Big Donation

Interim Chancellor Hunt shared this message to the Bruin Community:

Dear Bruin Community:

With both gratitude and excitement, we write to announce a transformational $120 million gift commitment from inventor, surgeon and philanthropist Gary Michelson and his wife Alya to help kick-start the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, which will be housed at the recently announced UCLA Research Park. The gift, among the largest in UCLA’s history, designates $100 million to be shared equally between two of the institute’s entities – one focused on rapid vaccine development and the other on microbiome research in collaboration with the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center. An additional $20 million will be used to create an endowment supporting young scientists who are using novel processes to advance immunotherapy research, human immunology and vaccine discovery.

We are extremely thankful for the generosity and vision of Dr. and Mrs. Michelson, who believe deeply in UCLA’s mission and whose gift seeks to leverage UCLA’s strengths. With their remarkable gift, the Michelsons have made an unmistakable vote of confidence in UCLA’s ability to develop new therapies to fight cancer, neurological, cardiovascular, autoimmune and other diseases — and ultimately to advance human health for all...

Sincerely,

Darnell Hunt, Interim Chancellor

John C. Mazziotta, Vice Chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences CEO, UCLA Health