UCLA Uses $29M Gift to Establish Precision Medicine Center

UCLA has received a $29 million gift to establish a precision medicine center where scientists can leverage big data and genomic technologies to improve genetic disease treatment and diagnosis.

The Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Center for Precision Genomic Medicine will build on UCLA’s efforts to use large datasets and innovative technologies like CRISPR engineering to better understand genetic conditions.

These genetic disorders could include both rare diseases and more common illnesses like cardiovascular disease, cancer and immune disorders, and brain diseases such as autism and Parkinson’s.

“I am so grateful to Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg for their remarkable vision and generosity and for placing their confidence in UCLA’s capacity for innovation,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block.

“Combining our health system’s strengths in biomedical research and clinical care, the Ginsburg Center is sure to benefit patients and their families through life-saving, individualized treatments.”

The Ginsburg Center will utilize massive computing power and human genome sequencing to better understand genetic factors in disease, identify genetic risks in populations, and develop gene therapies as well as other innovative and individualized treatment strategies.

“This gift provides transformational support in an area where UCLA excels — multidisciplinary teams of scientists and physicians utilizing the latest technology and collaborating to improve care,” said Dr. John Mazziotta, vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health.

The gift includes support for the most modern gene editing technology platforms to accelerate the translation of research discoveries to therapeutics. Leaders also plan to build a one-stop, multidisciplinary patient clinic on the UCLA campus. Additionally, the gift will create the Ginsburg Research Fellowship and an annual symposium focused on population genetics research and ethics.

“Launching the Ginsburg Center within the Institute for Precision Health is a milestone in our work to bridge cutting-edge genetic research and direct patient care with individually targeted treatments,” said Dr. Daniel Geschwind, the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald distinguished professor of human genetics, senior associate dean and associate vice chancellor of precision health.

“We have been building toward this moment at UCLA, helping to lead the way in genetic therapies and advancing genetic research and treatments. The extraordinary generosity of the Ginsburgs propels us to a new level of discovery that will benefit patients from all walks of life.”

The new center will leverage the expertise of physicians and researchers from the UCLA Institute for Precision Health and the human genetics department, as well as faculty specializing in medical genetics, rare diseases, computational medicine, and other disciplines.

“The Ginsburg Center reimagines the interrelationship between biomedical research and patient care, and we are proud to partner with Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg to realize our ambitious, shared goals,” said Dr. Kelsey Martin, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Leaders expect that the establishment of the new center will lead to more targeted and individualized patient care.

“Data-driven, individualized treatment is the future of medicine, and the Ginsburg Center speaks to our enduring commitment to provide patients with the best possible care,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health, CEO of the UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences.

The UCLA Institute of Precision Health was formed in 2016, and the Ginsburg Center will add to the institute’s other priority programs.

These programs include the UCLA ATLAS Community Health Initiative, a large-scale collection of biological samples used to create a large and diverse genomic resource for translational medicine; and the UCLA Center for SMART Health, which explores new technologies that provide better information to doctors.

“All of these programs work in concert with one common objective — advancing therapeutics and scientific discovery through rigorous academic research that utilizes innovative technology and involves extensive collaboration among a wide range of scientists and physicians,” said Geschwind, who heads the UCLA Institute of Precision Health and is also a professor of neurology as well as psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences.

“The Ginsburg Center is a powerful new element that will significantly accelerate our ongoing efforts by providing key bridging resources.”