McLaughlin Research Institute receives $5 million gift to support neurology studies
Dr. Irv Weissman (right) and Dr. Ann Tsukamoto-Weissman of Stanford, CA
Author: David Murray, Great Falls Tribune —
The McLaughlin Research Institute of Great Falls (MRI) announced this week that Dr. Irv Weissman and Dr. Ann Tsukamoto-Weissman of Stanford, California, recently made a $5 million gift to the MRI, the largest single contribution in the organization’s history. Their gift will support the expansion of the MRI, including their high school internship program, recruitment efforts, and current research projects, as well as launch new directions that insure sustainability of the MRI.
“Growing up in Great Falls, I was the first high school intern at the Institute, and my future was shaped by that experience* ,” said Irv Weissman. “For several years after that, the Montana division of the American Cancer Society picked up the funding. Sadly, it lapsed. Ann and I wanted to support the important research happening in Great Falls and help build momentum for the growth and innovation happening at the MRI.”
Ann added, “We have been encouraged and inspired by the recent developments in the organization and staffing under the leadership of Dr. Reijo Pera, and we knew our gift would have a lasting impact.”
Dr. Renee Reijo Pera became director of the McLaughlin Research Institute in March 2021; she was originally the second faculty member that Dr. Weissman hired as Director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in 2007.
“I have been a recipient of Irv and Ann’s generosity throughout my career,” said Reijo Pera. “Now, it is a great privilege to serve as just the fifth director of the MRI in its 67 years of operation. I was grateful to be one of the first faculty members that Irv hired at Stanford, and I am grateful to be a steward of his and Ann’s transformational gift here to the MRI and to Great Falls.”
In its earliest days, research at the MRI was grounded in the medically relevant work of Dr. Ernst Eichwald and Dr. Jack Stimpfling. With help from then Great Falls high school student, Irv Weissman — whose fascination with science ran so deep that he offered to work as an unpaid intern — the two scientists developed the field of the genetics of tissue transplants that are still important today.
Randy Gray, current chair of the MRI board of directors said, “The entire board is energized by this gift, by what lies ahead and by what is being accomplished at the MRI.”
Weissman continues to serve as director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and still always finds the time to give back to Great Falls and the MRI by serving as chair of the MRI Scientific Advisory Committee. The Weissman’s have been long-time contributors to the MRI, as well as influential connectors for the MRI in the scientific, academic, business and entrepreneurial sectors.
Read more about Irv’s early experience with McLaughlin Research Institute and his research career.
“I return to Montana many times a year and am heartened by the growth of biomedical and stem cell research across the state of Montana, as well as that of the MRI,” Weissman continued. “Back in the 1950s Eichwald and I visited the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, and I still collaborate with them. This was an early example of a distributed research model, which allows for breakthroughs and innovation throughout the network.”
Under Reijo Pera’s leadership, and with the support of the Weissman’s and other donors in the Great Falls community, the MRI has established two new faculty positions in patient-centered research in neuroscience, clinical trials, computational science and related fields. Reijo Pera has also led a reorganization of the administrative structure, in addition to working with Benefis Health Systems leadership and their Board of Directors to establish a collaborative arrangement for medical students in the Touro Medical College to conduct research at the MRI.
According to a news release from the McLaughlin Research Institute, MRI is currently moving towards more translational, patient-centered research tailored to individuals, with a continued emphasis upon studies to understand and treat neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Huntington’s disease, as well neuro-behavioral disorders such as addiction and psychological disorders. Research is moving towards the day when we might be able to diagnose with simple blood tests and treat earlier and more successfully.
To learn more about the McLaughlin Research Institute, please contact Brianne Laurin at brianne@mclaughlinresearch.org, or visit www.mclaughlinresearch.org.
David Murray is Natural Resources/Agriculture reporter for the Great Falls Tribune. To contact him with comments or story ideas; email dmurray@greatfallstribune.com or call (406) 403-3257. To preserve quality, in-depth journalism in northcentral Montana subscribe to the Great Falls Tribune.