A $2.5 million gift by longtime City of Hope supporters Morgan and Helen Chu will establish an endowed chair in Beckman Research Institute. Richard Jove., Ph.D., the institute’s director and professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine, will be the first holder of the Morgan and Helen Chu Director’s Chair.
 Helen and Morgan Chu (Photo by AmyCantrell.com) |
Morgan Chu, J.D., a partner at the Los Angeles-based law firm of Irell & Manella LLP, is considered one of the most accomplished trial attorneys in the nation and a pioneer in the areas of technology and intellectual property law. The Chus’ gift builds on recent, significant contributions to City of Hope by the Irell & Manella firm, including a $3 million gift to endow a chair for City of Hope’s cancer center director, a
$5 million gift (matched by an additional $5 million) to City of Hope’s graduate school and a $2 million gift to create a visiting professorship.
“Helen and I are pleased to support City of Hope and the innovative science of the Beckman Research Institute,” Chu said. “Many of today’s most promising medical treatments — from synthetic human insulin to the technology used to create some of the most powerful cancer drugs — stem from the groundbreaking work of City of Hope scientists.”
Founded in 1983, City of Hope’s Beckman Research Institute was the first of only five Beckman institutes endowed by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.
 Richard Jove (Photo by Paula Myers) |
Jove was named director of Beckman Research Institute in 2008. He joined City of Hope in 2005 from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Florida, where he served as director of the Molecular Oncology Program.
As a scientist, he investigates the mechanisms that help cancer develop and thrive and is considered a pioneer in identifying signal transducers and activator of transcription, or STAT, proteins as new molecular targets for cancer therapy.
Jove also serves as deputy director of City of Hope’s National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and has played a key role in leading a major, cancer center-wide effort to develop the next generation of more effective and less toxic drugs for treatment of cancer.
He earned his doctorate in molecular biology from Columbia University and received postdoctoral training in cancer research at Rockefeller University. The National Institutes of Health has continuously funded Jove’s research for more than two decades.
“We are honored by the steadfast support of our most generous benefactors, Helen and Morgan Chu,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president, chief executive officer and cancer center director. “The Chus’ commitment inspires our scientists and ensures we can continue our strong tradition of scientific excellence.”
