For a family that’s done so much for kidney research, The Ottawa Hospital came up with the perfect gift: fresh white lab coats for the whole crew, including pint-sized versions for Russ and June Jones’s grandchildren.

The feel-good family moment came during last week’s celebration marking the renaming of The Ottawa Hospital’s kidney research centre as The Jones Family Kidney Research Centre in recognition of the family’s “extraordinary” commitment to the field.

During the formal remarks, June Jones shared how she developed kidney disease in 1990, after the birth of her two children. She went on dialysis in 1998 before receiving a kidney transplant later that year. The transplant lasted just shy of 15 years before failing in 2013, putting her back on dialysis.

Finding another kidney became much, much harder, she said. Despite having 16 potential donors, June was told her antibody levels were so high that one scientist put her chances of receiving a second transplant at about one in 30,000. “It would be a true miracle.”

The Joneses decided they wanted to do more than live with kidney disease; they wanted to help change how it was treated. “During this kidney journey, we discovered that kidney research is grossly underfunded,” June told the room. “So instead of accepting this, Russ and I decided to do something about it.”

June Jones at a ceremony held Monday, Sept. 14, 2026 to celebrate the transformational donation of $21 million in total as part of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s Campaign to Create Tomorrow. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Attendees at the ceremony included executives from the hospital and its foundation team, researchers and clinicians, and the Joneses’ daughter Jennifer Neale and son Christopher Jones, their spouses Sam and Jennifer, and the couples’ four children.

“To involve the next generation is important,” Russ Jones said later in an interview. The Carleton University graduate and former CFO at Shopify continues to serve on The Ottawa Hospital Foundation board. He said he also wanted the researchers themselves to be part of the celebration. “It’s important to put a face to the work that they’re doing.”

The gifts are helping The Jones Family Kidney Research Centre advance its work in transplantation, immunology, clinical trials, cell-based therapies, kidney regeneration and nanomedicine, while also training the next generation of researchers.

For June, better care can’t come fast enough. “My focus is that one day, hopefully soon, no one will have to suffer with kidney disease, or the treatment will be significantly improved,” said June, who made a point of crediting Russ, her husband of 43 years, for putting them in a position to give so generously.

Ottawa Hospital Foundation board member Russ Jones, retired CFO of Shopify, and his wife June Jones have cumulatively donated $21 million to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation as part of their investment in kidney research and care. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Kidney disease affects one in 10 Canadians, according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada. That statistic has hit close to home for Ottawa Hospital Foundation CEO Tim Kluke, whose sister had a kidney transplant just 14 days before the ceremony, with her husband as the donor.

Kluke called the ceremony an “absolutely special, special day” for The Ottawa Hospital. Their $21 million in cumulative giving is supporting the foundation at a time when it is raising $500 million through its Campaign to Create Tomorrow. In 2018, the Joneses donated $1 million to support kidney research, followed by a $10 million commitment in 2022 and another $10 million more recently.

Speakers included senior scientist Dr. Dylan Burger, director of The Jones Family Kidney Research Centre. “We really have the science, the expertise and the infrastructure to make the once impossible possible here in Ottawa, and the Jones family is helping us to seize the opportunity and to turn that world-leading research into new treatments and better options,” said Dr. Burger.

Dr. Dylan Burger, director of the Jones Family Kidney Research Centre, called the occasion “a proud day” for the centre’s staff, scientists, clinicians and trainees. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Dr. Dylan Burger with Russ Jones and June Jones as they unveil The Jones Family Kidney Research Centre plaque at The Ottawa Hospital General Campus. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The centre itself has come a long way from its beginnings in the late 1990s, when kidney researchers at The Ottawa Hospital were working out of separate labs with no single facility bringing them together. The idea for a dedicated centre began to take shape after Italian-born Ottawa resident Agostino Monteduro, a kidney disease patient who has since passed away, asked Dr. Kevin Burns, then head of nephrology, why Ottawa had a Cancer Centre and Heart Institute but no kidney research centre.

It took about seven years to make it happen, but a dedicated facility eventually became a reality, built with support from the community and research partners. Several names were mentioned in connection with those efforts, including Monteduro, Dr. David Levine, Sam Karkache, the late Dave Smith and Dr. Richard Hébert.

“At the [kidney research centre] opening, I expressed my sincere optimism that this kidney research centre would positively impact the lives of people in our region, across Canada and around the world affected by kidney disease, and I’m convinced that that has already happened,” said Dr. Burns, founding director of the hospital’s kidney research centre.

“My optimism is magnified many times today by this incredible donation from the Jones family,” continued Dr. Burns, who got to personally know the Jones family over the years, describing them as “incredible” people.

“They’re resilient and energetic; they don’t take no for an answer. Obviously, they’re very generous, and what I would call ‘salt of the earth’,” said Dr. Burns.

“In my business, the word ‘salt’ sometimes has negative connotations, but I think you know what I mean,” he added, drawing chuckles from the room.

Award-winning senior scientist Dr. Kevin Burns, founding director of The Ottawa Hospital’s kidney research centre, spoke about how far the centre has come during a ceremony, held Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, marking its renaming in honour of the Jones family. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Hospital leaders described research and patient care not as two separate worlds, but as something increasingly intertwined. As the hospital’s head of research and innovation, Dr. Rebecca Auer put it, “Research is care.”

The Ottawa Hospital president and CEO Cameron Love spoke about just how much research has changed kidney care over the past few decades, and how much more it will improve in the years ahead. He also commended Russ Jones not only for his philanthropy, but for the role he has played in building a stronger community.

Philanthropists Russ and June Jones with their family as they try on their gifts — new lab coats — during a celebration at The Ottawa Hospital’s General Campus marking the renaming of its kidney research centre in their honour. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Dr. Rebecca Auer, executive vice-president of research and innovation at The Ottawa Hospital, was among the speakers at a ceremony held at The Ottawa Hospital General Campus to celebrate Russ Jones and June Jones and their cumulative contribution of $21 million toward kidney research and care. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa Hospital nephrologist Dr. Edward Clark; Dr. Rebecca Auer, executive vice-president of research and innovation at The Ottawa Hospital; and Ottawa Hospital nephrologist Dr. Pierre Antoine Brown at a special ceremony held at the newly renamed Jones Family Kidney Research Centre in honour of Russ and June Jones’s cumulative donation of $21 million toward kidney care and research. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, welcomed attendees to a special ceremony held at The Ottawa Hospital’s General Campus on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026 to celebrate the newly renamed Jones Family Kidney Research Centre. Photo  by Caroline Phillips

Russ Jones and June Jones with Ottawa nephrologist Dr. Shiv Jindal (left) and his wife Sarita Jindal (far right), who previously donated $1 million to the kidney research centre, at an event held Monday, Sept. 14, 2026 to celebrate the newly renamed Jones Family Kidney Research Centre. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Ottawa Hospital CEO Cameron Love spoke about the connection between research and care at a ceremony to celebrate the newly renamed Jones Family Kidney Research Centre. Photo by Caroline Phillips

June Jones, left, and Dr. Rebecca Auer, executive vice-president of research and innovation at The Ottawa Hospital, applaud while sitting next to one another during a celebration marking the renaming of the hospital’s kidney research centre as The Jones Family Kidney Research Centre. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa Hospital CEO Cameron Love; senior scientist and director Dylan Burger; the hospital’s head of research, Dr. Rebecca Auer; donors June Jones and Russ Jones, who’s also on the board of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation; and Ottawa Hospital Foundation CEO Tim Kluke at the newly renamed Jones Family Kidney Research Centre, located at the Ottawa Hospital General Campus. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law, Westland Benefits and Ottawa Rapid FC.

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