Funding News: Donor Awards $38.5 Million to UC Davis Medical Center

The University of California, Davis Medical Center is one of the best in the country. It is comprised of the UC Davis Cancer Center, a medical school, the MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, the Eye Center, and other important research facilities. Recently, the medical center received a generous donation to aid their research.

Ernest E. Tschannen, a local investor in the Sacramento area, recently announced that he would donate $38.5 million dollars to the UC Davis Medical Center to support the Eye Center. Tschannen underwent treatment at the center for glaucoma, and choose to support the center after receiving exceptional treatment.

Mark J. Mannis, director of the UCDMC eye center expressed gratitude for the donation: “Our mission is to be the world's transformational leader in collaborative vision research and in developing cures for blinding eye diseases from cornea to cortex. Mr. Tschannen’s gifts will allow us to realize this vision beyond anything we could have realized on our own. His generosity will fuel innovative, collaborative vision research, and allow us to provide state-of-the-art, world-class eye care and training. For that, we are eternally grateful.”

How the $38.5 million donation will be used: 

• $18.5 million will support and rename the UC Davis Eye Center as the Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Center.
• Other portions of the funds will support optic nerve and glaucoma research.

The UC Davis Eye Center treats about 52,000 patients annually, and this donation will help researchers discover the best and newest treatment methods.

“Ernest has been an inspirational fixture in Sacramento’s nonprofit community, devoting a lifetime to helping others. Throughout the course of his life, he has committed a majority of his earnings to make Sacramento a city where all citizens’ basic needs are met, and he advances research and cures as much as possible,” explained Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento.

The University of California, Davis Medical Center is one of the top ranked medical centers in the country.

In March 2016, US News and World Report ranked the UC Davis Medical School in the top 50 for both primary care and research. In addition, UCDMC is also highly ranked in terms of life science funding. In the 2014 fiscal year, the university ranked 22nd in the country for total life science R&D expenditures, exceeding $509.7 million. In the 2015 fiscal year, UCDMC received more than $195.1 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

With so much in active life science funding, the UC Davis Medical Center is a thriving marketplace for laboratory product suppliers looking for new leads. Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. holds a BioResearch Product Faire™ event in Sacramento each year, providing lab suppliers with the opportunity to meet face-to-face with more than 135 life science researchers in just a few hours.

The 18th Semiannual BioResearch Product Faire™ event will be held on June 7th, 2016. 

To learn more about participating, visit the link below: