The David Geffen School of Medicine received a $30 million donation for research, clinical care and education on digestive diseases, officials announced Thursday.
Philanthropists Tamar and Vatche Manoukian donated to the school’s Division of Digestive Diseases. According to a UCLA press release, their donation motivated other anonymous donors to contribute to the division as well, making the total gift $30 million.
The Division of Digestive Diseases will be named the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, making it the first division at the school to be named after donors, according to the press release. UCLA also named 100 UCLA Medical Plaza the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Medical Building.
The donation will allow the Division of Digestive Diseases to fund research that can lead to new therapies and better patient care. It will also support efforts to attract top scientists to the division and aspiring doctors’ educations.
[Related: UCLA School of Engineering gets $5 million donation]
According to the UCLA press release, Vatche Manoukian is a leader in the Armenian community and has been involved in a range of industries including business, biotechnology and entertainment. He and his wife focus their charity efforts on education, medicine and Armenian causes, among other issues.
The Manoukians have also contributed to scholarship funds in the United Kingdom, Lebanon and the U.S. for low-income students.