Dean R. Pete Vanderveen of the USC School of Pharmacy has announced the establishment of the Jane and Gale Bensussen Research Floor recognizing contributions of $1.7 million made by the Bensussens to the school.

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.