New Research Floor at Pharmacy School
Photo/Lee Salem Photography Inc.
The floor will be dedicated to translational research, with a focus on expansion of the school’s capabilities in therapeutic development and discovery.
“Gale and Jane Bensussen are visionary in their thinking,” Vanderveen said. “They believe in the work of the school and want to accelerate translation of basic science discoveries into therapeutics that will benefit society.”
The gift supports a translational approach to the school’s therapeutic innovations, providing a fast-track development program to expedite promising new therapies. It also complements the school’s collaboration with the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.
“The school’s work in the development and discovery of new therapeutic agents inspired us to get more involved over the years,” said Gale Bensussen, a USC trustee.
The Bensussen Research Floor will be overseen by Enrique Cadenas, associate dean of research and the Charles Krown/Alumni Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences, in association with Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences Chair Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, the Gavin S. Herbert Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Cadenas will assess the school’s intellectual property, identifying the best projects for immediate development.
Professor Roberta Diaz Brinton’s research on Alzheimer’s disease will be the first project supported for further advancement through the Bensussen gift.
Brinton’s therapeutic approach seeks to prevent or delay onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Four million Americans have the disease, and each year 360,000 additional cases are diagnosed. The gift will initiate development of brain-selective hormone therapies that Brinton has identified to combat the disease in women. In addition, the Brinton research team is developing therapeutics to promote generation of neural stem cells in the brain.
“We see Professor Brinton’s project as enormously important to society,” said Jane Bensussen. “By developing these hormone therapies now – in time to benefit baby boomers approaching the age when Alzheimer’s disease strikes – we may preserve quality of life for millions of women while saving billions of health care dollars.”
The Bensussens hold degrees from USC and have been active supporters of the School of Pharmacy for the past 15 years.
Gale Bensussen is a member and former chairman of the USC School of Pharmacy board of councilors and past president of the USC Alumni Association. Jane Bensussen serves on the board of councilors of the USC Davis School of Gerontology.
Construction on the Jane and Gale Bensussen Research Floor will begin in June and is scheduled to be completed by November.
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USC in the News
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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