Dunard Fund USA has contributed $2 million to the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge (DGC) to support its Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression (STAND) system of care, which helps UCLA students who are at risk for depression or suicide and offers them treatment free of charge. Developed by the DGC, the program uses online screening and mobile technology, evidence-based treatment and ongoing assessment to deliver personalized care to more patients.
The unique model made UCLA the first university to offer screening for students and an immediate connection to appropriate levels of care. The gift from the Dunard Fund USA will enable the DGC to enhance the program by incorporating real-time symptom- and behavior-tracking; adding new modules for sleep and substance-use disorders; assessing the impact of the environment, including diet, and extra resources for translating materials; training coaches; and exploring how to link participants to social services. The UCLA DGC plans to expand among a new group in 2020 with STAND 2.0, which will be available to Los Angeles community college students.
UCLA alumnus Dr. Emil Kakkis has given $100,000 to establish the Suzanne Eaton, PhD Memorial Prize Fund under the Graduate Programs in Bioscience in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The gift honors Dr. Suzanne Eaton, a renowned, award-winning scientist and alumna, who received her PhD in microbiology in 1987. Dr. Eaton died in the summer of 2019, and the fund will support doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows following in her footsteps in the fields of microbiology, immunology, biological chemistry or molecular biology. Dr. Kakkis is joined by friends and family of Dr. Eaton in establishing this new fund.
Lauren and Bobby Turner have renewed their commitment to the UCLA Community Engagement Program in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA with a $250,000 gift to support the Turner-UCLA Allied Health Internship Program. This transformational program is designed to offer high school students and recent graduates from underresourced communities career education and exposure to allied health pathways. Established in 2017, this gift will expand the Turner-UCLA Allied Health Internship Program size by 50 percent, advancing the program’s efforts to address workforce shortages in allied health careers.
For more information, contact Health Sciences Development at: 310-206-6484
