Despite the hardships faced in 2020, our dedicated donors ensured that the vital work of the National Academy of Medicine continued by donating over $11,000,000 in financial support. Louis Lange, M.D., Ph.D. shares his story on why he decided to make an impact through philanthropy.
What inspired you to make this gift?
I believe we are in a golden age of biomedicine research. One can see its progress with the COVID vaccine, it is amazing what has been accomplished in a year, and it’s because we have funded the basic and clinical development work for many decades and this is a great continuation of it.
What is your relationship to the NAM?
My relationship with the NAM is mostly through President Victor J. Dzau. We met while training together at Harvard in the 70s and have been friends ever since, both professionally and personally. I like Victor’s leadership and vision and I want to support him.
Why was it important for you, at this time, to make your gift?
For me, it is a natural progression of giving. I have served on a university board and contributed in that way, and this is another opportunity to give and support medical science.
I’ve been with two research foundations, I was the chairman of Lee Hood’s Institute for Systems Biology, and I spent 10 years with the Gladstone Foundation at UCSF in San Francisco. I have a long history of association in academia and serving on boards of institutions. I have a good understanding of where the best science is being done and I think the National Academy of Medicine pulls together a lot of great scientists and medical doctors.
What do you want others to know about your philanthropy?
I think it is important to give unrestricted funding to leaders and let them use the money wisely. I also wanted to support the Healthy Longevity Initiative. My recent gift was a general gift for the President but it also had some earmarks in an area that needed support.
What is your hope for the future of medicine?
We are seeing medicine at work every day, we are seeing it in the vaccine rollout for COVID, in new gene therapies getting approved and saving lives, and we see it in novel cancer therapies that are exploding. Cancer drug development is no longer a question of “if”. The more money that goes in, the more cures we are going to have because the science is there. We are going to be curing many difficult-to-treat chronic diseases.
Is there anything else you would like for us to include in your story?
My background is in multidisciplinary sciences. I was an early M.D., Ph.D., and a combined basic science with clinical medicine in cardiology. I think integrated science is the path for solutions for patient needs.
A special thanks to all of our donors and especially Dr. Lange who participated in sharing why he made a contribution in 2020.
Now, more than ever, our evidence-based guidance is needed to help lead the country and world out of the COVID-19 pandemic and through the recovery phase that will follow. With your support and belief in our vision of a healthier future for all, we can achieve so much.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
