something named after her.”
The Oshrines still make trips to Charlottesville, especially for basketball games.
“We love being part of the UVA community and look forward to visiting whenever we can. It’s been a pleasure learning more about what UVA Health is doing, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute,” Ted said.