HomeCity NewsUSC Medical School Receives $20 Million Donation

USC Medical School Receives $20 Million Donation

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The family foundation of the late entrepreneur and industrialist Norbert Gehr has made a $20 million donation to the Keck School of Medicine of USC for research of pre-leukemia diseases, the university announced Tuesday, June 16.

Gehr died from leukemia in February at the age of 74. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia two years ago. He had great respect for his Keck Medicine of USC doctors — internist David Goldstein and hematologist Casey O’Connell — and wanted to support their research, a university official said.

The gift will create a new Center for Implementation Science at the Keck School of Medicine that will coordinate efforts across the entire university to improve patient care in a scientifically rigorous manner, said Goldstein, Gehr’s longtime physician and the chief of the Division of Geriatric, Hospital, Palliative and General Internal Medicine and vice chair for clinical affairs for the Department of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine.

The donation will be split between the research efforts of O’Connell and Goldstein.

O’Connell will use the gift for translational research into blood diseases such as myelodysplastic syndromes, which can lead to leukemia, and acute myeloid leukemia, the most common adult acute leukemia.

Goldstein’s research includes practical methods for improving delivery of health care through a team-based, coordinated approach.

Gehr was the founder and CEO of The Gehr Group, a Los Angeles-based multinational organization with interests in international trade, real estate, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution. Its holdings include New York hotel properties, electrical cables and defense intelligence systems.

Gehr was born in Brazil to a Jewish father who fled Germany in the 1930s. He quit his job at age 25 and sold his prized Cadillac convertible to begin his first business, an industrial supply firm, in the San Fernando Valley.

“Norbert didn’t want any fanfare associated with his gift. What he wanted was to make a difference to other patients and he trusted these two doctors to use the funds for the greatest good,” said David Lifschitz, Gehr’s longtime friend and CEO of the Gehr Group.

“That silent generosity characterized his life. He often helped employees and others through personal gifts, such as paying for funerals or unexpected medical expenses, without taking any credit.”

 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=3]

27