Scottrade Founder Riney Gives $1.8M to UAMS Myeloma Center

The Myeloma Institute, located within the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS

The Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation have given $1.8 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Myeloma Center in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute to fund multiple myeloma research.

Rodger Riney is the founder and former CEO of the discount brokerage firm Scottrade of St. Louis. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and has since become an advocate for research and treatment of the disease, including serving on the board of directors for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, UAMS said in a news release. 

“Paula and I are pleased to invest in the UAMS Myeloma Center, which has made great strides in advancing multiple myeloma research and increasing survival rates,” Rodger Riney said. “As a multiple myeloma patient, I understand the critical need to pursue new research and treatments, in hopes of ultimately finding a cure.”

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells in the blood. It develops in the bone marrow where most blood cells are produced and is the second-most common blood-related cancer. UAMS said the Rineys’ donation will help further multiple myeloma research and advance the search for cures and prevention.  

“We are extremely grateful to the Rineys for their generosity and support,” Dr. Frits van Rhee, the center’s clinical director, said. “This gift will fund emerging research crucial to innovation of treatment. Since our founding more than 30 years ago, we have made great strides and impacted thousands of lives through world-class care and research. As we continue to build on the progress we have already achieved, cure will be become a reality for many more patients.”

Myeloma expert Dr. Fenghuang “Frank” Zhan, the center’s research director, will manage the Riney Family Multiple Myeloma Research Program Fund. The Cancer Institute will install a plaque outside Zhan’s laboratory recognizing the gift.

Since its founding in 1989, the UAMS Myeloma Center has seen more than 11,000 patients from every state and more than 50 countries. The center performs more stem cell transplants for myeloma than any other center in the world, according to UAMS.