UCLA has received a $120 million commitment from surgeon, inventor and philanthropist Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife, Alya, to kick-start the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy , an innovative public-private partnership aimed at spurring breakthrough discoveries that prevent and cure diseases and catalyze economic growth and innovation in Los Angeles. Michelson, a spine surgeon and prolific inventor who holds nearly 1,000 individual patents, is co-founder and chair of the board of the institute, which will be housed at UCLA's state-of-the-art research park.
The gift, distributed via the Michelson Medical Research Foundation, designates $100 million to establish two research entities within the institute, each funded by $50 million; one will focus on rapid vaccine development and the other on harnessing the microbiome to advance human health. The microbiome research will be conducted in collaboration with the new UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, placing it among the largest microbiome research enterprises in the world. In addition, the foundation, a part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations co-chaired by the Michelsons, is funding a $20 million endowment to provide research grants to young scientists using novel processes to advance immunotherapy research, human immunology and vaccine discovery.
"The UCLA community owes Alya and Gary Michelson a debt of gratitude for this transformative gift," said UCLA Interim Chancellor Darnell Hun.