The Held Foundation made a $100,000 gift to support COVID-19 research, specifically to accelerate the development of UCLA’s novel mass-testing technology for SARS-CoV-2, called SwabSeq. In contrast to standard clinical testing, in which one person’s sample is tested in a single test tube, this technology is capable of simultaneously testing thousands of samples and producing accurate results in 12 to 24 hours.
The UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation continues to benefit from the generosity of the Jonsson family through a donation of $1.3 million. This meaningful contribution will advance the development of new treatments for pancreatic cancer under the direction of Dr. Michael Teitell (PhD ’91, MD ’93), director of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC), UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation president, and Lya and Harrison Latta Endowed Chair in Pathology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Linda and Ken Suslow have contributed $1 million to benefit those receiving care at UCLA. Half of the gift will support the Chase Child Life Program at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, providing holistic developmental therapies and services for UCLA’s youngest patients and their families. The other half established the Suslow Family Patient Emergency Assistance Fund in the UCLA Department of Care Coordination and Clinical Social Work, which will help cover housing, food vouchers, transportation, durable medical goods and other needs identified by care teams.
Co-chairs of the UCLA Arline and Henry Gluck Stroke Rescue Program’s Council of Advocates, Laura and Mark Wittcoff made a gift to establish the Marjorie Scherck and Raymond Wittcoff Nursing Fellowship in Stroke Care Innovation. Memorializing Laura’s grandmother and Mark’s father, committed champions of quality nursing care, the fellowship will help sustain crucial nursing staff in the program’s mobile stroke unit under the direction of Dr. May Nour (RES ’13, FEL ’14, ’15). The program currently reaches western, southern and South Bay regions in Los Angeles County, with plans to expand to additional areas in the future.
For more information, contact Health Sciences Development at: 310-206-6484
