An anonymous donor has made a significant investment, totaling more than $17.5 million, in UCLA Health Sciences. The gifts were made with the intent of advancing key initiatives at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Health and inspiring others to do so. The contributions include support for innovative research, training and education programs, faculty and hospital care in the Departments of Medicine and Urology and the Division of Digestive Diseases; and the UCLA Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship — meritbased, full-tuition scholarships that are among the highest honors awarded to entering medical students. The donor is a steadfast UCLA partner whose generosity will touch countless lives and whose commitment to students, faculty and patients continues to be transformative.
Stacey and Sterling Ball have contributed $1.35 million through the Casey Lee Ball Foundation to Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, bringing their total giving to the hospital to $8 million. The gift will benefit the Pediatric Renal Transplantation Program by funding not only the research work of pediatric nephrologist Dr. Eileen Tsai (FEL ’07), who treats renal failure, kidney stones, chronic kidney disease and other conditions affecting the kidneys, but also fellowship training and clinical programs that assist in the transition from pediatric to adult care. Carole Gaba and her daughters have made a gift of $500,000 in loving memory of Hal Gaba to establish the Hal Gaba Director’s Fund for Cancer Stem Cell Research at UCLA’s Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research. This funding will support the work of the center’s multidisciplinary teams of basic and clinical scientists, under the direction of Dr. Owen Witte, to develop novel stem-cell therapies for prostate cancer and other forms of aggressive small-cell cancers, including breast, ovarian and lung cancers.
The James and Ada Horwich Family Foundation made a $250,000 gift to the UCLA Division of Cardiology in support of the new Women’s Cardiovascular Center, under the direction of Dr. Karol E. Watson (RES ’92, FEL ’97). The center’s physicianscientists provide the best possible clinical expertise, conduct cuttingedge research and are involved in the latest clinical trials aimed at improving cardiovascular diagnosis, treatment, management and care for women with, or at risk for, heart disease. The funds will be used for pioneering investigations into the differences of heart disease in men and women.
Audrey Irmas has contributed $1 million in memory of her son Rob Irmas and in gratitude to Dr. Nader Pouratian (MD ’03) in the UCLA Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Pouratian was able to give Rob Irmas precious time to share with his family and friends, to touch the world in his unique way and to marry his fiancée Michelle. The funds will establish the Irmas Family Fund for Neurobionics Research and will support new developments in brain-function-restoration therapies and technologies.
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Leonard and Elaine Millman |
Mike and Linda Keston have made a gift of $1 million to support the research of Drs. John Belperio and Joseph P. Lynch III in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. The funding will help Drs. Belperio and Lynch in their efforts to understand chronic lung-transplant rejection at the molecular level, with the hope of extending patient survival without the prolonged use of immunosuppressive medications. In addition, the Kestons made a contribution directed to the squamous-cell cancer research of Dr. Teresa Soriano (RES ’99, FEL ’01) in the Division of Dermatology. Squamous-cell cancer frequently affects immunosuppressed individuals.
A bequest of more than $1 million from Leonard and Elaine Millman will be divided between the Division of Cardiac Surgery and the Division of Cardiology to support the joint surgical/medical UCLA Heart Transplant Program. The gift will establish the Leonard and Elaine Millman Advanced Heart Failure Fellowship Fund in the Division of Cardiology and the Leonard and Elaine Millman Heart Transplant and Advanced Cardiac Therapies Fund in the Division of Cardiac Surgery. In addition, the Millmans made an unrestricted estate gift to benefit Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Building upon 15 years of dedication to UCLA Health Sciences, the James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust has made a $196,020 contribution to support the HIV/AIDS research of the UCLA AIDS Institute. The gift will enable the purchase and upgrade of essential instruments and allow the institute’s team of researchers to increase the speed and efficacy of data analysis on novel prevention and treatment efforts. The UCLA AIDS Institute was established in 1992 and is committed to eradicating HIV/ AIDS worldwide through research and clinical care.
For more information, contact Health Sciences Development at: (310) 267-1845
