The John R. Oishei Foundation has given $300,000 in support of the Todd & Leslie Shatkin Institute for Mobility Innovation & Technology (IMIT) at Daemen College. 
The three-year grant will support IMIT’s staff, specifically the clinical director position, which will be hired next year.
Slated to open in 2022, the venture will provide sophisticated technologies and treatment to those who have lost mobility due to traumatic injury or a health condition.
To date, more than $2 million has been raised for the facility.
“We’re grateful that the learning opportunities at IMIT for Daemen students – and the treatments that will be available for patients – are earning the support of some of our community’s most respected philanthropic organizations,” said Laura Edsberg, director of the Natural and Health Sciences Research Center and a professor of natural sciences at Daemen.
The Oishei Foundation grant comes amid several recent developments on the project, which will feature state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment available at few facilities in the country. 
The college has entered into a five-year lease for a 4,000-square-foot facility for the institute in Amherst, less than a mile from campus. Equipment purchases are also underway, with a Hocoma Lokomat and Bioness Vector having been secured.
Esther Annan, program officer with the Oishei Foundation commented, “Not only will IMIT provide cutting-edge treatment for those suffering traumatic injuries, but it will also provide education, advocacy, and research for our region,” she said. “We are honored to support this critical initiative.”
* As of November 2022, Todd and Leslie Shatkin are no longer affiliated with the IMIT project.