After watching her youngest child, Lorraine, die from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease a few months ago, Lois Pope grieved.
She will always grieve. But she’s fighting back.
Her weapon?
A $10 million gift to the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine to support the advancement of research in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological and neurodegenerative diseases and disorders.
“Alzheimer’s is an insidious disease,” said Pope, who is among the nation’s leading female philanthropists. “Knowing how it robbed my daughter of any recognition of who I and other family members were, and who she herself was, couldn’t have been more heartbreaking. So, I knew I had to do something to try and help to eradicate it or at least mitigate its symptoms. “
The donation will establish the Lois Pope Neuroscience Research Fund and will add Lorraine’s name to the Lois Pope Laboratory Wing, located at the medical school’s Lois Pope LIFE Center, named for her Leaders in Furthering Education Foundation.
“While there has been progress over the past few years in therapies to slow the disease, early detection methods, and even how the disease develops in the brain, I wanted to give this work a real jolt,” Pope said.
“Plus, I wanted to do it at a place that is not only in my home state but is also recognized for doing cutting-edge neurological research at the Lois Pope LIFE Center.”
Pope, a former Palm Beacher, now lives in Manalapan.
The University of Miami is no stranger to Pope’s beneficence. The gift is the third major donation she has made over the past 25 years.
In 2000, her $10 million gift in honor of her close friend Christopher Reeve funded the construction of the Lois Pope LIFE Center, which became the permanent home of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Now called The Miami Project, it is the national leader in research and treatment of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries and other neurological diseases and disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, and stroke.
In 2020, Pope made a $12 million donation to establish the Lois Pope Center for Retinal and Macular Degeneration Research at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in honor of her mother, who was afflicted with macular degeneration.
Two years ago, Pope made another $1 million contribution to Bascom Palmer to advance its initiative to develop the world’s first whole eye transplant, and to create Lois’ Vision4Kids.
“Lois Pope’s generosity has touched so many lives all over the world,” said W. Dalton Dietrich, scientific director for the Miami Project and Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery at the Miller School. He also is senior associate dean for Team Science, co-director of the Institute for Neural Engineering, and a professor of neurological surgery.
“We could not be more grateful for her continued belief in, and support of, the basic and translational research we conduct in the Lois Pope LIFE Center. Our approach to some of the most challenging neurological conditions, acute injuries and more progressive neurodegenerative disorders known to man uniquely positions us to advance new research findings and translate them, with the goal of transforming people’s lives,” Dietrich said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Remembering Lorraine: Daughter’s death spurs $10M gift to fund Alzheimer’s research
Reporting by Shannon Donnelly, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
