Eli and Edythe Broad. Photo: Courtesy of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has awarded $1.2 million to the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Under the direction of Dr. Charalabos “Harry” Pothoulakis, director of basic research in the UCLA Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) and Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research, the Broad Foundation’s gift will capitalize on its decade of support by providing resources for early-career scientists pursuing new discoveries in the understanding and treatment of IBD. This funding is vital to investigators launching their careers as they pursue early-stage IBD research. In the 10 years since its founding, the UCLA Center for IBD has made significant advances in the field and, in collaboration with Dr. Dimitrios Iliopoulos, director of the UCLA Center for Systems Biomedicine, discovered two new drugs to treat IBD.
Shaobo Cheng, president of Shandong Longlive Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., has made a $500,000 contribution to the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. The gift, under the direction of Dr. Zhaoping Li (FEL ’94), Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Human Nutrition, chief of the Division of Clinical Nutrition and director of the Center for Human Nutrition, will establish The Shandong Longlive Nutrition Training Fund to support the center’s postdoctoral training program.
Karyn Jackson set up a charitable remainder trust to benefit the Division of Thoracic Surgery in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The gift will establish The Kariel Butner Huff and Bernard “Mac” McMorrow Fund for Lung Research. The fund will support lung and heart research under the administration and direction of Dr. Jay M. Lee (MD ’97), associate professor of surgery and chief of the UCLA Division of Thoracic Surgery.
The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA has received a gift of $200,000 from Marlene and Donald Kottler to support innovative research of Lewy body disease, one of the most common causes of dementia in the elderly. This contribution will enable Dr. David Merrill (RES ’08, FEL ’10) and his colleagues in the UCLA Cognitive Health Clinic, in the UCLA Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, to study, test and identify novel treatments for this debilitating disease and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
The UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation has received distributions totaling more than $3 million from the estate of Beverly McLaughlin to support highest priority research at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC). McLaughlin was a steadfast supporter of the JCCC for 15 years. She enjoyed keeping informed of the latest research breakthroughs made at UCLA and their positive impact on cancer patients around the world and their families. Her bequest will help to continue this life-changing work well into the future.
Helene Spiegel and the Thomas Spiegel Family Foundation have contributed $265,800 to the UCLA Kidney Transplant Program to support postoperative on-campus housing for qualified UCLA kidney transplant patients. Under the direction of Dr. Gabriel Danovitch, medical director of the UCLA Kidney Transplant Program, and Dr. Hans A. Gritsch (RES ’91), surgical director of the Kidney Transplant Program, the Spiegel family’s gift will provide housing on campus to patients who travel long distances, enabling UCLA to provide optimal postoperative care, which will facilitate patient recovery.
Dr. Jim Truchard has made a gift of $500,000 to benefit the UCLA Department of Neurology. Funds will be used for translational studies in preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease. Investigations, led by Drs. Greg Cole and Sally Frautschy, will include studying the role of ApoE genes. This contribution also will support the molecular analysis of various projects based on the findings from research on the role that curcumin plays in scientific models. Curcumin is an amyloid-binding molecule that has been shown to block several potential disease pathways in Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information, contact Health Sciences Development at: 844-474-4387
