The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute has a newly endowed division, called the Robert Altman Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery, following a $10 million gift from the Robert and Lynda Altman Family Foundation.

The gift supports ongoing research, education and care to support the world-renowned center, which provides less-invasive surgical care to patients of all ages presenting with a range of urological conditions.

“Our goal is to continue to make surgeries more precise and help patients recover faster,” says Mohammad Allaf, M.D., director of the Brady Urological Institute. “This gift will help advance more than a century of innovation at Johns Hopkins Medicine that has helped patients live better and longer, while improving the practice of urological surgical care.”

This gift will accelerate ongoing advancements in education, surgical training and care at the Brady Urological Institute. It includes supporting the use of robotic surgery, 3D printers that create lifelike organs to help surgeons simulate procedures, and technology to provide surgeons with advanced imaging to gain multidimensional views and feedback about precise movements happening inside of the body, including during surgery.

“We have a legacy of not just being early adopters of, but pioneers of these technologies,” says Allaf. “The Carter Altman Family Foundation’s gift enables us to invest more in humans, to invest in infrastructure, to pivot in developing the latest minimally invasive treatments, and also to implement these treatments and share these developments with the world.”

“I’m excited to see how this emerges and the new students, including these wonder women surgeons,” says Carter, an actress, singer/songwriter and philanthropist. “They will push this technology into the future and do the right thing for people.”

Carter is well known for her role as the star of the television series Wonder Woman. She was married to the late Robert Altman, an esteemed attorney, pioneering business leader and devoted family man, for nearly 40 years. He is survived by Lynda and their children, Jessica and James.

The Robert and Lynda Carter Altman Family Foundation is committed to supporting innovations in healthcare, education and social justice. The gift follows Altman’s legacy of investing in growth and innovation, including technology, and a profound desire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

The innovations at the Brady Urological Institute started more than 100 years ago. They have since redefined the role that research can have in education and care, and introduced new surgical and treatment approaches for a variety of conditions, including prostate and bladder cancer.

To learn more about the Robert Altman Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery, visit hopkins.org/RAD.

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Video: Lynda Carter invests in "wonder women" surgeons through the new Robert Altman Division