$22 million gift from Alfred Taubman launches new biomedical research...(p Eva Feldman M.D. Ph.D. a neurolog...)

• Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist and scientist whose laboratory has already received $7 million from Mr. Taubman to fund research on the use of stem cells and other approaches to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. Dr. Feldman heads the U-M Program for Neurology Research & Discovery and is the DeJong Professor of Neurology.

• David Pinsky, M.D., a cardiologist and scientist who studies proteins involved in preventing the formation of clots inside blood vessels, which could lead to a new class of drugs to prevent strokes and heart attacks. Dr. Pinsky is also chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, the Ruth Professor of Internal Medicine, and a director of the U-M Cardiovascular Center.

• Yehoash Raphael, Ph.D., a cell biologist working on inner ear biology, who is developing ways to grow stem cells into the hair cells that are crucial to our ability to hear, and to implant those cells into deaf ears to replace damaged cells and restore hearing. Dr. Raphael is the Williams Professor of Otolaryngology and a member of U-Ms Kresge Hearing Research Institute.

• Max Wicha, M.D., a cancer researcher who reported the first finding in a solid tumor of cancer stem cells the small number of cells within a tumor that fuel its growth. Dr. Wicha is the founding director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Distinguished Professor of Oncology.

The grants to these first five may be renewed at the end of three years depending on their research productivity. Additional scholars may be chosen in future as the endowment grows. Each scholars proposal, whether new or renewing, will be evaluated in detail by the oversight committee, which will also hear a presentation from each prospective Taubman Scholar and visit his or her laboratory.

In addition to Dr. Kelch, the committee includes Dr. Woolliscroft; Kim Eagle, M.D
'/>"/>