Hope—the inspiration to realize our dreams, the motivation to carry us forward in troubled times, and the unshakable force every cancer victim can cling to in their darkest hours. Becoming a mecca of hope is the ultimate goal of the Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI), a non-profit, academically linked research and clinical institution co-founded by MGM MIRAGE President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Jim Murren and his wife, Heather, former all-star Wall Street analyst. Both know all too well what it is like to grasp onto nothing more than hope when challenged by one of humanity’s greatest battles. Before the couple moved to Nevada from the East Coast in 1998, they suffered the indelible loss of family members to cancer: Jim’s father died of melanoma; Heather’s grandfather died of brain cancer; and her grandmother battled breast cancer.

Fortunately for Nevadans, complacency is not inherent in either Murren. After discovering the numerous trials our state’s cancer victims endure, Jim and Heather made a forever-life-altering decision. Despite their extremely busy careers and family demands, Jim and Heather optimized their resources and personal experiences to form the Nevada Cancer Institute. Fervent to make their new endeavor a success, Heather retired from her position as managing director, Global Securities Research and Economics for Merrill Lynch in January of 2002 to become President and Chief Executive Officer of the institute.