UCLA receives $120 million from Alya and Gary Michelson for new California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy

Photo Credit: David Hume Kennerly

Key takeaways

• UCLA has received a $120 million commitment from surgeon and inventor Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife, Alya, for the new California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy.
• The gift will help establish two research entities within the institute: One will focus on rapid vaccine development and the other on harnessing the microbiome to advance human health. 
• It will also fund an endowment to provide research grants to young scientists using novel processes to advance immunotherapy research, human immunology and vaccine discovery.

UCLA has received a $120 million commitment from surgeon, inventor and philanthropist Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife, Alya, to kick-start the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, an innovative public-private partnership aimed at spurring breakthrough discoveries that prevent and cure diseases and catalyze economic growth and innovation in Los Angeles. 

Michelson, a spine surgeon and prolific inventor who holds nearly 1,000 individual patents, is co-founder and chair of the board of the institute, which will be housed at UCLA’s state-of-the-art research park.

The gift, distributed via the Michelson Medical Research Foundation, designates $100 million to establish two research entities within the institute, each funded by $50 million; one will focus on rapid vaccine development and the other on harnessing the microbiome to advance human health. The microbiome research will be conducted in collaboration with the new UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, placing it among the largest microbiome research enterprises in the world.

In addition, the foundation, a part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations co-chaired by the Michelsons, is funding a $20 million endowment to provide research grants to young scientists using novel processes to advance immunotherapy research, human immunology and vaccine discovery.

“The UCLA community owes Alya and Gary Michelson a debt of gratitude for this transformative gift,” said UCLA Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt. “The Michelsons envisioned an institute that would leverage UCLA’s strengths for maximum public good, create new knowledge leading to better medical treatments, and reshape the study of immunology. The gift will change countless lives here and across the globe.”

“Immunology is the mediator of nearly all human diseases, whether we’re talking about cancer or heart disease or Alzheimer’s,” Michelson said. “The vision for this institute is to become a ‘field of dreams’ — the world’s leading center for the study of the immune system to develop advanced immunotherapies to prevent, treat and cure all of the diseases that afflict people today and to end these diseases in our lifetime.

“Scientific research is the key to making possible longer and healthier lives,” he added. “That’s the reason why Alya and I are making this philanthropic investment. There is no place that we could make an investment that will have a more profound effect on so many. We are deeply grateful to former UCLA Chancellor Gene Block for his steadfast leadership; Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt for his continued partnership; UCLA Health’s Dr. John Mazziotta for his dedication and hard work; Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and former Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins for their visionary confidence; the UC Board of Regents; and my fellow founders for their unwavering support of this ambitious endeavor to build the premier institute for scientific research and innovation.”

The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy will be housed at the UCLA Research Park, on the site of the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall. The innovative public-private partnership is aimed at spurring breakthrough discoveries that prevent and cure diseases and catalyze economic growth and innovation in Los Angeles. 

The institute was co-founded by Meyer Luskin, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Dr. Arie Belldegrun, Michael Milken and Sean Parker. At 360,000 square feet, it will be the primary occupant in the 700,000-square-foot UCLA Research Park that is on the site of the former Westside Pavilion. UCLA’s January 2024 acquisition of the property, 2 miles from the Westwood campus, was made possible in part by a $200 million appropriation from the state of California.

Former UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, who stepped down on July 31 after 17 years leading the university, played a central role in coordinating the acquisition of the Westside Pavilion property and the effort to bring the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy to UCLA.

“I am incredibly excited to see the institute taking shape — in large part due to the work and contributions of the Michelsons and our other partners — and I believe as strongly as ever that UCLA and Los Angeles will be the perfect home for it,” said Block. “The institute exemplifies UCLA’s enduring commitment to harnessing scientific research for the public good, and it will cement our university’s position as one of the world’s leading centers of medical innovation.”

“The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA’s Research Park is yet another proof point that California remains the epicenter of global innovation — an endeavor that will benefit California, the United States, and the world,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “This incredible act of generosity by Alya and Gary Michelson, coupled with Gary’s prolific work over the years as a leading innovator in the medical field, perfectly exemplifies the California spirit and will help ensure our state’s global economic, scientific and technological dominance for decades to come.”

“The launch of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy showcases what’s possible with collaboration,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “Locking arms to make investments like this opens the possibility for groundbreaking research that has the potential to fundamentally change health outcomes around the world and create good jobs in Los Angeles. I want to thank Dr. Gary Michelson and Alya Michelson for taking this action, which will positively impact Angelenos and people worldwide for decades.”

The institute will operate as a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) medical research organization governed by an independent board that includes UCLA representatives. The recipient of the $120 million gift from the Michelsons is the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, which will use the funding to support research at the institute.

The institute leverages an unprecedented blend of public investment, philanthropic funding, and UCLA’s strengths in clinical treatment and scientific research. It is designed to be an agile, interdisciplinary, highly collaborative network of research facilities that, in concert with private industry, will accelerate the development and delivery of new pharmaceuticals and treatments for patients.

The institute will recruit leading scientists from around the world, create an integrated ecosystem of biotechnology startups and train the next generation of leading-edge medical researchers. As a hub of biomedical collaboration, the institute and the biomedical companies it gives rise to will be an economic engine for the region and state.

“I am grateful to Alya and Gary and their fellow co-founders. Their vision for and support of the institute is a vote of confidence in our ability to cure some of the most devastating disorders — together,” said Dr. John Mazziotta, UCLA’s vice chancellor for health sciences and CEO of UCLA Health.

This gift is the Michelsons’ single largest donation over more than 30 years of philanthropy. The couple has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to fighting social inequities and supporting medical research, education reform, prison reform and animal welfare. Among other projects, they fund the annual Michelson Prizes for immunology and vaccine research.

In 2016, the Michelsons signed The Giving Pledge, a campaign launched by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that encourages the wealthiest individuals and families to contribute the majority of their fortune to philanthropic causes.