Jul. 16, 2002
Samantha Marshall
Columbia University will receive an $8 million gift to support a stem
cell research program to develop new treatments and therapies for Parkinson's
disease and other neurological disorders. Bernard Spitzer, real estate
developer and father of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer,
is donating the money, which will be used to establish the Bernard and
Anne Spitzer Fund for Cell and Genetic Therapy. The Spitzer money will
help researchers in their efforts to convert stem cells into well-functioning
neurons through mouse embryonic and stem cell lines that produce dopamine
neurons. In April, Columbia established the Charles and Jean Brunie Fund
for Cell Therapy in Brain Disease with a $3 million donation from investment
banker Charles Brunie.
© 2002, Crain's New York Business